hazel alder
Alnus serrulata
USDA zones4 to 9
SunHandles full sun to full shade
WaterHandles moderate to wet soil
Size10 to 20 feet tall8 to 15 feet wide
- Habit
- Shrub
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Brownish-yellow (male) and red (female)
- Foliage color
- Dark green above, paler and finely hairy beneath.
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Hazel alder (Alnus serrulata) is a tree for rain gardens, naturalized areas, meadows, and pollinator gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full sun to full shade and average to wet, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It grows as a multiple-trunked, suckering shrub and sometimes becomes a small tree. The fruit looks like a small woody cone and stays on the plant into February. The wood is weak, so breakage is common.
Pairs well with Joe Pye weed, Ostrich fern, Chokeberry, and Big bluestem.
Native range
Eastern United States.