Cormaic's Garden - Plants - Corkscrew Hazel

Garden Layout - Plants - Corkscrew Hazel
This corkscrew hazel, Corylus avellana 'contorta', was a birthday present for Mrs Taz a few years back, and has grown a little more than anticipated, resulting in it being slightly cramped in its position against the fence at the rear of the rockery. It now stands at 1.2 metres tall, with a spread of about 1.5 metres. The catkins in winter/spring are small, delicate but perfectly formed 'hairy caterpillars', and the summer leaves are like large scrumpled tissues. The stems are highly contorted and have to be trained slightly to keep the tree in shape.	Corylus avellana 'contorta'
Growth is good, about 200-250mm per year, but the rootstock is prone to sending up non-contorted 'suckers' which need to be cut off as close to the root as possible to prevent them taking over the tree.