March Perennial of the Month-Harry Lauder’s walking stick

Sir Winston Churchill deemed Harry Lauder Scotland’s greatest ambassador, but few in the U.S. know the man our Shrub of the Month was named after. The comedian was born in 1870 in Portobello, a suburb of Edinburg, Scotland, and often took the stage wearing a kilt and a very crooked walking stick-his trademark.

The shrub deemed Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) was discovered growing as a sport in an English hedgerow by Victorian gardener Canon Ellacombe in the mid-1800s. Sometimes called contorted hazel or filbert, you won’t find the nuts (hazelnuts) like on the strait species, but you will discover the fantastic showy catkins in the spring that dangle like yellow tinsel on a Christmas tree. Growing up to 15’ high and wide, Harry is considered a specimen plant and is best placed where his twisted beauty can be appreciated from all angles.

The ‘Red Dragon’ cultivar grows 8-10’ with burgundy foliage and catkins on the same contorted stems. It is resistant to eastern filbert blight, which is caused by the fungus Anisogramma anomala.

Both prefer part sun, being a woodland plant, but will tolerate full sun. Shade from the late-afternoon summer sun is appreciated.

What I love about this plant;

-Those stems!!!

-Great winter interest/early spring plant.

-Stems are excellent cut and brought indoors.

What’s not so great;

-Contorted filberts/hazels are grafted plants. Suckers that are super-straight and shoot upwards should be removed at the base.

-All European filberts are seriously affected by Eastern filbert blight, a fungus that attacks new growth before moving into larger limbs and forms cankers that can kill the whole tree. Pruning (two-three feet below the cankers) is the only effective way to combat the fungus. Sometimes, complete removal is best to stop the spread since Anisogramma anomala has significantly delayed commercial hazelnut production in North America. Try the ‘Red Dragon’ cultivar, which is more resistant and still has twisted branches, or the native Corylus americana or Corylus avellana, which don’t have burgundy foliage or twisted branches but do bare edible fruit.

-It is not necessarily a long-lived plant, but even if it dies, it still makes an incredible statement in the garden.

Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com

Words and photos by Jo Batzer unless stated otherwise.