Common hazel

Are you still thinking what kind of hazel to plant on your backyard, and can not decide? We advise you to opt for such a subspecies of walnut shrubs as common hazel. Planting and care in accordance with the rules - these are the basic conditions for having tasty nuts in your garden. And to master these actions will be easy even for novice amateur gardeners.

Varieties of hazel: which one to choose?

Currently, there are about 100 varieties of hazel. However, for planting on home plots, experienced gardeners recommend choosing standard hazel nuts. These are evergreen low-growing shrubs, which will not only add to the garden decoration, but will also be convenient at harvest.

Here are the main varieties for the cultivation of hazel in the garden and a brief description:

• Almond-shaped hazelnut got its name due to its similarity with almond nuts. Hazel bushes of this variety are moderate in height and have a regular and abundant harvest, which can be harvested as early as mid-August.
• Roman hazelnut is very resistant to various diseases and differs from its fellows by its high oily nucleus.
• Cosford is a sort of English hazel with a compact crown. It has an early flowering period - the beginning of August. And the first fruits appear by mid-September.
• Early Trapezun hazelnuts have medium growth bushes. However, in order to collect a normal crop, which ripens by the end of July, it will be necessary to plant several plants of this species at once.

For planting common hazel in the Urals and in the southern part of Siberia, it is recommended to choose more winter-resistant varieties that, with proper care, will be very prolific. These varieties of hazel include:

• Tambov late;
• firstborn;
• Ivanteevsky red;
• Yablokov's memory.

Cross-pollination of Hazel flowers requires the simultaneous planting of several varieties of shrubs. This will provide gardeners with a higher and more regular harvest.

Common Hazel: planting and care

In the people common hazel is called the eternal shrub, because this hazel can grow in the same place for hundreds of years and at the same time produce fruit regularly. The worst enemy of garden hazelnuts is drought. Therefore, in hot periods with a long absence of precipitation, it is necessary to provide the plant with proper irrigation, preferably in the evening.

Landing: the main stages

Before you start planting hazel, you must choose the right location. Give preference to a fairly lighted plot of land that will not be exposed to floods in spring. Common hazel grows well in almost any soil, except for too dry, sandy and marshy. Time for planting should be given in early autumn or spring after the main mass of snow has come down.

The whole process should consist of several main stages:

1. For a month and a half, it is worthwhile to worry about the preparation of the landing pit. To do this, it will be enough to dig a hole the size of 50 × 60 cm, fill with humus and slightly feed the soil with mineral fertilizers.
2. Before direct planting, a sapling of hazel should be cut to 20-25 cm, and the root system should be dipped in a specially prepared solution of clay and manure.

1. Hazelnut cuttings are placed in a hole, sprinkled with earth and compacted.
2. After this, a hole is made around the seedling and watered abundantly with water.
3. For better growth, experienced gardeners recommend covering young cuttings with sawdust or faded foliage.

Do not forget that hazel is planted for many years. Therefore, the distance between relatives and other trees should be from 4 to 6 meters.

Pruning and shrub formation

The main care of the gardener when planting hazel is to regularly trim the excess shoots inside the shrub. This provides the plant with proper lighting and ventilation. Pruning for young plants is necessary every fall for 4 years - this is the period that will be needed before the first nuts appear. The main branches are slightly deflected to the side and fixed with wire to aluminum rods thrust into the soil beforehand.

Proper pruning young bushes hazel greatly facilitates the care of an adult plant. In the future, only preventive measures will be needed to remove dry and damaged branches and pneumatic shoots.

Fertilizer and watering

In particularly rainy periods, watering for the bush is not required. In the dry season, especially in the summer months (June and July), hazelnuts are watered at the rate of 15 liters of water per bush.

Common Hazel loves dressing, which should be aimed at improving yields:

• organic fertilizers are applied to the root system of the shrub every 2-3 years;
• nitrogen fertilizers are given every spring or early summer;
• phosphate, potash or complex fertilizers is enough to enter 2 times per season.

For the most lazy gardeners, fertilizing once a season with organic fertilizers is allowed.

Features of growing plants in the Urals and Siberia

Although it is considered that hazel likes the warm climate of central Russia, but this shrub can grow and bear fruit even in the northern regions of the country. To do this, hazelnuts must be provided with proper care before the onset of winter cold.

Experienced gardeners recommend late autumn to bend the branches of the bush to the ground and cover them with cargo. In winter, the bush is completely swept away with snow, which will not allow the inflorescences to frost up and spoil. In the spring, the load is removed, and the plant assumes its natural position. In order that the hazel does not grow with age, and its branches can also be bent easily, it will be necessary to prune the shrub to form young shoots.

If the climatic conditions allow and there is an overwhelming desire to have a beautiful hazel nut on your plot, then be sure to plant hazelnuts. This plant can be used not only to get tasty nuts, but also as decorations, for example, to create a hedge. Special efforts or skills in planting and caring for common hazel will not be needed. Suffice it to choose the appropriate variety and correctly place the shrubs.