Growing Hazelnuts - Information on How to Grow Hazelnuts

A good annual rainfall is also required, at least 750mm is needed, with most of this falling during the growing season. Hazelnuts need a good, steady supply of water to promote deep root growth and healthy development. If water is withheld, even for a short period, the plant will show immediate signs of stress.

Hazelnuts will tolerate a wide range of soils but prefer a fertile, well-drained, slightly acid, deep loam.

Hazelnuts grow well in areas that experience cold winters without severe frost. In areas with a late spring frost, the emerging nuts will be badly affected.

A Hazelnut Grove

Growing Hazelnuts and Fertilization

Hazelnuts bear separate male and female flowers on the same tree and they are wind pollinated. However, they are unable to self-pollinate because male and female flowering times do not overlap. Therefore 2 or more trees should be planted close together to ensure that you get as many hazelnuts as possible during the cropping season.

Growing Hazelnuts - Planting and Care

Plant the young hazelnut saplings in early winter to allow for new roots to form before buds start to grow. Space them out 6x6 meters. However, if you have a small area you can get away with planting them 6 x 3 meters.

Hazelnuts can be grown either as a tree with a single trunk or as a multi-stemmed bush where suckers are allowed to grow freely.

If you want to grow the plant as a tree you will need to prune the suckers several time during its growth in order to train it into a single trunk. 

During the winter you will need to continue to cut the suckers off close to the ground. Cut trees back to about half a meter and trim off the side shoots, leaving 3-5 permanent limbs well-spaced down and around the trunk. 

Large pruning cuts should be avoided as trees are susceptible to wood rot. Threat large cuts with a natural fungicide and a tree wound dressing.

The nuts are borne on one-year old wood and therefore you should avoid heavy pruning.

Trees respond to an annual application of liquid fertilizer that should be applied in late winter.

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