Description

‘Aurea’ is a hazelnut with bright golden leaves. A dense, mound-shaped, thicket-forming shrub.

Corylus is monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant). Male flowers are creamy yellow, fluffy, showy catkins. Female flowers are small, reddish, and inconspicuous catkins and are followed by light green nuts enclosed in hairy, leaf-like husks with ragged edges. Nuts are edible at maturity in the fall. Leaves are toothed and heart shaped; bright yellow in spring and a greenish-gold in fall.

Height: 12 ft.
Spread: 10 ft.
Family: Betulaceae
Bloom time: March to April
Sun: full sun to part shade
Water: medium
According to Rutgers University, Corylus are “seldom severely damaged” by deer.

photo credit: Agnes Monkelbaan