Corylus Avellana Rode Zellernoot Hazel

Corylus Rode Zellernoot or Red Leaved Hazel
If you are looking for a productive and beautiful native hedge or shrub then it’s worth considering Corylus Rode Zellernoot - the Red Leaved Hazel. This stunning hazel hybrid produces edible nuts and glorious foliage. The full botanical name is Corylus Avellana Rode Zellernoot. It is a hybrid of Corylus Maxima and the common hazel Corylus Avellana. Rode Zellernoot means ‘red nut’ which refers to its leaf colour. 

Red Leaved Hazel is a decorative deciduous shrub that produces new red leaves in spring each evenly spaced along its fine, whippy branches. These serrated red leaves grow larger than the common hazel and mature into a bronze-green during the summer months before falling in the autumn. In summer, after the foliage is established, Red Leaved Hazel produces catkins. The male catkins are yellow-green and the female are a much smaller red catkin. Edible oval-shaped hazelnuts begin to appear in late summer to early autumn. The nuts are hidden inside red-toned husks with only the top peeping out. The nuts are particularly tasty and attractive to wildlife.

How Hardy Is Corylus Rode Zellernoot
The Red Leaved Hazel is extremely hardy, its parents being native to the UK. It will survive our winters and wet conditions, although young plants may need protection from harsh, drying winds for the first few years. 

How To Use Corylus Rode Zellernoot
All hazels provide shelter and food for wildlife, particularly when grown as part of a hedgerow. This makes it an attractive hedging option for a wildlife garden. Hazel manages well in coastal and urban areas too. Corylus Rode Zellernoot will produce lots of new growth each year, reaching a maximum height of 3-4 metres, but it can be cut back in winter to maintain its size and shape.

Corylus Rode Zellernoot varies from other varieties of hazel in that its foliage is a brighter red than its cousins, and its stems run straight to form a tight hedgerow, unlike Corylus Avellana Red Majestic which is an attractive red shade but has corkscrew branches.  

How to Care For Corylus Rode Zellernoot
Hazelnuts are among the easiest nuts to grow and they take up much less space than you would think. The Hazelnut family includes Corylus Avellana which is the common hazel and closely related filberts and cobnuts. All members of the Hazel family produce showy catkins in spring (these are male) which pollinate the very small flowers (female).  If you want to create a hedge in larger spaces, place your hazels four metres apart and reduce their height to encourage bushiness. 

Hazelnuts are very hardy being tolerant of cold and wet conditions.It will prefer a rich, loamy soil but will grow well in chalky and clay conditions provided it’s not water-logged. To ensure a maximum supply of nuts, it is best to plant at least 2 hazel trees (of any variety) as they are wind pollinated.

Corylus Rode Zellernoot is as highly valued for its decorative display of changing leaves and showy catkins as it is for the tasty hazelnuts. If you want to grow a crop of nuts for autumn, help wildlife and create a beautiful display the Red Leaved Hazel is for you.