twisted hazel red majestic

Peadar

I have one of these, about 6 foot tall. Generally I prefer to let shrubs or trees grow as naturally as possible with minimal pruning. Some of the branches of the twisted hazel are trailing on the ground. Would these be best pruned off or left as is? I would like to prune off and under plant with some spring bulbs. But first priority is to do the right thing for the health of the plant. Any advice on pruning/care would be appreciated 

Peadar

Peadar

A photo of the twisted hazel. Apologies for the orientation, don't know why some photos I upload are fine and others are rotated 

Dovefromabove

There you are … it’s upright now. 😊 
Theres a glitch on the site that makes photos taken in portrait format revolve into landscape unless cropped slightly. 

Dovefromabove

That looks great.  It won’t have leaves on when the spring bulbs are flowering, so  the flowers will appear among the corkscrewed branches and I think that’ll look lovely … I think i’d tip the branches just above soil level to keep them from rooting. 

You’ll probably have to do it every autumn when the leaves have fallen, but that way it’ll look fabulous in the winter and spring  which is its time to shine. 

😊 

Peadar

Yeah, should look great in spring with daffodils growing up through the twisted branches. I'll prune any branches that are touching the soil when the leaves have dropped.
 I am developing the area around the hazel into a border (it was lawn) and am considering put some euonymus in front of the hazel. Do you think they would complement the hazel?

Peadar

Oh, and cheers for rotating the photo and the tip to prevent it happening 

Dovefromabove

Personally I’d go for delicate  things like Cyclamen hederifolium and C. coum … little blue scillas, Primula denticulata etc and Narcissus Minnow … and then for summer I’d go for Epimediums. 

Peadar

Cheers, lovely suggestions