Every Harry Lauders Walking Stick is a clone decendent from a single contorted filbert discovered in England. Regular seedlings are used as understock for the clone/graft. In this case I would recommend the purchase of any additional plants you care to own and spend your energy on other plants.

If you'd like to try your hand at grafting, and have a source for normal filbert rootstock and the contorted budstock, you could graft your own.

Regards,

Firevicar

when you get a way that works,let me know.
any place reliable that mails live ones?

mine puts out very straight suckers... so I gave up on rooting cuttings.

Air layering, or conventional layering(pulling shoots down into soil contact, then severing once they've rooted) will work, and will give you an 'own-rooted' HLWS. With grafted/budded specimens, you must constantly be diligent about keeping non-contorted suckers from the seedling rootstock clipped off.

well, I am trying it... I took cuttings, dipped them in "Shultz's 'take root'", put them in damp pearlite in covered containers, and put one set in my fridge and another on a sunny windowsill. It has been two weeks, but I guess I can't expect anything for 6 to 8 weeks. So I am just practicing the 2 things a gardner needs most, hope and patience....

But I am growing them because I did get one that is grafted, and I don't want to deal with "suckers"... and I want a BUNCH, but have a limited budget. I am going to try that thing where you bury a branch form the bush and wait on that to take root. I have done it with my hydrangea and have had alot of luck with it...

in Hope and Patience,
Bella

Bella,
You're going to need Luck as well. Layering is a common method of propagation by the hazel/filbert folks, but they are notoriously difficult(if not impossible) to start from cuttings.

Lucky-
I know, some things I've read say I'd have better luck getting water form a stone than getting those little sticks to root, but then again I have also read it isn't really that hard... But I am going to buy some heat mats and some additional gro-lites, so maybe my moxie will get some results. But I guess what I find most interesting about the posters here is that we all love a challenge...

thanks for your wisdom,
bella

Hi Bella,
Did you have any luck with the cuttings? I am looking for small Harry Lauders W.S. seedlings or rooted cuttings. I want to graft/bud them to straight filbert tree stock. I have alot of interest in this species.
Lee

Leemac..check out burnt ridge nursery. They have HLWS selrooted for a VERY reasonable price. I've ordered one and I 'll post about its size if you're interested.

~Chills

Lee,
First off, I got a nice one at Home Depot. $69.99. very reasonable for the nice size.

Why did I by another? because I hacked the first one down to a nub trying to clone it. But at this point, I will not give up until I have tried everything i can think of.

So I got some great advice from a master gardner from eBay. He suggested dip-n-grow and cutting my clippings under water. But based on my first and second attempts, the ones i'm trying to root in oasis foam look the best. And some in potting soil look good. The ones in pearlite Died with a capital D.

They new contorted filbert that i purchased is for some different air-layering things i am going to try. I'll let you know...

Bella

Thanks Chills And bella!
I am looking to find some smallish plants real cheep, as I want to try grafting onto a tall straight filbert trunk, to create a standard. There are some old ones near here and they look awesome! I know this will take years to look good ,but I'm a patient person!
Going to google Burn't ridge right now!
Lee

Hey Chills, Thanks for the tip about Burn't Ridge Nursery!
I just ordered a contorted Hazelnut and a halle's giant hazelnut And a hazelnut seedling. Very reasonable! Thanks again!
Lee

I got mine in last weekend and it was 1 1/2 feet tall and nicely spiraled. (I also got 7 other things, so I was quite busy planting that evening.) I ordered seaberry seedlings, and they were descibed as just seedlings, but they were over a foot tall and 6-12 inches wide with branches! Everything was great (though my Mulberry had the top 8 inches crushed and bent, but I trimmed it and even with the trimming it is still almost 4 feet tall!)

Can't say enough good things about Burnt Ridge!

~Chills

I got mine in last weekend and it was 1 1/2 feet tall and nicely spiraled. (I also got 7 other things, so I was quite busy planting that evening.) I ordered seaberry seedlings, and they were descibed as just seedlings, but they were over a foot tall and 6-12 inches wide with branches! Everything was great (though my Mulberry had the top 8 inches crushed and bent, but I trimmed it and even with the trimming it is still almost 4 feet tall!)

Can't say enough good things about Burnt Ridge!

~Chills

I don't want to tell Bella what Burnt Ridge charges for thiers...lol

I still haven't got my order yet,But I will be real happy with that size plant for the price! Funny I have googled repeatedly and I never got Burn't Ridge! They have alot of interesting things for great prices! Also reasonable shipping!
Waiting Anxiously!
Lee

Chills-
The good thing is I returned mine to Home depot! Ha! And ordered the ones from Burnt Ridge. If the ones from Burnt Ridge are 1 1/2' tall, then the Home Depot one is much, much larger, so it is "apples to oranges", but I wanted quantity so I'm glad to find Burnt Ridge.
they seem very nice at Burnt Ridge... I'm glad you guys recommended them...

Bella

My plants came today! I got 2 Harry Lauders, Nice and curly! ( Same size as yours Chills,) And the straight Halles giant filbert is about 4' tall! They are about the same Caliper. I spoke with a master Gardener at my Rose society meeting tonight, And he is going to help me. He said I can bud the 2 contorted ones onto the 1 straight Filbert! This will give me a fuller tree faster. He told me I should practice on roses before I attempt this! I am pleased with this nursery! wouldn't hesitate to re-order!
Lee

I have a few queries. Can heat (we've been in the 90's without rain for two weeks now) make the leaves brown in spots? I've watered at night with a sprinkler method after the heat of the day is over. Today I moved the sprinkler back so it doesn't reach the "Stick" at all just in case it's from being damp thru the nite. Before this heat wave he was doing grrreat; sooooooo great his lower branches grew and reached the ground. The limbs (still green and pliable) are contorted as well; so I didn't want to prune them off. I gently moved them up, down, around other's limbs in hopes they would stay and grow that way; is this ok?
All thoughts and comments more than welcome for my $100.00 baby boy!!!!!

Wow, I just came back to this forum today to update my contorted tale! My grafting attempt did not take. :^( But the trunk I was using as the standard is still growing fine, as are the 2 contorted shrubs ( I only used half of one when I attempted the graft.) So I am prepared to try again next spring. Meanwhile I walked into Home depot today and spotted a Corylus Avellana contorta STANDARD about 6' tall, trunk about 31/2" in diameter for 69.99! It must be a mistake because the shrub Contortas were the same price! I was so happy to get a large standard for this price! The only other one I have seen for sale around here was 350.00! ( was quite a bit bigger) I will still try my grafting experiments in spring, but now I have instant gratification!
Flowerbrackob, I am afraid I don't know why your leaves are turning brown. My 2 shrubs and the 2 straight filberts look fine and we are in the same heatwave, Humid but no rain. Only difference I hand water, and only wet leaves when I water in the A.M. ( I grow roses, so this is habit to help prevent fungal diseases.) The new Home Depot Baby was dry as a bone, leaves look wilted, but okay.Hope someone else can give you a beter answer!
Lee

No... it's been around 108º here and mine is fine... maybe you have a fungus.

With every controted filbert grown in the world, it provides a closer end to commercial grown filberts( hazelnuts to people who don't bother asking the difference). Contorted filberts are the carrier of EFB( European Filbert Blight) which destroyed filbert crops in the eastern United States years ago. Now, in the Pacific Northwest, EFB is destroying varieties like "Ennis" and "Barcelona" without a true control. My advice, don't grow the filbert, but if you have too, choose from disease free stock, and provide clean propagating and cultivation techniques to ensure that you don't harbor and spread this disease.

I'v been growing contorted filbert for nine years. Now it is only half alive this year. The other half is dried out and brittle. What type of food should I give it? My new one is growing fine. It had no problem over the New England winter.

A year (or two) ago I trimmed my contorted filbert and threw the branches in a pile. I needed some of the branches to decorate a half wine barrel I was planting so I stuck some of them into the barrel then planted it with primroses. The bare branches have been decorating the barrel very nicely now for over a year. This morning I went out to pull a few weeds in the barrel and quite a few of the branches have small leaves! I would really like to be able to transplant some into my garden and also give some to friends . Should I let them grow until winter in the barrel or try to move them now? My 12 year old contorted filbert seems to thrive on neglect so I really have no idea how to care for these young plants. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I purchased one for less than $30 ( plant and shipping) from Parks 3-4 yrs ago.
It arrived the same size as the ones mentioned earlier in this thread.

I followed the careful direction on layering it- layered 4-5 branches last fall with scraping the cambium, root hormone and pinning underground.
This spring I had dismal results- only one had ANY root development and the roots were so hairlike it would not sustain a plant for a LONG time. The other layered ones had either died from being layered ( yes a wasted branch now)
or were trained down and make the bush look odd now that I'm abandoning this.

In short- the first poster was right- expend your energy elsewhere. And for heaven sake, don't hack up or ruin the pretty one you bought unless you don't mind how it looks when your done wasting your time.

Karen zone 5

Just my 2 cents worth.

I purchased one for less than $30 ( plant and shipping) from Parks 3-4 yrs ago.
It arrived the same size as the ones mentioned earlier in this thread.

I followed the careful direction on layering it- layered 4-5 branches last fall with scraping the cambium, root hormone and pinning underground.
This spring I had dismal results- only one had ANY root development and the roots were so hairlike it would not sustain a plant for a LONG time. The other layered ones had either died from being layered ( yes a wasted branch now)
or were trained down and make the bush look odd now that I'm abandoning this.

In short- the first poster was right- expend your energy elsewhere. And for heaven sake, don't hack up or ruin the pretty one you bought unless you don't mind how it looks when your done wasting your time.

Karen zone 5

Wow this is really exiting to me. I am a florist working out of my home and I try to use as much material from my own garden as possible of course. I have been wanting a contorted hazelnut for years for this purpose but I really do not have the space to grow it. However I do have a regular hazelnut tree and now I'm wondering could I try to graft a branch to this much older hazelnut tree? If so how long would it take to get some usable branches?