Hazel trees should be watered every year during periods of low rainfall. Irrigation is very important in establishing the plantation to promote proper root development. Sufficient water should be used to moisten the entire rooting area. Adequate water is essential during the nut filling period, from mid-July to mid-August.
The type of soil series is an important factor to consider when deciding where to plant a hazelnut orchard. Trees that grow in deep, medium-textured lowlands are larger and more productive than trees that grow in shallow, sandy or high-clay soils. Hazel trees do not tolerate damp soils during the active growing season. However, their roots are shallower than those of most fruit trees.
Because waterlogged soils dry from top to bottom, the root zone of hazelnuts dries out faster than that of trees with deeper roots. It is also best not to allow the soil around the hazelnut bush to dry out completely. During the dry season, you should water weekly. Allow as much water as you can to penetrate the soil.
Newly planted hazel trees require regular watering for the first two years. Once established, the water is reduced to once or twice a month. Mulching the tree with 3 to 4 inches of bark mulch helps maintain soil moisture and reduces weed germination. In general, as long as the tree looks healthy and produces nuts, fertilization is not necessary.
However, if nut production starts to decline, many gardeners fertilize in early spring with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer. The hazelnut (Corylus), or filbert, is a traditional native nut that colonists and farmers cultivate both for nuts and for hedges. If you're growing more than one hazel tree of the right variety for cross-pollination and you're pruning it correctly, I wonder how old it will be. Unlike many other trees that bear fruit and nuts, hazel trees don't cross-pollinate with all hazel trees.
Planted as a single tree or as a hedge, the hazelnut will grow into a shrub-like tree that is 10 to 15 feet tall and equally wide. Eastern hazelnut blight is a serious fungal disease that affects almost all varieties of hazelnuts, except the California hazelnut and hybrids such as Clark, Jefferson, Lewis and Yamhill. Hazelnuts often fall off the tree on their own, and it may be easier to put them all together in a pile. While native hazelnuts can be pruned into a tree shape, gardeners usually keep them as a large shrub and prune them after the leaves fall and the trees go dormant in the fall.
Decide what type of hazelnut you want to grow and then they'll tell you which one will be able to pollinate it. Consider using higher amounts of NPK in your fertilizer when the leaves of the hazelnut bush are yellow or if your growth is slow. Your hazel tree can live for about 40 years and produces nuts throughout its life. Hazel trees can withstand a fairly high water table in March if the water table falls in April and if ground water below 4 feet (1.2 meters) drains freely.
You can prune branches and branches with canker to prevent this disease from killing your hazel trees. While most of the roots of a hazel tree are found in the first 2 feet (0.6 meters) of the ground, adequate soils allow trees to develop active root systems at depths of 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters). Hazelnuts are naturally fertile, so they prefer well-drained soil that doesn't have a lot of nutrients.
