Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-8b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub or Small Tree

Height at Maturity: 8-10′, maybe a little taller over time

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Upright

Growth Rate: Moderate

Flower Color: Yellow, Light Yellow, Bronze

Flower Size: Medium, 1/4″ wide x 1-2″ long

Flowering Period: Late Winter, Early Spring

Flower Type: Catkin

Fragrant Flowers: N0

Foliage Color: Dark Green, Bronze

Fragrant Foliage: No

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average, Low when established

Soil Type: Clay (Amended), Loam, Sand, Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained

Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.5 (Slighty Acidic to Slightly Alkaline)

Maintenance / Care: Very Low when left in it’s natural form

Attracts: Birds, Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer – more info, Disease, Heat, Insect (Excluding Japanese Beetles), Filbert Blight

Description

With its twisted, corkscrew branches and stems, Contorted Filbert, also known as Henry or Harry Lauder Walking Stick, is guaranteed to draw attention in the garden. The branches of this large shrub or small tree to 8 to 10 feet tall and wide are especially attractive in the landscape during winter, when there are no leaves on the plant. Before new leaves emerge in spring interesting and colorful yellow catkins hang in clusters from the tips of stems. The obovate leaves feature double toothed margins and are green for most of the growing season turning yellow in the fall. Branches can be cut for use as an accent in indoor floral arrangements. Contorted Filbert is a must have for the gardener that enjoys unique and interesting plants!

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, and maybe a little larger over time, the Henry Lauder Walking Stick Contorted Filbert is perfect for use as a focal point specimen in landscape borders and home foundation plantings. It can be grown as a large shrub or lower branches can be removed to form an attractive small tree. It can also be grown in pots, planters and other containers and situated on a patio, deck or around other outdoor living spaces. A fine addition to an Asian gardens, gothic gardens, and rock gardens.

Growing Preferences

Contorted Filbert prefers a moist but well drained slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil and full sun to part shade. When planting in heavy clay soil it’s a good idea to amend the native soil at a 50/50 ration with a sandy, bagged top soil to ensure good drainage. We suggest a minimum of 4 hours direct sunlight per day during spring, summer and fall.

Note: Find helpful advice from our experts under the Planting & Care tab above on desktop monitors or below on mobile devices.

Plant Long & Prosper!

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Beautiful plant

I have never been sent a better specimen of the species. It is beautiful. The packing was excellent so it arrived undamaged. I will be ordering from this company again!——————————Hi Deborah, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the very kind words!! 🙂
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

Have just received my order and must commend you: the tree doesn’t have a single “sick” leaf on it; it’s healthy,
full of vibrant green leaves, and bigger than I expected. Stellar packing as well. Thank you.———————————–WBG Reply: Hi Joyce, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

The plant is awesome definitely a conversation starter I love the shape and the look. Great tree!!!——————–WBG Reply: Hi Patricia, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for your repeat business!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

The tree arrived fast and in very good condition. It only has 3 catkins and no leaves so far, but I assume that is normal during winter. I know this Contorted Filbert isn’t recommended for my region, but I’ll try my best to make it grow. I’m from Germany where these beautiful trees are very common, so I just couldn’t resist and thought I’ll give it a try.—————————————WBG Reply: Hi Jen, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope that it does well for you for years to come!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

So far, so good. Plant arrived very quickly. There were some brown leaves but it looks quite healthy overall. I’ll know better in the spring. Happily, we’ve been having plenty of rain, so the newly planted tree is getting well hydrated. ——————— WBG Reply: Hi Margaret – Thanks so much for your review of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick and we hope you enjoy as much as we do the ones in our gardens for years to come. Sorry some of the leaves turned brown during transit. Plants with large leaves sometimes do this during summer. After planting some new leaves should emerge, unless it’s already starting to get cold up there? If so, it’ll go dormant and should leaf out fine in spring. Keep as posted as we stand behind every plant we ship. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

I received this within a few days of ordering it. It was in great condition. Love it, Thanks —————- WBG Reply: Hi Janet – Thanks so much for your review and we hope you enjoy your Harry Lauder Walking Stick for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service. – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

Very pleased with this purchase, though I suppose time will tell. I was heartbroken when my old HL walking stick died (after 20+ years), and eager to get a new one started. The new walking stick arrived less than a week after purchase in excellent condition. It was about 2 feet high with plenty of healthy growth. And price was roughly the same as what other garden sites were charging for bare root. ———————- WBG Reply: Hi Mark – Sorry to hear about the loss of your 20 year old Henry Lauder Walking Stick. Hope you enjoy this new one for years to come. Thanks for providing your review and let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

I ordered a contorted filbert from Wilson Bros and had it shipped to Wisconsin. Per the note included in the box, this is where I could report problems. I don’t have any! Pass this on to the team that gets the praise. The tree I received is WAY better than I expected or could have hoped for. It is big, beautiful and healthy! Taller than I expected. All leafed out. Just spectacular. I can’t wait to plant it and watch it mature in to a wonderful specimen tree. ———————- WBG Reply: Hi Donald – Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick and for your praise. It makes everything we do even more worth the while! I absolutely love the 10 year old Harry Lauder specimen in my own landscape…a magnificent specimen! Hope you enjoy yours for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

A robust and thriving bush in a 3 gal pot was shipped to my daughter in WS. Wilson Brother’s packaging of this bush protected it completely from the the horrible abuse it received at the hands of UPS. The box was bashed and badly damaged and yet this healthy little bush emerged unharmed. Customer service at Wilson Brother’s is outstanding. Annie was efficient, knowledgeable and utterly charming. Probably the best internet shopping experience I have ever had. I will most certainly shop here often and recommend all my friends and family do the same. Thank you Wilson Brother’s!!! ——————– WBG Reply: Hi Karen – Such a nice an unusual gift to give your daughter! Hope she enjoys the Harry Lauder Walking Stick for years to come. Thanks so much for your review and all the compliments. It makes everything we do even more worth the while. It was certainly our pleasure to serve you. Thanks also for the feedback about the damage to the box during shipping. Our damage rate to boxes is probably about 5% and less than 1% on plants. Even so, we’re in the process right now of custom designing new and sturdier boxes that will stand up better to mishandling by the carriers, which is totally out of our control. Fortunately, when plants are damaged due to mishandling the carriers maintain insurance that allows us to immediately replace damaged plants, but we’d rather do what we can to avoid damages in the first place! Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service!
Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

I was very happy with the condition of the tree and with the quality of the plant. The tree is planted and doing great. Keep up the good work! ——– WBG Reply: Hi Larry – Thanks for the compliment and for taking the time to provide your review. Glad to hear your Henry Lauder Walking Stick is doing great! We’ll definitely keep up the good work and continue to strive to improve in everything we do. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens