Those are really neat looking aren't they? That's definitely on my list of plants to get if I ever get some real space to garden in :-)

It's actually a shrub though, so it won't get very tall - I haven't seen one top six feet, but I have heard some people claim more (probably because the graft is higher up on theirs, or maybe because they have a better climate than here). It's also almost always grafted onto another hazel rootstock, so if you see any straight branches, or suckers forming, cut them off at the base.

BP

Thanks Bonnie, there are a few straight branches, I'll do them in! M

I love these too but....hate to be a spoilsport - I've lost 2 of them over the past few years. They were in a sheltered spot and did fine in the growing season but never came back after the winter. I snipped off some branches and sure enough, dead as doornails.
You may want to consider burlapping it for the first couple of winters, just to be on the safe side. Good luck! ...and maybe I'll try one again... :-)

Debs

I have one in my front yard and the first year I burlapped through the winter, and it did fine. This year I didn't and it was fine but we had a fairly mild winter. Just a few really cold days , around -30, but we also had good snow cover, so that really helped too. I saw one years ago in someone yard that was just beautiful, and it was fairly big. I wonder now how they got so big. It was at least ten feet tall and as wide. And I know that they didn't winter protect, but it was in a very sheltered back yard in Ottawa.
They are such neat little things though. I bought mine to cover the grave of a dear little cat, I thought it such a suitable plant for him as he was such a personality.

Deb and Sammy,thanks for the heads up on protecting my "twisted sister" (named for me, I am one of 6 girls)LOL M

No advice, but I just wanted to say I am sooooo jealous! I don't think there would be ANY hope of growing that here. I had to settle for a corkscrew willow, which is still pretty neat, but it's not as cool as your tree... Hope it lives long & prospers for you!

Thankyou GC, Corkscrew willow sounds really cool! Have you got a picture? M

Sorry, I don't have pictures, it's pretty pathetic looking anyway. If I manage to get a decent photo I'll be sure to post it.

I finally got around to trimming a corkscew hazel I planted 7 years ago. It's top most branches died back due to lack of snow cover for several years. All leafed out branches are covered in 4 feet of snow & are mostly growing horizontally. I have had very few 'straight sprouts' take off.
Has anyone used the twisted bare branches in dried flower arrangements?

That would look great. And if you want to modernize it, spray with enamel paint and it will look spectacular.

Ianna

I've seen the branches used in decorative arrangements several times. I thought they usually look pretty good.

While DH and I were out walking a couple of weeks ago, we came across one that is bigger than any I had ever seen before - it was easily eight to nine feet tall. It was behind a wooden fence, so I couldn't see how high up the graft was. But still - in this cold zone that's pretty big, no matter where it's grafted. I guess the fence and the nearby building helped pretect it.

BP

I have two of these in my yard.. and they are very slow growers. My advice to you is to keep the kids away from them. Sad when your favorite crooked branch gets snapped off. Im into my second year and they are still holding on. Very unique to say the least.

Hi Janns, and welcome to the forum! Thanks for the warning ,I will watch out for my grandchildren around the tree!
Any pics to share of your trees? M

First message on this site.

My corkscrew hazel has straight branches at top of plant. Do I trim these off??

mini_gardener - Trim all straight branches off. They grow much faster than the crooked ones and will take over the shrub if you do not remove them. Your plant might be in trouble though - it sounds like your rootstock has grown through the curly, grafted on part (the scion). If this has happened, all future branches will be straight. If this is a very recently purchased tree, I'd take it back for a refund.

As an aside - generally, you'll get more responses to questions when you start your own thread instead of adding one to an old thread :-)

BP

I just received one of these odd looking trees and I am really excited to add it to my garden. Can anyone give me hits on when, how deep, etc. to plant it. I also live about an hour north of Toronto. Is my zone 4 or 5? It sounds like this can be a challenge to a almost novice gardener. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

where are you located? If in Richmond Hill you will be in zone 5b. Higher it could be zone 5a -- all the way to zone 3. So id your location and look it up on the zone map.

In anycase, it's best to bury the roots deeper the lower the zone. This way the roots are protected. However make sure the graft union is not beneath ground. Corkscrew hazels are grafted to hardy stock. so it's important that graft union is protected. They do well in zone 5 - that I know.

I live in Markham and we are z5b; though it seems like we're creeping onto z6 the past few years. There are a few well established plants around the neighbourhood that go unprotected without burlap (they have ornaments hung on them) during the winter so they are definitely hardy. You can follow standard planting instructions you find online, but as Ianna suggested, keep the graft union above ground. Another important thing is to dig a big enough hole and have it ready before you take the tree out of the pot.

I would like to touch a bit on the origami master's observatgion re creeping into zone 6. I have observed the same thing and have seen trees in my neighborhood normally grown in lower zones but are okay here but in a protected area. However I think that because our weather patterns has been terribly unpredictable lately, it would be best err to keep within the official zones.

I've never had to burlap my corkscrew hazel. However I did plant it in a corner of my fence and so it's well protected from fierce cold winds and the severity of winter. I had it in my front yard for about 2 years but I observed that my particular kind of corkscrew (comes up purple at first and then green) started to burn from the south sun which surprised me. I didn't think of this plant as a semi shade plant but eventually I did transfer it to it's present location. There it thrived so much it brought up new 'trunks' and multiple branches. I've had to prune it several times over to keep it in check.

Ianna

My 8 year-old corkscrew hazel is about 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide at the top. It is a beautiful staple in my garden and adds great winter interest. BEWARE though. Last year, some of the tree started to have wilted leaves. This year they didn't open on those branches. I noticed some round dark patches on the bark and researched them. It is 'Eastern Filbert Blight'. This blight is a big problem in mid/eastern North America and from what I can tell, there is nothing the homeowner can do the combat it. It will eventually kill the tree. Maybe a corkscrew willow is the way to go from now on until they have this blight under control!

Anyone else experience this?

Here is a link that might be useful: MyPage

I love those! There is one in a park here that has been there for at least 15 years. I don't think they do anything to it in the winter.

I planted a fairly mature twisted hazel last Fall in a place which I thought would be sun/shade (new house, big oak tree shading backyard), and it did seemingly well throughout the winter and came out with nice green leaves this Spring. But now all the leaves are turning yellowish...it turns out there is far more sun on it during the day than I expected. I am watering it everyday because it is so hot and dry. My question is, are the leaves turning yellow because they are burning from the sun, or am I overwatering it?

I have one in Ottawa, planted in a very sunny location (daybreak to mid afternoon). The first few years I built a pole and burlap tent for the winter, but now I leave it uncovered. Last winter was unusually cold, but it did fine. It's now about nine years old, about six feet tall and at least that wide. I keep wondering how big it will get. Given its location, I'm considering triming it back.

i had one for years in the front (south facing yard) and it was doing well until I observed the leaves started to burn. So I transferred to a shady location and it did well for many many years - then one day It stated to look sick. I looked closely and noticed strage rice-shaped postules all over the bark. It had become inflected with a kind of blight. A blight that also affects other plants like my sambuca and also the smokebush. I had to cut down the tree. It lasted nearly 10 years.

I'm late adding to this thread...I just came across it as I was trying to navigate what is going in with my corkscrew hazel ... it's 18 years old and until a couple of years ago, did wonderfully well.... Last year it didn't bush out as much as it would normally do and this year it was even worse. 😕 After doing some research, I discovered, too late, that it's suffering from Eastern Filbert Blight...😥 I'm in Ottawa. Has anybody else had success in planting another corkscrew hazel in the same location as one that has had to be removed? Also, has anybody else ever planted a Red Dragon corkscrew hazel, (supposed to be more resistant to Eastern Filbert Blight) in the Ottawa area?