Purple Hazelnut Tree – AB

Description

Purple hazelnut tree (Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’)

The purple hazelnut tree (Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’) is a dark red-leaved cultivar of the Betulaceae family, derived from the giant filbert — a species native to south-eastern Europe, the Balkans and Asia Minor — grown both for its winter ornamental value and for its large, reddish-brown hazelnuts.

We grow the purple hazelnut tree under certified organic farming (AB / Ecocert) in Le Passage d’Agen, in Lot-et-Garonne — France’s leading hazelnut-growing département. Find it alongside our other hazelnut tree varieties.

Purple hazelnut tree identity card

Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’ or Corylus avellana ‘Fuscorubra’? Two plants, one trade name

This is the blind spot of the French market: two distinct plants are sold under the label “purple hazel”, and you will not get the same result depending on which one you’re supplied with.

• Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’: more vigorous, the foliage stays purple all summer, and the husk extends well beyond the nut. This is the best ornamental choice.
• Corylus avellana ‘Fuscorubra’ (syn. ‘Rode Zellernoot’, ‘Rotblättrige Zellernuss’, “Rouge de Zeller”): purple foliage turning bronze-green from June onward, short husk, historically selected for nut production.

The confusion is old and well documented: Loudon used the name C. avellana var. purpurea for what we now call C. maxima ‘Purpurea’, which led W. J. Bean to recommend the epithet ‘Fusco-rubra’ for the purple-leaved avellana hazel, described by Dippel in 1890 from a specimen observed by Göschke in 1887. Ask for the full botanical name when buying — the identifying feature in the orchard being husk length at harvest.

Fruit characteristics

The nut of the purple hazelnut tree is large, with a reddish-brown shell and a white kernel covered in a tawny skin. The flavour is clean and buttery, comparable to good eating varieties; the purple colour is not passed on to the kernel. The fruit ripens in clusters of 2 to 4, enclosed in a fringed, purplish husk, twice as long as the nut — a signature trait of the giant filbert.

The purple hazelnut tree is harvested from late August to mid-September depending on the year. Collect nuts that have fallen to the ground rather than picking them green: a ripe hazelnut detaches from its husk on its own. Dry them for 15 days in the shade, spread in a thin layer before storing; prepared this way, they keep for 8 to 12 months in shell.

Pollinating the purple hazelnut tree: a mistake that keeps getting repeated

The purple hazelnut tree is not self-fertile. You will often read the opposite, sometimes with the advice to “plant two of the same variety” — that is a mistake that costs you your crop. The hazel is indeed monoecious — male catkins and red female flowers on the same plant — but Betulaceae rely on a system of sporophytic self-incompatibility: a cultivar rejects its own pollen, and two plants from the same clone are genetically identical. Two ‘Purpurea’ side by side will produce nothing.

Add to this dichogamy: male catkins and stigmas on the same plant are generally not receptive at the same time. As the purple hazelnut tree is classed as late-flowering, pair it with a cultivar whose catkins release pollen during the same period. We recommend the Merveille de Bollwiller hazelnut tree or the Cosford hazelnut tree, both in the late-flowering group. By contrast, Fertile de Coutard, an early-flowering variety, is a less reliable partner for the purple hazelnut tree.

🌬️ Hazel pollination is wind-borne: it happens through the wind, not bees. Plant partners within 15 m of each other, ideally taking prevailing winter winds into account.

Real yield: what to expect from a purple hazelnut tree

Let’s be direct. Reference pomological sources consider ‘Purpurea’ to be primarily an ornamental cultivar, whose fruiting remains modest compared with orchard varieties. The purple hazelnut tree is the right choice if you want a decorative fruiting hedge, a striking specimen tree in winter, or extra genetic diversity in a food forest.

If nut production is your main goal, look instead at the Corabel hazelnut tree, an INRA introduction with the largest nuts available in France. Combining the two still makes sense: the ornamental one carries the hedge, the productive one carries the harvest.

Growing and caring for the purple hazelnut tree

Soil and exposure

The purple hazelnut tree needs moisture-retentive, deep, well-drained soil, including lime-rich ground. It is a woodland-edge shrub: it tolerates part shade, but full sun intensifies the purple colouring and fruiting. Its weak point is summer drought — its shallow, spreading roots make it vulnerable from July onward in soils that dry out.

Planting

• Timing: November to March, bare-root, frost-free.
• Spacing: 4 to 5 m as a standalone specimen, 3 m in a fruiting hedge.
• Training: cut back to 80 cm to establish 4 to 6 open, goblet-shaped main branches.
• Mulching: thick and permanent — this is the hazel’s drought insurance.
• Suckers: remove at ground level every winter, before they spread.

Pruning

Prune the purple hazelnut tree in late winter, after the catkins have fallen (February-March), never before: doing so would remove the pollen. Thin out the centre every 2 to 3 years to keep light coming in, remove dead wood and crossing branches. From the tenth year onward, carry out a gradual rejuvenation by cutting back half the canopy over two seasons.

Diseases and resistance

Three pests concern the purple hazelnut tree in Lot-et-Garonne:

• Hazelnut weevil (Curculio nucum): the weevil lays eggs in the young nut. In organic growing, hoe the soil under the canopy in late winter to expose larvae to birds.
• Bacterial blight (Xanthomonas arboricola pv. corylina): encouraged by spring frosts, with no curative treatment. Disinfect pruning tools.
• Big bud mite (Phytoptus avellanae): swollen, ball-shaped buds. Remove and burn them at the end of winter.

Culinary uses

Hazelnuts from the purple hazelnut tree can be eaten fresh in September, while the kernel is still milky, or dried throughout winter. Roasted for 12 minutes at 160°C and then rubbed to remove the skin, they make a wonderfully fine praline and hazelnut paste. They are also used chopped over salads, ground into shortcrust pastry, or pressed into hazelnut oil.

Frequently asked questions about the purple hazelnut tree

Is the purple hazelnut tree self-fertile?

No, the purple hazelnut tree is not self-fertile. Like all hazels, it relies on sporophytic self-incompatibility: it rejects its own pollen. Planting two plants of the same variety changes nothing, since they are the same clone. A second, different cultivar with overlapping flowering is essential to get any hazelnuts.

What pollinator does a purple hazelnut tree need?

Since the purple hazelnut tree flowers late, choose a cultivar from the same group: Merveille de Bollwiller or Cosford both work well. Plant it within 15 metres, as pollination happens through the wind rather than insects. Early varieties such as Fertile de Coutard give a less reliable flowering overlap.

Are the nuts from the purple hazelnut tree edible?

Yes, nuts from the purple hazelnut tree are fully edible and tasty. The shell is reddish-brown, but the kernel stays white with a classic, buttery flavour. The nuts are large. The only caveat is that this cultivar is primarily ornamental and its yield stays more modest than orchard varieties.

When should nuts be harvested from a purple hazelnut tree?

Harvest of the purple hazelnut tree runs from late August to mid-September depending on the year and the site. The right cue isn’t the date but detachment: a ripe hazelnut leaves its husk on its own and falls to the ground. Collect it, then dry the nuts for two weeks in the shade before storing.

What is the difference between Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’ and Corylus avellana ‘Fuscorubra’?

These are two different plants sold under the same trade name of “purple hazel”. Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’ keeps its purple foliage all summer and carries a husk twice as long as the nut. Corylus avellana ‘Fuscorubra’ turns bronze-green from June onward, has a short husk, and was selected for production.

Does the purple hazelnut tree sucker heavily?

Yes, the purple hazelnut tree sends up suckers from the base, like all hazels grown as multi-stemmed shrubs. Remove them at ground level each winter, before they spread out from the clump. This trait becomes an asset in a fruiting hedge, where suckering naturally thickens the base of the shrub.

Our experience at the nursery (Lot-et-Garonne)

Our tips in video

Our other hazelnut trees