Hi Chris,

American hazelnut is hardy down to zone 4 (some sources list them as hardy down to zone 3) so they should be winter hardy in Gypsum. They can tolerate a fairly wide range of soil pH. They like loamy well drained soils but can tolerate clay as long as it is well drained. I have not been able to find any information on how they tolerate elevation. There have been American hazelnuts planted at CSU's campus in Fort Collins but I am not sure about any in Eagle County. I think that they should be able to survive in Eagle County but I expect they might not produce nuts reliably since they flower very early in the spring. Planting them in a protected east to northeast facing area might help delay flowering in the spring and decrease the chance of frost damage to the buds.

All the best,
- Denyse

Thanks Denyse!
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