Common hazel
Corylus avellana
Common hazel (Corylus avellana), also called cobnut or European filbert, is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree of European and western-Asian woodland and hedgerow, growing 12–20 feet tall with soft, doubly toothed, rounded leaves. It is one of the great wildlife and working plants of the temperate garden: pale-yellow "lambs-tail" male catkins hang all winter and open in late winter before the leaves, and the edible hazelnuts ripen in autumn. Coppiced on a rotation it yields straight poles and, per the Woodland Trust, opens a wildflower-rich woodland floor. The honest catches: it suckers and can become a thicket if left unmanaged, and in North America it is susceptible to Eastern filbert blight, which is why nut growers there favour resistant hybrids.
Climate fit: narrow (39/100)
Structure
Edible
Border
Light
Full sun / Part shade
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
144-240" tall · 180" apart
Hardy in zones
4a-8b
very cold to frosty winters
Native in Illinois
No
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Hazelnuts are edible raw, roasted, or ground, and are rich in protein and unsaturated fat plus manganese, copper and vitamin E (Wikipedia).
Cold hardiness
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
Plotwright
USDA Zone 6b
-5°F to 0°F
Well-suited
Zone 7a
Plotwright
0°F to 5°F
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 40 ecoregions - 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Colorado Rockies forests
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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland
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Similar plants
Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.
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American hazelnut
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Arrowwood viburnum
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Educator packet
Plant packet
Common hazel educator packet
Common hazel (Corylus avellana), also called cobnut or European filbert, is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree of European and western-Asian woodland and hedgerow, growing 12–20 feet tall with soft, doubly toothed, rounded leaves. It is one of the great wildlife and working plants of the temperate garden: pale-yellow "lambs-tail" male catkins hang all winter and open in late winter before the leaves, and the edible hazelnuts ripen in autumn. Coppiced on a rotation it yields straight poles and, per the Woodland Trust, opens a wildflower-rich woodland floor. The honest catches: it suckers and can become a thicket if left unmanaged, and in North America it is susceptible to Eastern filbert blight, which is why nut growers there favour resistant hybrids.
Scientific name
Corylus avellana
Plant type
shrub
Hardiness
4a-8b
Light
full-sun, part-shade
Moisture
moderate
Spacing
180 inches
Classroom prompts
- Which plant traits are observations, and which are care recommendations?
- How would this plant fit change if the garden location moved warmer, colder, wetter, or drier?
- Which source-backed facts would you cite in a lesson handout?
Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and the field-level source list.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Common hazel (Corylus avellana). Retrieved 2026, July 14, from https://plotwright.com/plants/corylus-avellana
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
RHS Find a Plant
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
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