Filbert (Corylus) Red Filbert 7L

Red Filbert is as ornamental as it is productive, and one of the most attractive nut trees you can grow. In late winter it's hung with purplish-pink catkins. In spring the new leaves emerge a rich burgundy-purple before maturing to dark green, and in early autumn it bears long, slender nuts with a striking red skin and an excellent sweet, nutty flavour. Enjoy them fresh, toasted, or in baking, or dry and store them to enjoy into the new year. The crops are modest rather than heavy, but the colour and flavour make it well worth growing.

Red Filbert forms a large shrub or small tree of around 4–6m if left unpruned, and it's easily kept smaller with regular pruning or coppicing. It makes a handsome specimen, a colourful addition to a mixed hedge or screen, or a feature in a wildlife or edible garden. It is partially self-fertile, but crops far better with another hazel nearby, such as a cobnut, another filbert or a wild hazel in a local hedgerow. Plant in full sun for the best leaf colour and crops, although it will tolerate partial shade. It grows in most well-drained soils, including chalk, and copes with exposed sites. Harvest the nuts from late September as they begin to fall, and net against squirrels if they visit your garden. Fully hardy (RHS H6).

Supplied in a 7-litre pot.

Each plant is hand-selected before dispatch.

Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.