Heart-shaped light greenish gray leaves cover the thin brown branches in early spring, turning a darker shade of green later in the season, followed by gold and red leaves in autumn. Flower clusters of showy magenta color. Drought adapted and tolerant of much heat.

‘Burgundy Lace’ is a unique hazelnut selection for the ornamental landscape tree market. It is the only European hazelnut (Corylus avellana) cultivar in the nursery trade that combines dissected leaves (the cutleaf trait), red leaf color and resistance to the Oregon strain of eastern filbert blight (EFB). The tree is moderately vigorous and has a desirable upright-spreading growth habit that should be easy to manage in a landscape setting.

Uncommon in American gardens, this medium to large tree ought to be used more for its pest-free character, corky bark, and symmetrical cone-shaped outline. Stays remarkably green through the toughest drought. Often used as rootstock for C. avellana 'Contorta' because it has less potential to produce suckers below the graft union as compared to C. avellana.