Plant of the month - hazel

Corylus, or hazel, is a versatile, long-lived and wildlife-friendly tree, providing year-round interest.  During this month, long, yellow catkins are hanging from hazel branches, like little lanterns in our gardens and in the countryside, shining out even on a grey spring morning. 

These catkins, which appear even before the leaves unfurl, are male flowers and covered in pollen.  Every hazel produces male catkins and tiny red female flowers, but it cannot pollinate itself - it relies on the wind to carry the tiny grains to other hazel trees.  Sometimes you can even see little puffs of pollen drifting off on a breeze.  The name for these unusual flowers is derived from the Dutch word katteken, which means kitten, due to the resemblance to fluffy kitten tails - they’re also known as lamb’s tails.

Soon the leaves will appear - many varieties are green, but some hazels have striking wine-coloured or purple foliage, providing drama in the border, and reddish-pink catkins in late winter and early spring.

There’s a wide variety of hazels to choose from: not only those with different coloured foliage, but some with attractive twisted stems, like Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’.  These are excellent for winter interest when their fascinating branches are fully exposed.

Cultivars with straight stems can be coppiced at this time of year; in other words, they’re cut down to a couple of inches from the ground, encouraging more new stems to grow from the base and allowing the tree to flourish.  The coppiced wood can then be used in the garden - thick branches make great supports for wigwams and arches, while the finer, more flexible branches can be bent into structural or decorative shapes. It’s a great, natural way to provide support for vegetables or perennials.