Purpleleaf Bailey Select American Hazelnut

Are you looking for the perfect shrub to move with you through the seasons? The incredibly popular Purpleleaf Bailey Select American Hazelnut Shrub is ideal for adding a touch of eye-catching beauty to your garden with its spectacular foliage and edible nuts! Winner of the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, this shrub’s delicious, edible hazelnuts grow in clusters of 2 to 4 from September through October. When mature, this plant can produce up to 25 pounds of hazelnuts a year! Its foliage features large, heart-shaped leaves colored verdant green in the spring that gradually shifts to richly colored dark-plum and bronze foliage in the fall. This shrub can reach a height and spread of 7 to 8 feet in full maturity. 

This deciduous shrub is native to North America and grows into a rounded form, ideal for natural landscaping and creating a classic focal point for any border or bed. It also makes a fantastic addition to any orchard space or privacy screen. If wildlife is a concern, this shrub provides wonderful wildlife habitat and a natural food source. You can even use the hazelnuts as a sacrificial harvest to keep wildlife from other edible plants. Many gardeners consider this shrub pest resistant, drought tolerant, and adaptable to many different landscape conditions.

Purpleleaf Bailey Select American Hazelnut Care

Well-suited for planting under power lines due to its size, plant this shrub in an area with moist but well-draining soil. It is incredibly versatile and can grow anywhere from full sun to full shade, although it prefers at least partial sun. Ideally, you should plant this shrub near another hazelnut shrub for pollination purposes, but this variety is partially self-pollinating, so if space is limited, one would be fine. Place a layer of mulch 2 to 3 inches thick around the base of the tree to conserve moisture and protect it from pests. It is essential to keep the mulch from touching the trunk. This plant will drink lots of water if planted near a water source and much less in a drier area. Water saplings multiple times a week, about an inch of water per week. Mature plants require far less; water them every few weeks, watering a bit more in drier weather. In line with its low maintenance rating, this shrub will produce more nuts if you don’t fertilize it. 

This shrub can be pruned at any time of the year, taking care to prune back the older stems as low as possible and remove any suckers you see sprouting along the roots. However, the main pruning should happen in late winter before bud break to maintain the preferred size and shape and allow better air and light circulation within the plant.

Purpleleaf Bailey Select American Hazelnut Spacing

Space each shrub 7 to 8 feet apart, allowing them to reach their mature size.