growing and care
Including Hazel trees on any land is very useful, especially for the potential nutrition from the nuts, alongside the uses of the hazel rods quickly grown from coppiced trees.
preferred soil conditions?
Will grow in any soils that are not waterlogged. The pH of the soild is not too critical as hazel grows well in slightly acidic and slightly alkaline soils just as well. Hazel can take quite good abuse from frosty and cold icy days.
preferred light, shade and water conditions?
Not too fussy about light content but the more open to light hazel is, the more likely it is to bear nuts. It will not produce nuts in partial light.
In spring it is a good idea to mulch and manure the base of Hazel trees for feeding and protection from both drying out and getting too waterlogged. Hazel does not like a dry soil for long.
budding
After the leaves have fallen in late October and early November, healthy buds are often already established on Hazel trees. The leaves usually open from late March through to mid April.
blossoming
Pretty clusters of the famous long lambs tail male catkins flowers hand from hazel as early as early January and stay on the trees until as late as mid April. The female flowers are small and red during the same flowering period.
These catkins and flowers do not depend on insect pollination but wind pollination. Though male and female flowers are on the same tree the trees are not self pollinating. They have to pollinate with different trees somehow. Commercial growers tend to encure this with brushes.
coppicing?
Hazel can be coppiced quite frequently, depending what hazel wood needs are for. Some folks coppice cut Hazel as frequently as every two years, after the tree is at least 10 years old, and then use the thin branches as growing canes, bean and pea poles, and even weave dreamcatchers and wreaths with them.
More common is to wait 7 to 10 years between coppice cuts if Hazel wood is needed for making frames in furniture making or for good size logs for fuel.
fruit and seeds
Hazel nuts are famous for their outstanding nutrition. Hazel trees start producing nuts from 4 to 6 years old onwards but can take up to 10 years before yielding bumper crops, which they will continue to do for up to 30 years. The nuts are ready to ripen from as early as late August onwards. Get them before the competition from much wildlife does. This is your food for the winter too.
for the healing and nourishment qualities of Hazel, please click here