At a glance
- The hazelnut is a shrub, not a tree. It stays smaller than the walnut and so fits into almost any garden, even as part of a hedge.
- For a full crop you need two different varieties nearby. The hazel is usually self-sterile and pollinated by the wind, not by bees.
- It flowers very early: the yellow catkins shed pollen often as early as February, long before other shrubs wake. The female flowers are tiny red brushes.
- As a shrub the hazel is rejuvenated, not shaped: every few years you take out the oldest canes at the base so young, productive wood comes on.
The hazelnut is one of the most uncomplicated nut suppliers for the garden. Unlike the huge walnut it stays a manageable shrub you can even build into a hedge. And while many fruit shrubs are demanding, the hazel is content with almost any spot.
Two things you should know so the crop is generous: it needs a pollinator partner, and it wants to be rejuvenated as a shrub. On top comes a small adversary, the nut weevil. This article shows you pollination, pruning and harvest.
Hazelnut
Corylus avellana
- Standort
- sunny to part-shade, undemanding
- Saison
- bare-root in autumn, weeks 40 to 46; late summer to autumn, at fruit fall
Two shrubs for the crop
The most common reason for a hazel that barely bears: it stands alone. Most hazel varieties are self-sterile, their own pollen does not fertilise their own flowers. You therefore need a second, different variety nearby.
The hazel is pollinated not by insects but by the wind. The male flowers are the conspicuous yellow catkins, the female ones tiny red brushes that are easily overlooked. The wind carries the pollen from the catkins of one to the flower of the other variety.
A very early bloomer
The hazel is one of the first heralds of spring. Its catkins open often as early as February, when hardly anything else flowers. For insects the hazel is no food source, being wind-pollinated, but for allergy sufferers it is an early forerunner of the pollen season.
When buying, it pays to choose productive garden varieties such as the 'Hallesche Riesennuss' or 'Webbs Preisnuss'. If you like it ornamental, choose the 'Rotblättrige Zellernuss' with dark-red foliage. But always: two different varieties for pollination.
Pruning and harvest
Because the hazel is a shrub, you do not shape it like a tree but rejuvenate it. Over the years the oldest canes age and bear less. You take these out at the base so young, strong shoots grow on.
Rejuvenate rather than shorten
Every few years cut out the oldest, thickest canes right at the ground. That keeps the shrub airy and young. Cutting back the shoot tips, by contrast, achieves little.
Remove suckers
On grafted varieties, wild suckers of the rootstock sometimes come up from the ground. Pull them out, or over time they crowd out the named variety.
Harvest at fruit fall
The nuts are ripe when they turn brown and begin to drop from the leafy husk. Then you best gather them from the ground or shake the shrub.
Beat the weevil
Small round holes in the shell and a grub in the kernel betray the nut weevil. Gather fallen nuts promptly and dispose of infested ones, that breaks the beetle's cycle.
Drying and storing correctly
Freshly harvested nuts are still moist and would mould. They must dry out airily before going into storage. How this works for hazel and walnut and how to avoid mould and rancidity is in Harvesting, drying and storing nuts.
Two varieties for wind pollination, rejuvenate the shrub at the base every few years, harvest at fruit fall. Then the hazel bears richly year after year.
The core rule on the hazelnut
Frequently asked questions
Why does my hazelnut bear no nuts?
Usually the pollinator is missing. Most hazels are self-sterile and need a second, different variety nearby. Since pollination is by wind, the partner should stand within reach.
Do I really need two hazel shrubs?
For a reliable crop, yes. Two different varieties pollinate each other via the wind. A single shrub often bears only sparsely or not at all, even if it flowers lavishly.
How do I prune a hazelnut correctly?
As a shrub it is rejuvenated, not shaped. Every few years take out the oldest canes at the base so young wood grows on. On grafted varieties, pull out rootstock suckers.
What is the nut weevil?
A small snout beetle whose larva eats into the nut. Small holes and a grub in the kernel are the signs. You prevent it by gathering fallen nuts promptly and disposing of infested ones.
When are hazelnuts ripe?
From late summer into autumn, when they turn brown and begin to fall from the husk. It is best to harvest at fruit fall, that is, when the first nuts drop on their own.
Sources
- German Federal Plant Variety Office: hazelnut varieties for the garden
- Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG): hazelnut in the home garden
- Related in the magazine: Harvesting, drying and storing nuts and Planting a walnut: spot and varieties
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