This tree is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.

• Position: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil:Moist, well-drained neutral to alkaline soil
• Flowering period: February to March
• Hardiness: Fully hardy


'Purple Filbert' is a large, self-fertile, deciduous shrub with broad, serrated, deep purple leaves that can grow into a small, multi-stemmed tree. A purple-leaved relative of our native Hazel with much larger nuts, pendulous pale yellow catkins on leafless twigs emerge in late winter before the leaves, which are followed by edible nuts concealed by a reddish brown husk. Ideal for full sun or partial shade in a sheltered location, it can be grown as a specimen tree, for screening or hedging where its attractive branches are popular in floristry.


• Garden care: A reliable cropper on chalky soils, for fruit production - grow as a goblet-shaped bush. Keep the base of the plant clear in a 60cm radius around the trunk and apply a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted organic matter around the base. Cut out dead, diseased and damaged wood in March.