Purple filbert, purple hazel – care, pruning, harvest

Purple hazel is a truly ornamental shrubby nut tree.

Purple Hazel facts, a summary

Name – Corylus maxima purpurea
Family – Betulaceae
Type – fruit shrub

Height – 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary, rather light

Foliage: deciduous  –  Flowering: spring  –  Harvest: fall

Growing this purple-leaf shrub is easy: care, pruning and harvesting must follow good practices if you want to have nice hazelnuts.

• Health benefits of hazelnuts

Planting purple hazel

Preferably in fall to promote root development before winter.
But you can also plant it in any other season of the year, as long as you avoid high temperatures in summer and frost spells in winter.

It is critical that you plant 2 different varieties together to ensure fertilization and fruit-bearing.

• This is an important step, so diligently follow our advice on planting shrubs.

Pruning and caring for purple hazel

No pruning is needed, except for the first years to speed growth up.

• Eliminate dead wood and branches over a decade old.

If you wish to reduce the branches or even out the hazel tree’s bearing, wait for the blooming to end.

Harvesting the hazelnuts

The hazelnuts are ready to be harvested when the fruit detaches from the branch and falls to the ground.

Learn more about purple hazel

The leaves are remarkable with their deep purple color. Not many other plants boast such a deep vibrant hue.

Set this tree up as a standalone, in a shrub bed, or add it to your hedge.

Hazelnuts are harvested in fall.

Even if the ornamental value of this tree is what stands out, its fruits still are edible.

It’s one of the most remarkable red-leaved shrubs.

Trees similar to purple hazel

Among other purple trees, you’ll find a striking variety of katsura, the ‘Red Fox’ katsura. There are also varieties of Cotinus (smoke tree) that have stunning violet hues.

Of course, the regular hazelnut tree has the same fruit and planting needs as purple filbert.

Read also:

• When to prune a hedge