What is a walking stick tree?

Asked by: Matthew Johnson

Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (botanical name Corylus avallena ‘Contorta’) is a filbert or hazelnut tree that started out as an unusually weird twisted branch that someone noticed growing out of filbert hedge in England. Filberts make excellent hedges, as well as provide delicious nuts for eating.

How do you prune a walking stick tree?

Trim the lower parts of the walking stick tree to remove excess growth and expose the twisted branches in the main part of the plant. This tree is slow growing so don’t cut too much, especially from the top, because it takes a long time for it to grow back. Cut away just enough to give the tree a pleasing appearance.

When can you trim a walking stick tree?

Prune your Lauder’s walking stick tree in the the early spring, after all the fruits have been cleared off by animals for winter forage but before new growth is visible. Thin out or reduce the length of healthy branches and limbs, only as you desire, to shape the shrub to suit your landscape or aesthetic preferences.

How do you grow Harry Lauder’s walking stick?

They will tolerate dry soils but will grow best when planted in loamy, well-drained soils with acidic to slightly alkaline (6.5-7.7) soil pH. Once established, Harry Lauder’s Walking Sticks are fairly drought tolerant trees, but should be watered regularly during periods of extreme heat.

How do you propagate Harry Lauder?

Because many Harry Lauder tree cuttings don’t survive the propagation process because of excess moisture, use coarse sand as the rooting medium. Sand drains quickly, leaving less moisture around the cutting. Use a container with adequate drainage holes in the bottom and fill it to within 1 to 3 inches from the rim.

How do you care for a walking stick?

Cover the floor of the tank with paper for easy cleanup. A substrate of peat moss or vermiculite may also help maintain humidity, but it requires more effort to keep clean. Make sure it is not kept too moist. Stick insects produce a dry waste, which is easy to clean up.

What is a Harry Lauder tree?

Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (botanical name Corylus avallena ‘Contorta’) is a filbert or hazelnut tree that started out as an unusually weird twisted branch that someone noticed growing out of filbert hedge in England. Filberts make excellent hedges, as well as provide delicious nuts for eating.

What tree has crooked branches?

Also known as curly willow or tortured willow, corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortusa’) is easy to identify by its long, graceful leaves and curly, contorted branches, which become especially noticeable during the winter.

Do deer eat contorted filbert?

It is also referred to as a corkscrew filbert or contorted hazelnut. It is an ornamental so it does not produce nuts. It is also deer resistant.

What is a contorted filbert?

Contorted filbert is an ornamental cultivar of European Filbert, (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’), grown for its twisted, gnarly stems. The plant is also sold under the name Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick.

Is Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick deer resistant?

Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) looking good with plenty of long catkins. Really a 4 season shrub. Nicknamed after the vaudevillian Harry Lauder with his crooked walking stick.

Can you grow a contorted filbert from a cutting?

The contorted filbert cutting should root within 50 days. You’ll know that it has if you tug lightly on it and it doesn’t budge.

How fast does corkscrew hazel grow?

The corkscrew hazel will ultimately reach 5m (20ft), but only half that in 25 years because it is slow-growing. Winter is its season, when the curiously contorted stems stand out against a clear sky and then develop their fine catkins before the spring foliage appears.

Are hazel roots invasive?

Their roots are non-invasive, so they also associate well with other woodlanders, such as epimedium, hellebore and snowdrop, and once they are in leaf their foliage is soft, cool on the eye and light enough to dapple shadow.

What does a twisted hazel tree look like?

The Corkscrew hazel tree is an attractive small tree or large shrub with heart shaped yellow foliage that appears in spring, turning green throughout the summer before buttery-yellow again in the autumn.

Does Corkscrew Hazel produce nuts?

Let’s go hazel nuts: A hazel tree will give your garden a supply of tasty nuts – and a wonderful display of yellow catkins.

Do truffles grow under hazelnut trees?

This interview was slightly edited for clarity. Truffles are perhaps the most sought after and expensive edible mushroom. In nature, they grow on the roots of oak, hazelnut, pine, poplar or beech trees. But they can be cultivated as a crop.

Can you take cuttings from twisted hazel?

Answer: Unfortunately, no. Like most sports, the seeds of corkscrew hazel are sterile. You need to either purchase a plant or grow a new one from a cutting.

What does contorted hazel look like?

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ is a small hazel with contorted stems that stand out in winter against the clear blue sky. From late winter it bears golden-yellow catkins, before fresh green, twisted leaves appear.

Are the nuts from a twisted hazel edible?

They are long and golden and hang from the branches of the tree beginning in winter, providing visual interest long after leaf drop. In time, the catkins develop into edible hazelnuts, otherwise known as contorted hazelnut tree nuts.

How big does a hazel tree grow?

approximately 20 feet

One of the smallest native tree species, hazel grows more like a shrub than a tree, only growing to approximately 20 feet when mature.

How do you identify a hazelnut tree?

Check the shape of the leaves. The hazelnut tree has heart-shaped leaves that alternate along the branches. The leaves are paler on the back than the front, with a pointed tip and doubly serrated edges that look like the edge of a bread knife.

Can you eat wild hazelnuts?

If you find hazelnuts in the wild, they’ll almost certainly be young and green. This is because birds and small animals tend to take them before they can mature into the edible brown nuts we’re familiar with. But with a little extra effort, you can still enjoy these tasty treats.

What is the difference between a hazelnut and a chestnut?

Hazelnut has slight notes of musty and earthy. The chestnuts are a group of eight or nine species of trees and shrubs in the genus Castanea. Hazelnuts are bigger than chestnuts. Chestnuts have a slightly sweet flavor, more like sweet potato than another type of nut.

Do you need two hazelnut trees to get nuts?

Although hazelnuts are monoecious (they have both male and female flowers on the same tree), they are self-incompatible, meaning a tree can’t set nuts with its own pollen. So, the answer is yes, they need to cross pollinate.

Do deer eat hazelnuts?

The nuts of American hazelnut, which have a higher nutritional value than acorns and beechnuts, also are eaten by squirrels, foxes, deer, northern bobwhite, ruffed grouse, turkey, woodpeckers, pheasants, and deer. The leaves, twigs, and catkins are browsed by rabbits, deer, and moose.

How do I keep squirrels out of my hazelnut tree?

Place shallow dishes of acorns along the paths that the squirrels generally use to get into your yard so the squirrels will eat the acorns and ignore your netted tree. Alternatively net several of your nut trees and leave some un-netted, in effect sacrificing some tree nuts in order to protect others.