Hazel

Value to bees

Nectar

None

Pollen

Very high

As a honey crop

Not a honey source

Which bees, and why

Honey bees work catkins on any mild winter day, returning with pale yellow loads. This is a one-sided relationship — hazel gains nothing from the visit, since it is pollinated by wind, and the bees take pollen it produced in wasteful excess for that reason.

Pollen entirely exposed on a dangling catkin. There is no nectar to be accessible or otherwise.

Worth knowing

The clearest illustration in the catalogue of why nectar and pollen are rated separately: hazel scores zero for one and top marks for the other, and it matters enormously.

Flowering

In flower

January to March (northern hemisphere)

January and February in most of lowland Britain — often the first pollen source of the year, and sometimes the only one.

When nectar flows

No nectar whatsoever. Hazel is wind-pollinated and offers nothing but pollen, which bees collect opportunistically because the alternative in February is nothing.

Year-to-year variation

Pollen supply is reliable every year. Never a honey source under any circumstances.

Growing it

Conditions

Sun or part shade, any soil. One of the most tolerant and useful small trees there is.

Size

3-8 m, usually multi-stemmed.

Native range

Europe and western Asia.

Suits

Hedgerow, Large gardens, Small gardens, Meadow or wildflower area

• Coppice on a rotation of seven to ten years rather than cutting annually — a hazel cut every year produces very few catkins.
• Excellent hedgerow and woodland-edge plant, and the coppiced poles are useful for everything from bean supports to hurdles.
• Squirrels will take every nut. Plant it for the catkins and the coppice, and treat any nuts as a bonus.

What it looks like

A multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with rounded hairy leaves, bearing long yellow male catkins in late winter and tiny crimson female flowers on the same twigs, followed by nuts.