How to Grow and Care for Hazelnuts Tree

Hazelnuts, also commonly called as Hazel or filbert are edible nuts that are produced by trees or shrubs belonging to the Betulaceae family. Hazelnuts trace their origin centuries ago from Asia Minor and have been cultivated on a large scale ever since. Spain is one of the world’s leading cultivators of hazelnuts. People also tend to get confused over the term ‘Cobnut’ and think of it as something different from Hazelnut. Cobnut, too, is another name for Hazelnut. These nuts are enjoyed globally for their delicious and unique taste and their attractive aroma. Hazelnuts are usually enjoyed naked with a pinch of salt that complements the flavor. Otherwise, it is also used widely as an active ingredient in various baked treats as well as desserts. Roasted hazelnuts are the most popular way of consuming them.

Best Conditions To Plant

Hazelnuts are not very difficult to grow. All that is required is choosing a location and the conditions that would suit your plant the best. A feature of Hazelnut includes its ability to tolerate almost any climatic conditions. However, they thrive best in locations having high amounts of humidity. When dormant, they can tolerate a drop in the temperature down to -13C. Otherwise, it can tolerate temperature down to -7C. Hazelnuts are not very fond of hot and dry climates; hence the location should be chosen accordingly. Hazelnuts can be grown any time during the year but the best time to do so in early spring.

Light and Watering Requirements

When hazelnuts are provided with the light of their preference, they show their optimum growth. Hazelnuts do best when they are provided with full sun. Direct sunlight of at least six hours should be allowed to the trees to make sure that they give out maximum quantity production. The roots of the tree should be thoroughly watered as dry roots can affect the health of the hazelnuts adversely. Hazelnuts should be watered weekly. Special care towards watering them should be taken until the plant matures. Once the plant is well established, watering becomes a job of low maintenance.

Preferred Soil and Recommended Feeding

Good quality hazelnuts are produced when they are planted in good quality soils. Hazelnuts highly prefer the soils to be well-drained. However, the best part of hazelnuts is that they do best even if the soils are rich. This is because the richer the soils, the more leaves grow in place of more flowers or more nuts. Hazelnuts grow best in hardiness zones ranging from 4-9. The pH of the should lie between 6 to 7. Regular fertilization is not necessary if the hazelnuts are grown in good soil. If slower growth of leaves than normal is observed, a little amount of nitrogen should be provided to the plant during spring.

Problems Related To Hazelnuts

There are very less fortunate plants which are hardly affected by any pests or diseases. However, this may not be the case with hazelnuts as these are usually affected by various diseases and also attacked by several pests that hamper its growth and deduct the quality. The various diseases include Armillaria root rot, powdery mildew, eastern filbert blight, bacterial blight, bacterial canker, hazelnut mosaic, and others. The various insects that are likely to attack include filbert worm, acorn moth, nut weevil, caterpillars, and others. Immediate actions should be taken to get rid of all such insects and diseases to prevent any further damages.