Easy to care for and robust, the hazelnut bush is a popular garden plant that can also produce rich nut harvests. In order for the hazelnut to thrive right from the start and not soon overgrow everything else, it must be given the right care. And there are a few points to consider.
Table of Contents
Find the right location
The hazelnut bush needs a good balance between light and shade. A partially shaded location is ideal, for example on a corner of a house, a wall or a wall.
However, it must be ensured that the hazelnut can take on surprisingly large dimensions. Within a few years it can reach a height of three to four meters, the same applies to the circumference. A maximum size of seven meters in height and width is not uncommon.
The hazelnut bush needs a correspondingly large amount of space in all directions. Therefore, it is unfavorable to plant it too close to other crops or too close to property lines.
In addition to a moderately shady location, the hazelnut bush benefits from a sheltered place. Here, too, house corners, walls and dense vegetation all around prove to be ideal.
Substrate
Basically, the hazelnut bush can thrive in any soil, but it prefers loose substrates. These should be permeable to water and rich in humus.
Fresh, loose garden soil is sufficient, adding compost does not do any harm either.
If the soil in the garden is prone to compaction, some sand should be mixed in with it. Coconut fiber is equally suitable.
plant
When planted, the hazelnut bush is easy to care for and undemanding.
It is best to start in autumn, before the first frost, but it can also be done in spring. After digging the planting hole, it should be provided with a layer of compost. After the seedling has set in, watering must be carried out. However, no further steps need to be taken.
Tip: If you want to give the young hazelnut bush a particularly good start, treat it to a nutrient-rich bath right before planting. To do this, the root ball is immersed in a solution of liquid fertilizer and water or a compost slurry for about half an hour. The roots are loaded with nutrients and sprout faster. The growth is accelerated and favored.
maintenance
As with planting, the hazelnut also proves to be an undemanding plant when it comes to caring for it. In fact, it only takes a few measures to thrive healthily and produce a rich yield. However, these must be adjusted and done at the right time.
pour
Normally, the hazelnut bush does not need regular watering once it has grown and in the right location. In a deep substrate, the hazelnut can take care of itself without any problems, rainfall is sufficient.
However, additional watering is necessary in sunny places, when there is no rain or in dry midsummer. Then the shrub can be washed once, as long as there is no persistent waterlogging. The water should therefore drain off fairly quickly or it should be able to evaporate. Watering abundantly is therefore beneficial at high temperatures, while smaller amounts are better in cooler weather.
The otherwise robust hazelnut bush does not tolerate cold, wet roots. And lime can also be a problem for the crop. Rainwater or stale tap water is therefore preferable, at least in regions where the tap water is very hard.
Fertilize
If the hazelnut bush has already been given a portion of fertilizer while planting and the planting hole has been layered with compost, the next fertilization can wait a little.
Beginning in the second year of standing, compost can be lifted under the substrate once a year in spring around the shrub. However, a two-year cycle is usually sufficient.
A complete fertilizer in liquid form is recommended as a simpler alternative to compost. However, if you choose this, you have to fertilize once a year. Because while the compost lasts for some time, the liquid fertilizer is used up very quickly.
To cut
As with planting, the ideal time for pruning is in the fall and should be done after the harvest. In doing so, wild shoots that are growing too straight have to be removed.
The same goes for older branches that no longer have nuts. For this it is worthwhile to take a close look at the blossoms or the nuts that are still hanging and to mark empty branches in advance.
In order to facilitate the harvest, to protect the hazelnut from dangerous snow loads and to promote healthy growth, areas that are too dense should continue to be loosened and branches that are growing crosswise should be thinned out.
The result is optimal when a light crown is created.
Multiplication
The hazelnut can be propagated very easily using the nut kernels. It is also possible to propagate the hazelnut bush using cuttings or sinkers.
It is important to note that special cultivated forms – such as the corkscrew hazelnut – can only pass on their striking properties through refinement. However, this requires a certain amount of knowledge and a sure instinct.
Propagation by nuts
For propagation by nuts, hazelnuts that have fallen down are simply stuck into the ground in the garden or placed in potting soil. If germination takes place in potting soil, the container should be moved inside and the substrate should be kept moist. A moderately light and warm location, for example a window sill, is particularly suitable and promotes germination.
Nevertheless, the shoots can be a long time coming or even fail completely if the nuts have been attacked by pests.
Propagation by cuttings
The best time for propagation by cuttings is in autumn. After the hazelnut has been blended, the strongest branches can be used directly as cuttings.
To do this, the branches are cut to a length of ten to twenty centimeters and the lowest leaves are removed. The resulting cuttings are placed three to four centimeters deep in potting soil and poured firmly. Again, a window sill is recommended as a location, i.e. a moderately light and warm place.
The first roots and with them the first new leaves appear within a few weeks. The young plants can be put in the garden in the next spring or autumn. But flowers are not expected until the following year.
Propagation by subsidence
The easiest and safest way to propagate a hazelnut bush is to create saggers. For this, you need low-hanging branches that can be pulled down to the ground.
Pulled down they are bent slightly and pressed into the earth with a protruding protrusion ten to eight centimeters long. Here they are weighed down, for example with a stone, or anchored in the ground, for example with a peg or wire.
The advantage here is that the sinkers continue to be supplied by the adult hazelnut bush, so they neither have to be poured separately nor cultivated in potting soil. Permanently pressed into the earth, roots quickly develop in the now subterranean section.
It is also beneficial that this type of propagation can take place all year round. As soon as roots appear on the sinker and subsequently new leaves, it can be separated from the mother plant and moved. This does not necessarily have to be done in autumn, but can also be done in spring or even in summer.
Fertilization, harvest and storage
In order for the hazelnut to be harvested at all, the flowers must be fertilized. Basically, the species offered in the trade are self-fruiting, but a really rich yield is only achieved if there are at least two other shrubs in the immediate vicinity. A mixture of different varieties is ideal. Often providers provide information about which varieties should be planted together. A good combination is worthwhile here. Because the harvest not only becomes richer in itself, the hazelnuts are also larger and often tastier.
The harvest itself is very easy, because the hazelnuts fall straight from the bush after they have reached the right level of maturity and then only have to be picked up. If you want to make collecting easier, spread a sheet or tarpaulin under the bush for this purpose. So the nuts are neither lost in the lawn, nor do they have to be picked up individually.
After harvesting, the hazelnuts should be kept dry and well ventilated. Suspended cloth bags or open bowls and boxes are an optimal choice. Once the nuts have dried properly, they can also be stored in bags or cans.
Overwinter
The hazelnut bush is robust and hardy. If it stands free in the garden and in a sheltered place, it therefore does not need any further protection against the cold.
The situation is different with young hazelnut plants that are cultivated in pots. Because the roots in containers are more exposed to frost, protection is necessary. For larger vessels with a lot of substrate, it is sufficient to wrap several layers of garden fleece around the tub. This insulates against frost and thus keeps the roots as safe as possible.
In the case of smaller pots, for example after the hazelnut bush has been specifically propagated, this protection is not sufficient. It is better to put them in a bright, cool but frost-free room. A bright basement, a garage, the winter garden or a hallway with windows are ideal.
Typical diseases and pests
The hazelnut bush is extremely insensitive to diseases. Only putrefaction can become a problem. However, this only occurs when the roots are too cold and too wet. Waterlogging must therefore be avoided at all costs. In addition, the pouring amount should also be reduced with decreasing temperature.
On the pest side, there is also only one danger. This is the so-called hazelnut borer.
Hazelnut burs are beetles whose female representatives drill holes in the still immature and soft hazels. They lay one or two eggs per nut through these entrances. The larvae that hatch from it eat the hazelnuts from the inside out, leaving the shell with a small hole and empty. In front of this depository, the adult hazelnut burs feed on leaves and young shoots, so there are signs of feeding here as well.
So that as few hazelnuts as possible are attacked and the yield does not shrink too much, early control is necessary. The beetles are active from around May and should then be tapped or read regularly early in the morning. In the early morning, the beetles are still slow and sluggish due to the lower temperatures, so they cannot escape too quickly.
A sheet or tarpaulin is spread out under the hazelnut bush to remove it. The branches and twigs are then tapped or shaken against the hand so that the hazelnut burs fall off and land on the foil. As a result, they will be destroyed.
Nuts that have already been infected can be recognized by the small drill hole and should also be removed and destroyed. Burning is ideal, but alternatively they can also be soaked in soapy water and then disposed of with household waste. Under no circumstances should they end up on the compost. From here, the larvae would only spread further.
Are parts of the hazelnut poisonous?
Neither the hazelnuts themselves nor parts of the hazelnut bush are poisonous for humans or animals.
But those who use insecticides on them should of course be careful – and not allow children or pets to come into contact with them.
Conclusion
The hazelnut bush is easy to care for in the garden, grows without problems and has few demands. Nontoxic, tasty and covered with beautiful flowers, the hazelnut is a great addition to the garden.
