What year does common hazel bear fruit? How to properly grow hazelnuts from nuts at home? When should you fertilize hazelnuts?

For hazelnuts to bear fruit

Many gardeners who love hazelnuts often encounter a problem: from a large spreading bush they can only collect a small handful of nuts, while in wild hazelnut thickets nuts can be collected in bags. What is the reason and how to make your “homemade” hazel tree bear fruit abundantly?

1. Pollinator.

The big difference between the harvest of “wild” and “domesticated” hazelnuts most often occurs due to the latter’s lack of pollinators. There are a lot of hazel trees in the forest and the plants pollinate each other perfectly. On the site, for complete pollination, you need to plant 2-3 bushes and it is important to have hazelnuts different varieties(flowers need cross pollination). The more varieties, the greater the harvest, because the pollination period of the varieties does not coincide.

Remember: hazelnuts increase their yield gradually; only by the age of 20 will this plant produce a full harvest (about one bucket of nuts per bush). If there are five hazelnut bushes good varieties, You can get a bag of nuts in a good year.

2. Hazelnut planting.

Hazelnuts require a significant area. It is advisable to plant it according to a 6 x 6 m pattern. This is much more than is required for an apple, pear and even cherry tree. Geographically, the area for hazelnuts is comparable only to the area for walnuts.

3. Hazelnut planting site.

Hazelnut loves moisture. It grows best where there is no stagnation of cold air in the spring, in an area protected from the wind.

4. Time to plant hazelnuts.

When planted in spring, most hazel trees do not take root (hazelnuts have a short dormant period). Either plant very early in the spring, or in the fall - at the very beginning of October. Roots damaged before frost heal well - and in the spring the hazel tree actively grows.

5. Watering hazelnuts.

Hazel trees need a lot of water, without it there will be no harvest! It is necessary to provide 5-6 waterings per season with mandatory loosening of the soil after each. But keep in mind that the roots are located close to the surface of the earth, so you need to loosen them finely - 10-15 cm.

6. Trimming hazelnuts.

It is better to grow hazelnuts as a bush. After planting, shorten the plant to a height of 25-30 cm above the soil surface. Over the summer, several shoots form on pruned bushes. Do not trim the shoots themselves, since hazelnuts bear fruit on one-year-old wood (leave 8-10 strong shoots located as far apart as possible). Do not allow excessive thickening inside the bush.

Hazelnuts begin to bear fruit in the 4th year after planting, so further pruning consists of thinning out the “insides” of the bush and removing dry branches.

Fruiting hazelnut shoots should be rejuvenated gradually, but only after 20 years, when signs of drying of the branches appear.

7. Fertilize hazelnuts.

Good results are achieved by applying wood ash to tree trunks in the fall. This fertilizing will increase productivity and promote early fruiting.

Also, in the first growing season, 1-2 fertilizings are done with ammonium nitrate (15-20 g per 1 sq. m). Subsequently, fertilizing is used: 40-50 g of superphosphate, 3-4 kg of manure, 25-30 g of potassium sulfate and 40-50 grams of ammonium nitrate per square meter

The first time feeding is carried out in April, the second time is carried out in early June. Fertilizers are evenly scattered over the soil surface and dug up. It is better to fertilize plants after rain or watering.

8. To prevent hazelnut diseases.

In the spring, as soon as the leaves appear, spray the bush with a 2% lime-sulfur or 0.6% solution of thiozol-80 (used to combat powdery mildew). Repeat spraying after 10-12 days.

In autumn, collect and burn fallen leaves, dig up the soil under the bushes. This will destroy the infection powdery mildew, overwintering on fallen leaves, and walnut weevil larvae, hiding in the soil for the winter. If you collect wormy nuts several times during the summer, you can also reduce the number of nut weevils.

9. Hazelnut harvest.

It is best to collect nuts when they themselves begin to fall out of the “wrapper” or when shaken.

The article was prepared based on materials from the magazine "Garden of My Dreams"

Hazel is a nut-bearing and decorative crop that enjoys worldwide popularity. The hazel tree, called hazelnut, is winter-hardy and unpretentious.

Hazel – nut-bearing and ornamental culture popular

Breeders have developed many varieties of this plant to make the cultivation of hazel possible in different climatic and geographical zones. The homeland of hazel is Greece, Asia Minor and the Caucasus, but you can now find it in the gardens of America, Russia, and Europe.

The right variety means a big harvest

Botanists divide the family of tree-like shrubs into several species - there are more than 20 of them. In Russian regions, summer residents prefer common, tree-like and large hazel, but rarer species are also found.

1. Common hazel – Russian name hazel, comes from the similarity of the shape of its leaves with bream - they are wide and rounded. The green leaves contrast beautifully with the long yellow catkins. Common hazel is one of the most common species. Some of its varieties are grown in Russia: Pervenets, Akademik Yablokov, Moskovsky. Depending on the variety, the shrub can reach a height of 7 m. The fruits ripen in September and fall off when ripe.
2. Tree hazel is also called “bear nut”. In cold climates, the tree grows up to 8 m, but in the south its growth can reach up to 20 m. Bear nut can be used for landscaping: it has a beautiful, elegant appearance. The tree hazel nut produces a larger one than its “ordinary” rival, but most The hard shell takes up the weight, and the kernel is very small.
3. The Lombard nut grows up to 10 m. In Russia it is grown for beauty or for its tasty fruits, but it is not found in the wild. Walnut prefers to grow on warm Greek, Italian or Turkish soil.

The timing of fruiting and yield are related to climate. In the Urals, many summer residents do not risk planting hazelnuts for fear of not getting a harvest at all. In cold northern regions, it is recommended to plant winter-hardy varieties or varieties of hazel.

Manchurian walnut- one of the most frost-resistant varieties. This is a shrub up to 5 m high, but with small fruits enclosed in a prickly shell. Manchurian walnut feels great in northern regions, but is not popular due to low yields and difficulties in peeling the nuts.

Landing conditions

In order for hazel planting to go “without a hitch,” you need to know a few rules. First you need to select seedlings. It is possible to plant hazel with seeds, but the shrubs with this planting method are not the same as the mother tree.

You can plant hazel yourself. You need to choose the right seedlings

Breeders use seed planting to create hybrid varieties. It is better for summer residents to buy a seedling that retains all the features and traits of the variety.

1. Buy seedlings from trusted sellers and make sure that the planting material is not damaged. Developed roots are the main thing you should pay attention to when purchasing.
2. Buy not one, but several seedlings of different varieties to facilitate pollination.
3. How to plant hazel? Prepare holes 50 cm deep, with a distance of 4-6 m between them. If you plant plants closer, they will darken each other and interfere with growth.
4. The ideal place for planting is well lit, but protected from the burning direct rays of the sun and severe gusts of wind. Usually the western part of the site meets these criteria.
5. The soil should be rich and loose. Acidic soil and dry soil are not suitable for growing hazel. Fill the dug holes with humus and mineral fertilizers, and pour a bucket of water.
6. Shorten the seedlings by 20 cm, place the roots with clay mash in holes, cover with soil and water. Planting usually begins in November or March. At autumn planting the seedling is mulched.

Hazel tree care

A hazel tree will grow and begin to bear fruit only if you know how to properly care for it. It's not hard: remove weeds, loosen the soil, water and shape the crown.

1. Loosening the soil in tree trunk circles should be careful and shallow, otherwise it is easy to harm the planted plant - its roots are located at the very surface.
2. Shrubs are watered abundantly, but rarely. On normal days no more than once a month, on dry days - more often.
3. Thickening of the branches prevents the bush from developing fully. Formative pruning is necessary stage in hazel tree care. Weak and damaged shoots are cut off, leaving up to 10 of the strongest and healthiest shoots, located at a distance from each other. In order for adult hazelnuts to continue to bear fruit abundantly, after they reach 20 years of age, anti-aging pruning is carried out - 2 old shoots are cut off every year.
4. Fertilizing is important for the growth of hazel trees, especially young ones. In the fall, nut trees are fed with minerals: potassium and phosphorus, and in the spring with nitrogen fertilizers. Once every three years add to the soil organic fertilizer– manure mixed with potassium salt and superphosphate.
5. Diseases and pests can completely ruin all the work. How to grow hazel without arthropods and fungi damaging it? Carry out preventive spraying, compost fallen leaves and pick damaged and larvae-eaten nuts into summer period. If the tree begins to “go bald”, change the color of the leaves, or pests appear on its branches, you must immediately begin to treat the hazel. Identify the source of the problem and use it against it special means from the shop.

Reproduction methods

Summer residents can choose one of several methods of hazelnut propagation: seeds, root shoots, division, cuttings, grafting, layering.

1. Seeds are planted in autumn or spring to a depth of 4-5 cm. Disadvantages: the shrub differs from the mother tree; it begins to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age.
2. Dividing the bush is the most easy method reproduction. To implement it, you need to divide the bush into branches with roots.
3. To propagate by root shoots, part of the rhizome is taken from the bush and grown separately, in a greenhouse, until the roots develop. The peculiarity of this propagation method is the preservation of the varietal qualities of the tree.
4. When propagating by layering, grooves are dug around the bush and pre-selected shoots are placed in them, the tops of which are left above the ground, pinned to pegs. The cuttings are sprinkled with soil, watered and cared for like a tree until roots appear.
5. The beginning of harvesting green cuttings is determined as new shoots become woody. The cuttings are planted in sand with peat and watered until they take root.
6. For grafting, cuttings are cut right before work or prepared in advance in the fall and stored all winter until spring.

Hazelnuts contain substances that are beneficial for the health of the body. In stores, such nuts are expensive, so the work invested in growing a hazel tree, planting it and caring for it will pay off double.

Usually, when proper care and a well-chosen place for planting hazel, the plant produces enough fruit. But factors often arise that contribute to the oppression of the plant, and therefore there is a serious decline in yield.

The hazel tree does not bear fruit due to weather conditions

On this moment, we do not consider suitable and unsuitable regions, but take weather conditions during plant pollination as the main factor. It often happens that, by chance, the weather suddenly deteriorates at the moment when pollination should occur. The pollen gets wet, is washed down to the ground by rain and does not fall into its intended place. As a result, you get only a few fruits even on a large and mature bush.

Improper nutrition of hazel

Hazel agricultural technology involves proper rationing of fertilizers. This is exactly the case when it is better not to feed the plant unless you know exactly what fertilizers are needed for the hazel tree. It is even possible, as with many vegetables, that there are no fruits on the hazel tree due to an overdose of nitrogen. The bush is growing, showing off its greenery and growth, but the ovary does not form at all. Try to feed the hazel tree correctly, perhaps this is the reason.

Single plantings of hazel

Hazel is self-pollinating as it is a monoecious plant. But it’s still best to plant shrubs not alone, but in small colonies, say, 3-5 bushes. In the walnut forest there are never problems with the harvest, and therefore here we see a strict pattern.

Self-pollination is good, but when everything is in order with the earrings and the weather allows the process to occur efficiently. But in view of force majeure situations, it would be better to have several plants on the site, and there will be more nuts from them!

Freezing of hazel trees in winter

The problem is often hidden in freezing of the hazel tree, since in winter we have quite harsh weather. Of course, local shrubs have long adapted and somehow cope with the harvest, but there are many examples of the influence of weather on the harvest. For example, in Italy, when the winter temperature dropped to just -10°C, hazelnut yields fell by 30%; in Turkey, when this happened, almost by half!

It is possible to fight weather conditions, but it is very difficult. It will be necessary to press the hazel branches to the ground and sprinkle them with snow, and trim the bush to form new branches so that the old ones do not break in this way. In addition, it is correct to work with covering material, perhaps even wrap the plant for the winter.

Improper care of hazel

You can also blame the plant on insufficiently skilled agricultural technology, but we don’t know how you care for the hazel tree, and therefore we can’t just say this.

It is quite possible that the bush is not pruned, not watered, and not fertilized correctly. Adjust these modes and the situation will improve.

What is needed for abundant hazel fruiting

There are many ways to help increase hazel fruit production by summer cottage, but remember that factors over which you have no influence also play a huge role. These are the same weather conditions, general climate, groundwater, etc.

So, what can be advised in this regard? How to increase the number of fruits on a hazel tree?

Planting a hazel tree

This plant prefers more sunny than shaded places, although it grows normally in partial shade, where sunlight minimum. The requirement for the territory is very serious, so you should not create dense plantings of hazel.

It is also necessary to choose the right place - warm, without drafts and stagnation of cold air in the spring.

Hazel planting time

If you have just decided to plant a hazel tree in your dacha, try to do it in autumn period. If the root system is weak, there may be problems, but in the case when the hazel tree manages to take root well in the winter, in the spring it actively grows, gaining strength.

Selection of adapted seedlings

We often say that adapted planting material - the best option. This applies to trees, shrubs, various ornamental plants. It often happens that even a plant whose homeland is thousands of kilometers from its planting site develops normally in the local climate. Perhaps this is due to adaptation, hardening, hybridization.

Hazel pollination

If you want to see a truly abundant hazel harvest, you need to constantly monitor the catkins on the bush. They may be of poor quality due to improper agricultural practices, or even dead due to freezing. Then you will need to take pollen from healthy plants and pollinate the hazel tree on your site yourself. This can be done in a variety of ways - scatter pollen towards the plant, hang small containers with pollen on neighboring trees, paying attention to the direction of the wind, or on the hazel tree itself.

It is also advisable to plant several bushes, or better yet, 3-5 plants of different varieties, then you will receive a good harvest of nuts every year.

Hazel tree care

Hazel (hazel or hazelnut) requires high-quality care. Here we have watering, fertilizing, and timely pruning, which helps to free the crown from thickening and abundant growth of new branches.

How to grow hazel correctly (video)

Experts also say that best harvest They are produced by plants that are 15-20 years old, and the fruits are set on two-year-old branches.

If the hazel tree does not bear fruit, you need to take many special measures to help stimulate the plant to provide you with tasty fruits. But this must be done correctly, studying the problems and consistently eliminating them.

Reviews and comments

(4 ratings, average: 3,12 out of 5)

Ekaterina 08/11/2014

Hello, my squirrels are carrying nuts and are very strong and chase me away when I approach the tree, they start squeaking, in short, they operate in the dacha as if it were their own. I want to plant a few bushes away from the squirrels for me and not for them, then there won’t be a scandal.. The squirrels started carrying nuts in July so that I would have fewer nuts, I think.. it’s fun to watch them when they gnaw nuts..!

Tatiana 09/20/2014

The interesting thing is that hazel will produce a good harvest in the colony. To be honest, I thought that one bush needed more space. It turns out that - no! But I would like to learn more about how to properly “nourish” hazel – timing, dosage, components. But in fact - only common phrases…

Thank you. Very useful article. at least for me :)

It is best to grow hazelnuts at home on highly fertile soils well supplied with moisture.

Still, hazelnuts are not too demanding on soil quality and can grow in sandy loam and carbonate soils. You should not plant hazelnut bushes in soil depressions where moisture accumulates, in swampy areas, in places with high groundwater. It is also not recommended to plant hazelnut orchards on the southern slopes of hills, as early warming sun rays will stimulate the premature release of flowers, which will subsequently be subject to hypothermia from returning frosts and, due to such damage, fruits will not be able to form.

The solution to the question of how to grow hazelnuts should begin with selecting the time of planting and preparing the soil. It is rational to plant a hazelnut garden in the fall, since due to the short dormant period spring planting This plant often does not take root in a new place. For autumn plantings, the soil should be prepared in the spring. Quite deep plowing is carried out - the earth is loosened to a depth of 30-40 centimeters, which helps the root systems to settle freely for permanent residence and helps provide them with an increased flow of air and water, which is very significant in initial stages growth.

After plowing, the land remains free and fallow all summer. This promotes water accumulation. Digging holes for seedlings is carried out approximately a month and a half before planting. Their depth and side faces should be 50-70 cm. If it was decided to plant hazelnuts in the spring, plowing should be carried out in the fall, and holes should be dug then.

It is more convenient to plant hazelnuts with two people. One person fills the soil, and the second holds the seedling and distributes it in the hole root system, preventing its compaction. Do not bury the young bush too deeply. The root collar of developed plants should be left at surface level, and weakened ones should be dug down to 5 cm.

Immediately after planting, hazelnut seedlings are trimmed, leaving only 20-30 centimeters from the ground. Each plant is watered abundantly, using 25-30 liters per bush. To help the hazelnuts take root well, you should mulch the soil around them, that is, cover them with dry vegetation to prevent rapid drying out.

The hazelnut planting scheme should be as follows: the distance between the rows is left within 5-7 meters, and a gap of 4-5 meters is made between the plants in the row. The more fertile the soil, the more space needs to be allocated for a separate bush.

How to grow hazelnuts in the country

To obtain a hazelnut harvest, care must be taken to ensure that the flowers of the plants are pollinated. After all, hazelnut bushes are monoecious (divided into male and female). Therefore, it is necessary to plant a good male plant in the vicinity of fruit-bearing female plants. For these purposes, it is often recommended to take “savages” - hazel, which grows well without special care.

In a blooming state, you can immediately understand where the “men” are and where the “women” are. The first ones form earrings, and the second ones create rounded buds with red stigmas peeking out of them. Hazel is planted one at a time in 10 rows of hazelnuts. An increase in yield and the formation of especially large fruits is facilitated by planting different varieties of hazelnuts in the garden. For this, 3-4 varieties of nuts are used, planted in groups of 3-4 rows.

Hazelnut bushes should be pruned regularly, and this will directly affect the quantity and quality of nuts obtained from them. In the second or third year after planting, when the plants produce abundant growth, it should be seriously thinned out, removing all but 8-10 branches. These ten will become the main trunks of the crown, so you need to choose visually powerful ones that are located at a sufficient distance from each other.

After pruning, the bush will begin to take on the shape of a vase, and gardeners will have to monitor its internal density, which should not be excessive. The density of the hazelnut plant leads to a deterioration in the quality of the nuts - they will be small and the overall yield will also decrease. Reducing bush density is main goal pruning and after the start of fruiting, which happens in the 3-5th year of the plant’s life.

It should be remembered that the main ten trunks of the bush need to be replaced regularly. Over time, they age and stop growing, and begin to produce few nuts. Every five years, old trunks are pruned and young shoots are left in their place. Hazelnut rejuvenation is necessary to increase the effective life of the plant. Without it, the bushes will stop bearing fruit normally after 25 years. And with thoughtful care, one plant will feed people nuts for 150-180 years.

Regular circumcisions are carried out during the winter hibernation period before the release of buds and the beginning of the vegetative period. In this process, you also need to pay attention to the removal of dried and broken branches.

In addition, it is important to trim the root shoots. If you do not devote time and effort to it, the hazelnut bush will scatter its energy into many alternative trunks and will not be able to grow good nuts. Root growth is removed at the very beginning of its formation, until it reaches 5-6 centimeters in height. Moreover, you should cut off not only what has made its way to the surface, but also the sprout hiding in the ground. It is necessary to carefully remove the soil and trim the growth at its very base with pruning shears, being careful not to damage the roots.

Watering, fertilizing and pest control

Hazelnut is a moisture-loving plant and if for a long time The weather is dry, your garden needs to be watered abundantly. About 40 liters of water are poured under each bush. Naturally, this is done gradually so that the moisture is absorbed into the soil and does not spill over the surrounding area. As with planting seedlings, during droughts it is worth spreading dry vegetation around the hazelnut bushes to reduce evaporation from the soil.

Mulching trees should be done carefully, trying to leave a gap between the laid grass and the trunk of the plant, so that high humidity and putrefactive processes did not damage the bark. Even in the absence of drought, it is worth paying attention to watering. Many gardeners recommend watering hazelnuts 3-4 times during the growing season.

If you want to get large hazelnuts, grow them with fertilizers! For these purposes, manure is well suited, which is applied in proportions of 3-4 kg per square meter. From mineral fertilizers You can add 50 grams of superphosphate, 50 grams of ammonium nitrate, 10 grams of potassium sulfate to the manure. The mixture is added to the soil during autumn digging. During the growing season, 10 grams of ammonium nitrate are applied twice: in April and in early June. Hazelnut feeding is carried out after rain or watering.

Hazelnuts are quite resistant to diseases and pests, but they can be attacked by the nut weevil and the nut beetle. Deep digging and removal of wormy nuts will protect against weevils. As a last resort, you can resort to spraying with a solution of 0.4% “thiophenite 20”. The same drug helps in the fight against barbels. The shoots they capture are removed and burned. Powdery mildew is one of the hazelnut diseases. The leaves affected by it are collected and burned, and the bushes are sprayed with a lime-sulfur decoction at a concentration of 2%.

Hazelnuts are easy to grow in the garden! And with just a little effort, you will get a truly excellent nut harvest!

There are more than 17 types of hazel, some of which are called hazelnuts. Its fruits rank second in quantity useful substances(right after walnuts). Grow this nut bush on garden plot It's not difficult at all.

Hazelnuts are a popular product with a rich composition. Growing a crop at home is easy

Characteristics of hazelnuts

Hazelnut is a deciduous shrub, less commonly a tree. Its average height is from 3 to 5 meters. The leaves are large, dark green, oval shape. Brown, egg-shaped nuts usually grow in groups of 6–8 pieces.

Hazelnut varieties differ in the size of the fruit, leaves and place of origin. Some hybrids are used only for decorative purposes in landscape design.

Before planting hazelnuts, you need to choose the most suitable variety. Suitable for amateur cultivation on the site:

1. Roman. A large nut in a thin shell with grooves. Ripens at the end of August. Easily tolerates diseases.
2. Trebizond nut has large oval fruits with a sharp nose.
3. English walnut. Oblong in appearance with a brown shell.

Hazelnuts are monoecious plants, but dioecious, because male (catkins) and female (resembling buds on shoots) flowers grow on the same bush. Thanks to this, hazel is cross-pollinated by wind and insects.

Productivity depends on climate and location of the site. In the Urals, the nut bears fruit poorly, although the bushes do not look sick: this is due to the freezing of male inflorescences under the snow; they do not bloom in the spring. Growing hazel in cold climates will require due to weather conditions additional care, especially at first.

Growing a nut in optimal conditions is not difficult, but you will only be able to enjoy the fruits several years after planting and caring for the plant.

Landing area

To grow a large bush, you need to pay attention to the soil, humidity and light.

The hazelnut plant is not picky about the soil, but the richer it is in natural minerals, the better the harvest will be. Preference is given to chernozem and forest soils; it is better not to use swampy and saline soils. The soil can be loosened periodically.

Hazelnuts love warmth and sun, but do not tolerate drafts and cold. These factors should be taken into account when choosing seat. The walls of the western and southwestern sides of the building are suitable, where the plants will receive more sun and protection from the wind.

If there are no buildings on the site, then hedges are used for protection. It is undesirable for trees with lush crown to ensure good nutrition for the hazel tree. The distance between bushes and other types of large plants should be at least 4 m.

Planting hazelnuts near the river - good decision, because it loves moisture.

Planting methods

There are several options for growing hazelnuts. Choice planting material requires attention, because not only the growth of the tree and its vitality, but also fruiting depends on it. How to choose the right material for different ways landings:

1. Seeds for planting are collected in September and October. They must be ripe and undamaged. Fruits that smell rotten will not germinate.
2. Growing hazelnuts through seedlings and dividing the bush. The main thing when buying a seedling is to distinguish it from wild hazel. They should have purple leaves. It is better not to buy a seedling grown from seeds. Seedlings must have healthy, well-developed roots.
3. The root of the cuttings should be wet.

Planting process

Hazelnuts are best planted in autumn or in early spring. This perennial, therefore the site is selected taking into account the increase in hazel. If you want to add hazelnuts to your garden, 3-4 bushes are enough. For bountiful harvest Need several rows for better cross-pollination. It is not necessary to grow plants of the same variety.

How to plant hazelnuts from seedlings:

1. Loosen and fertilize the soil.
2. Dig a hole measuring 40x40x40 cm.
3. Remove all dead parts of the roots. Heavy pruning can harm a young plant.
4. Dip the root system in the clay-manure mixture.
5. Bury it 3–5 cm into the ground.
6. Cover the roots with loose soil and water.
7. After a week, water the planting hole again.
8. Mulch the hole.

How to grow hazelnuts from seeds: the process is similar to planting seedlings, but the seeds need to be stratified for 3-4 months.

For this they take wooden box with wet sand, make small holes in it for air. The nuts are soaked in water for a week and placed in sand, the average temperature of which is about 10 °C. You need to mix the sand with the seeds after 1.5–2 months.

It is more effective to plant seedlings in the ground, not seeds. You can prepare a seedling in room conditions, and then planted in open ground.

Rules of care

Proper hazelnut planting and care are key aspects of tree health. At first, it is necessary to loosen the soil, remove weeds and mulch with hay; it is important not to damage the roots during these processes, so you can dig to a depth of 5–7 cm. When the bush gets stronger and begins to bear fruit, you need to cover the soil under it with sawdust, changing them periodically.

The hazelnut plant loves water. The height of the bush depends on the amount of moisture in the soil; it is optimal to carry out 1–2 waterings per month; it is advisable to use drip irrigation and reduce or increase the number of waterings depending on precipitation.

Hazel needs to be actively fertilized during the fruiting period and during fruit set. The best fertilizers and top dressing are manure and compost.

Manure - best fertilizer for hazelnuts

Using hazelnut pruning, you need to form a bush. The plant is shortened to 30 cm above the ground. During the growing season, it sends out shoots and, if there are too many shoots, some are cut off to make room for new shoots. When the cycle is over and the fruits have been collected, you can shorten the trunk again. In the 3rd–4th year, when the hazel is formed, the dry branches are removed for thinning.

Rejuvenating pruning of the bush is carried out in the fall, cutting off the plant at the root. The trunk sticking out of the ground is covered with a 6 cm layer of earth. By the beginning of the agricultural year, many new shoots grow from it.

Care for the hazel tree carefully, and if pests or diseases appear, you should:

• remove and burn the affected leaves (the causative agent of powdery mildew overwinters on fallen leaves);
• spray the plant with lime-sulfur decoction every 10 days.

The hazelnut beetle lives inside the shoots, causing them to dry out. They should be cut and destroyed to prevent the pest from spreading.

If no diseases or pests are found, do not remove leaves from under the bush. In the cold season, they will save the hazel tree from freezing roots.

Harvesting

How many years it takes for hazelnuts to begin to bear fruit depends on the growing conditions and variety. If you have planted a seedling and care for it properly, then best case scenario Hazelnuts will begin to bear fruit in 4–5 years. All this time, the bushes are growing and gaining strength.

Each variety has its own ripening time; usually the fruits can be harvested in August or September. The wrapper of a ripe nut becomes brown and the fruit is easy to pull out. All weeds under the bush should be removed before the crop is fully ripened, because I shake the bush and collect the nuts from the ground. Everything that has not fallen off is collected by hand.

After this, the fruits are laid out thin layer in the sun or in a ventilated area. This allows the wrapper to dry and easily separate from the nut. Ready nuts can be stored for several years in bags or boxes. The product must be stirred periodically.