Corylus (hazel)

The Corylus collection at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens comprises a large collection of cultivars, and 155 individual plants - more than anywhere else in the world. The collection includes named varieties which are cultivated for their fruits – though the Gardens generally coppice them during pruning workshops.

In winter, hazel has long, yellow catkins: male flowers that produce yellow pollen. During spring and summer, it will have fresh green leaves and in autumn yellow leaves and nuts. Hazel is known as a harbinger of spring – it’s one of the first trees to come into leaf as winter wanes and the days begin to lengthen.

There are a good collection of rare species at the Gardens, including the seldom seen Corylus fargesii from China. Corylus fargesii has heavily peeling bark and forms a true tree, rather than a multi-stemmed shrub. Ornamental cultivars include ‘Red Majestic’, a reddish-purple leaf form of the well-known contorted hazel.