# Corylus avellana 'Contorta' (Corkscrew Hazel)



## KipperSarnie (26 Oct 2016)

Plant a Corkscrew Hazel in your garden & your driftwood problems are over!




 

soak for a day or so in a water butt to ease the removal of the bark, repeat a couple of times & a final scrub with clean water &..... 

36" x 24" x 24":



 

48" x 24" x 18":



 

60" x 24" x 24":



 

Even week old Discus fry love it!


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## dw1305 (26 Oct 2016)

Hi all,





KipperSarnie said:


> Plant a Corkscrew Hazel in your garden & your driftwood problems are over!


I've got a plant as well. 

cheers Darrel


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## Mick.Dk (26 Oct 2016)

Me too ............ but never a twig left for me - family crave all for easter and christmas decoratin. Even the odd huge offcuts will be hung from ceiling and used for deco


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## KipperSarnie (26 Oct 2016)

My wife dare not argue as she gets 3 holidays a year with the Grand kids in Australia.
AND 
Boy does that give me some leverage!

_thinks: _
She's away for a month on Tuesday!  What do I think I need?


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## Mick.Dk (26 Oct 2016)

KipperSarnie said:


> _thinks: _
> She's away for a month on Tuesday!  What do I think I need?


- lots of ready-made dinners ........??


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## KipperSarnie (26 Oct 2016)

Hopefully the leaves will have dropped while she's away so I can select some more "Badly needed pruning's"


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## Manisha (27 Oct 2016)

Really lovely, however the problem would be the time it would take to mature, I'd probably be your age   although not necessarily as able, lol!


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## KipperSarnie (28 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> Really lovely, however the problem would be the time it would take to mature, I'd probably be your age   although not necessarily as able, lol!


All the wood is pruning from the last couple of years, some may even be less than a year old.
Most sank after a couple of weeks in the water butts.
Soaking also makes removal of the bark easy.
I had a problem with one piece sinking so once I knew where it was going I hollowed out the back to help it along.


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## rebel (28 Oct 2016)

Perfect for Halloween!!


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## KipperSarnie (28 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> Really lovely, however the problem would be the time it would take to mature, I'd probably be your age   although not necessarily as able, lol!



You saying' I'm old?
2nd childhood perhaps?
Hmm!  Never grew out of my first one
As for being able?
Now that is debatable.

What else do you do with the money you saved for retirement when your retired??


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## Manisha (28 Oct 2016)

Haha, no, not at all! Although relatively speaking, I assume it takes 30/40 years to grow a tree so I'd be 60/70 years old in that case! That's super growth - I only have laurel and privet that grows to any great extent but guess isn't quite the same?! My mum and dad are 71 and 72 this year and have been less fortunate than yourself in recent years with their physical health so guess I don't take for granted I can do then what I can now ☺


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## mort (29 Oct 2016)

Hazel grows pretty fast which is why its good for coppicing. I haven't used twisted hazel yet but have used plenty of normal hazel wood in my tanks.


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## Ryan Young (7 Feb 2017)

Looks amazing man! Your advice and tips on aquarium wood are always helpful. Got tons of oak you suggested I collect instead of buying it and I couldn't be happier  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Andrew Butler (8 Oct 2020)

Stirring up a very old thread, I know but instead of starting a new one on the exact same topic does anyone else have experience of Corylus avellana 'Contorta' and its use in an aquarium?


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## Angelblue (27 Oct 2020)

From the leads I have followed it would seem the Hazel is tough and stands up well to immersion.  The spiraling lines of Contorta attracted me to chase down the thread here.  I have a tank coming up for a rescape, second hand and renovating now, that I am going to source some for.  Most people are saying soak it and remove bark.


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## rebel (28 Oct 2020)

Found one for $76! NEed to find a place for it in the garden....


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## Karmicnull (29 Oct 2020)

Thank you @Andrew Butler for the thread resurrection.  We have Corkscrew Willow (salix matsudana 'Tortuosa') in the garden but it would have never occurred to me to take advantage of it without reading this thread.  A brief trawl of the net shows that it kills Koi carp, will break down fairly quickly, cuttings will actually root, and opinion is otherwise divided on how other fish get along with it.  Hmm.
<edit post Andrew' comment below - note this is Willow not Hazel - but still has the corkscrew vibe!>



- Simon


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## Andrew Butler (29 Oct 2020)

Karmicnull said:


> Thank you @Andrew Butler for the thread resurrection. We have Corkscrew Willow (salix matsudana 'Tortuosa') in the garden but it would have never occurred to me to take advantage of it without reading this thread. A brief trawl of the net shows that it kills Koi carp, will break down fairly quickly, cuttings will actually root, and opinion is otherwise divided on how other fish get along with it. Hmm.


Hi simon
Corkscrew Willow is completely different to Corkscrew Hazel, unsure if you realised this thread is about Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta')


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## Wolf6 (29 Oct 2020)

Thanks for reviving this thread folks, I have one of these in the front garden, I was intending on removing it next year. I guess now it gets to stay now that I know this. Its quite large and I've already cut it back a few times, but alas I threw all that away. Guess next time I'll be sure to save some of the older parts of the wood and have it soak


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## dw1305 (30 Oct 2020)

Hi all,


Wolf6 said:


> Its quite large and I've already cut it back a few times


You can prune them back as hard as you like, but you may find you get a lot of root suckers (ordinary non-curly Hazel) if you go at it too enthusiastically. 

I'd probably wait until all the leaves are shed before pruning, and if you don't have one it is worth investing in a Japanese type pruning saw, the larger branches are really tough and dense.

cheers Darrel


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## Karmicnull (31 Oct 2020)

Andrew Butler said:


> Hi simon
> Corkscrew Willow is completely different to Corkscrew Hazel, unsure if you realised this thread is about Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contorta')


Well aware thanks!  But I wouldn't have even thought about the Willow if I hadn't read this thread


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## Angelblue (11 Nov 2020)

I'm tempted to buy one in a pot to limit growth and spread (small garden).  Somehow think the gorgeous one I've seen in the park might be an option if I can spot one of the park gardeners when they are working and ask them if they would save me some.


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