Corylus colurna is a large shade tree noted for bold texture, pyramidal form, ornamental winter bark/stems/catkins, dense shade from dark green shiny foliage, and urban tolerance. Turkish Filbert is underutilized in modern landscapes. It's an excellent substitute for other pyramidally-shaped shade trees such as Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) or Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata).
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F E A T U R E S |
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Form
-large shade tree
-maturing at about 60' tall x 30' wide
-upright pyramidal growth habit
-medium growth rate |
Foliage
-alternate, dense, shiny dark green, thick, and clean throughout the summer
-broadly ovate to broadly obovate, to 6" long x 5" wide, with a cordate base, an acute apex, and with margins doubly serrated and somewhat incised
-autumn color is yellowish green and ornamentally ineffective |
Flowers
-monoecious, with the prominently pendulous male catkins being quite obvious in winter, and swelling from 1-4" in length in Mar. and swaying in the breezes of early spring
-female flowers occur at the same time, but are very small and ornamentally inconspicuous |
Fruit
-0.5" diameter nuts occur in clusters and are covered with an incised husk-like whorl of bracts, maturing in early autumn and attracting squirrels
-cross-pollination between different trees is needed for good fruit set |
Twig
-buds are pronounced on the stems, which are often fissured or corky by their second year of growth, with a bold texture on young branches |
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Trunk
-the light brown, flaky outer bark is quite attractive when viewed up-close in winter, while the inner bark is slightly orange but often unnoticed
-trees maintain a strong central leader to maturity, with symmetrical branching that forms a broadly pyramidal outline
-some specimens are allowed to branch to the ground, but most trees are limbed up with maturity to yield a stately shade tree character |
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C U L T
U R E
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Culture
-full sun to partial sun
-very urban stress tolerant, including adaptability to heat, drought, pollution, poor soils, compacted soils, dry soils, and soils of various pH
-propagated primarily by seeds but also by rooted stem cuttings
-Birch Family, with virtually no disease or pest problems, except for occasional skeletonizing of the foliage by Japanese beetles
-moderately available in B&B form |
Hardiness
-zones 4 to 7
Origin
-native to Turkey and Southeastern Europe
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U S A G E |
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Assets
-very urban tolerant, especially to drought, poor soils, and alkaline pH soils
-large shade tree that casts a dense shade, having dense, dark green, attractive foliage
-ornamental bark, corky stems, pendulous catkins, and bold symmetrical pyramidal outline create attractive features in winter
-disease- and generally pest-free (except for Japanese beetle), with clean foliage
Liabilities
-poor autumn color
-turfgrass will thin or die out under mature trees due to dense shade
-if Japanese beetles are common in the area, they will enjoy munching on this tree |
Function
-shade, focal point, specimen, or winter accent tree
Texture
-bold texture in foliage and when bare (medium texture when in flower)
-thick density in foliage and when bare |
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S E L
E C T I 0 N S |
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Varieties
and Cultivars
- Search
OSU PlantFacts for additional plants in this species
Alternates
-very urban tolerant shade trees (Acer x freemanii, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Ginkgo biloba, Gleditsia triacanthos, etc.)
-large pyramidal trees that are deciduous (Alnus glutinosa, Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus palustris, Taxodium distichum, Tilia cordata, etc.)
-large trees with winter character (Alnus glutinosa, Betula nigra, Betula papyrifera, Gymnocladus dioica, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Zelkova serrata, etc.) |