Corylus americana ‘Purpleleaf Bailey Select’ – American Hazelnut

The long-lasting colorful foliage of this selection of an otherwise hum-drum native plant is beautiful and subtly elegant. New foliage starts out strongly burgundy flushed, fading first to purple then to purplish-green. In Spring, when the plant is actively growing and sporting almost all new foliage, the entire shrub is quite colorful. By Summer, it’s more muted, but seems to almost always have some new colorful foliage being produced. This is also a great addition to an edible landscape. It produces nuts just like straight species plants. However, hazelnuts are mostly self-sterile. You’ll need to plant a plain green variety as well for cross-pollination and good nut production.