Plants that Shine in Winter

By Matt Stevens, Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent

One of my favorite parts about winter landscapes is that when all the leaves have fallen, certain other plant characteristics become much more noticeable. Many plants, it turns out, have interesting bark, colorful stems, or even unique architectural arrangements of branches that tend to be obscured the rest of the year by the leaves. If you are a plant nerd like me, you always have an eye out for plants that have these interesting attributes that shine in winter. One particularly interesting plant that stands out in winter months is Corylus avellana, ‘Contorta’, commonly known as Harry Lauder’s walking stick.

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (Corylus avellana, ‘Contorta’)

Harry Lauder’s walking stick is one of the most unique landscape plants you are likely to encounter. It is a large shrub, growing 8 to 10 feet high and wide, notable for its gnarled and twisted branches. The intricate twisting of the branches is something you see on only a handful of other plants – corkscrew willow and trifoliate orange are the only two that immediately spring to mind as being similar. During much of the year, the walking stick is covered with leaves, of course, which hides its branches to some extent. The plant really shines in winter, however, when the leaves have dropped and the branches are exposed to clear view.

Although walking stick is grown primarily because of its unique branches, it does have some other ornamental characteristics of note. It blooms in late winter, with 2-3’ long greenish-yellow flowers called catkins hanging from the branches. Catkins are slender, male flowers; birch, willow, and oak have a similar type of bloom. While catkins are not the most remarkable floral form generally, the fact that the flowers arrive when not much other color is present in most landscapes helps. Additionally, the fall foliage color is decent, as the dark green leaves turn a pale yellow before they drop.

Male Catkin flowers of the Corylus avellana, ‘Contorta’

Walking stick is a grafted plant, and gardeners who grow this plant must pay attention to the suckers that emerge from below the graft union. These suckers will not have the contorted characteristic; rather, they will grow straight and quite tall if not removed. The suckers also tend to have large wide leaves that will obscure the intricacies of the twisted bark above. Other than this suckering and some occasional feeding from pests like Japanese beetles and tent caterpillars, walking stick is a relatively easy plant to grow with few problems. Avoid planting it in excessively wet areas, and plant in full sun to partial shade.

Photos from and further information at:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/corylus-avellana-contorta/