Habitat

• native to New England down through Florida
• zone 4

Habit and Form

• a deciduous shrub
• multistemmed
• leggy, wide-spreading form
• 8' to 15' tall
• spread is slightly greater than the height
• fast growth rate
• coarse texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• 3" to 6" long
• 1.5" to 2.5" wide
• heart-shaped leaf base
• serrated leaf base
• pubescent
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• copper-red fall color

Flowers

• male catkins, 1.5" to 3" long
• showy
• yellowish brown
• flowers early spring

Fruit

• 0.5" long
• nut enclosed in involucre
• matures in September
• edible

Bark

• young branches pubescent
• brown

Culture

• transplant from container
• prefers well-drained, loamy soil
• full sun to partial shade
• prune anytime

Landscape Use

• for naturalized areas
• for fruit
• for difficult, dry sites
• as a barrier
• for naturalistic areas

Liabilities

• suckers
• blight
• leaf spot
• caterpillars

ID Features

• alternate leaf arrangement
• pubescent leaves
• suckering habit
• nut with an involucre covering
• large male catkins in spring
• pubescent young stems

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

• none