Common hazel is a shrub known as hazel, or hazelnut. This fruiting plant is popular with gardeners. And this is not surprising, because culture is unpretentious. In addition, annually gives a rich harvest of tasty and healthy nuts. You will learn about how to care for a plant from this material.
Description
Common hazel is a vivid representative of the Birch family. In the natural environment, the plant is found in the forests of southern Europe, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, central Russia and Cyprus. The plant is a long-lived, and can grow in one place for 70 years.
The shrub reaches 7 meters in height and 4 meters in diameter. Crohn culture spherical or ovoid with a conical tip. The leaves are wide, round with small notches along the edges.
Flowers monoecious and same-sex. Male inflorescences develop since the fall and turn into long cylinder-shaped earrings by spring. Women's buds appear in late March - early April. After flowering, a fruit is formed - a nut up to 2 cm in diameter. It ripens in late summer - early fall.
Breeders have bred many varieties of hazel. The following varieties are popular:
- Firstborn.
- Sugar.
- Academician Yablokov.
- Tambov early.
Each of these varieties will become the pride of the gardener. In addition, their cultivation does not need to spend a lot of time and effort. The main thing is to provide the hazel with comfortable conditions, and he will certainly appreciate the harvest.
Seat selection
For culture, choose a lighted area. But at the same time, make sure that the hazelnuts are protected from drafts and gusts of wind.
The best place for a nut will be a site near the western or southern walls of the building. At the same time, keep a distance of 4-5 meters between buildings and hazel. Keep the same distance from the trees.
Common hazel, the photo of which is presented above, does not tolerate moisture stagnation at the roots. Therefore, in no case do not plant it in a lowland or in wetlands. It is desirable that groundwater run at a depth of 1.5 meters from the surface.
As for the soil, light, breathable and fertile soils with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction are preferred for the culture.
How to choose a seedling
For planting, choose strong shrubs with 3-4 shoots. The diameter of the branches should reach 1-1.5 cm. Pay attention to the roots of the culture. Their length should be about 50 cm.
Keep in mind that for normal pollination at least three shrubs, preferably different varieties, should be planted in one area.
Planting hazel
It is necessary to plant a bush in late autumn 2-3 weeks before steady colds. But a month before landing, be sure to prepare the site. To do this, dig the soil and make holes for the plants. Then the earth will have time to settle and condense.
If the soil is fertile, then holes with a diameter and depth of 50 cm are enough. In the depleted soil, make holes with dimensions of 80 x 80 cm. Keep a distance of 4-5 meters between the bushes. The distance between the rows is 6 meters.
For planting, mix the dug up soil with 15 kg of rotted manure. Add 2 cups of wood ash or 200 g of superphosphate to the soil.
So, how to plant ordinary hazel:
- Trim the roots of the seedlings to a length of 25 cm, and then immerse them in a clay-dung mash.
- Form a hill from the ground in the center of the indentation and place a shrub on it.
- Sprinkle the sapling with soil mixture, while making sure that the root neck is 5 cm above the ground.
- Tamp the soil lightly, drive in a peg and tie a plant to it.
- Water the planting with 3-5 buckets of water.
- After moisture is absorbed, mulch the near-trunk circle of the shrub with a 3-5 cm layer of ripe sawdust, peat or humus.
If you didn’t have time to plant hazel in the fall, then reschedule the event in early spring. But still prepare the pits for the culture before the onset of cold weather. During the winter, the soil is saturated with moisture and well compacted. Spring planting is no different from autumn. Although at first it is advisable to shade seedlings from the bright sun.
Watering
Regular hydration of seedlings is the main rule of care. It is advisable to water the hazel ordinary after planting for the second week. Indeed, due to a lack of moisture, flower buds are poorly formed, which in the future will lead to a decrease in crop productivity.
In spring and summer, it is enough to water the plant once a month. But in dry and hot weather, hydration is worth increasing. For each adult bush for one watering, use 6-8 buckets of water. At the same time, moisten the plant portionwise so that moisture is absorbed, and not accumulated on the surface.
In autumn, common hazel has enough precipitation. But if the season turned out to be arid, then watering the bush 1-2 times is not out of place.
On the next day after wetting or rain, be sure to loosen the soil in the tree circle. Otherwise, a dense crust forms, which blocks the access of air to the roots of the culture.
Soil mulching
This event will save you most of the problems. After all, the mulch will not allow weeds to grow near the bush, and you will not need to constantly weed the seedling. In addition, it will help retain moisture in the soil. For mulch, use peat or rotted straw.
Sow mustard, oats, or lupins near the shrub. Mow the grass when it grows. But do not remove the straw, but leave it under the crop. Then you will kill “two birds with one stone” - dried grass will share useful substances, moreover, it will become a good mulch for the plant.
Top dressing
In spring, common hazel (hazelnuts) needs nitrogen fertilizers. Therefore, as soon as the kidneys swell, add 20-30 g of ammonium nitrate or urea to the near-trunk circle of the bush.
Once every 2-3 years, it is advisable to feed an adult hazel with phosphorus and potassium. To do this, make under each bush:
- manure - 3-4 kg;
- superphosphate - 50 g;
- potassium salt - 20-30 g.
Young seedlings in a year feed organic matter. To do this, under each bush, add 10 kg of rotted manure or compost.
Pruning
It is advisable to start this event in winter. But some gardeners prefer to prune hazel in the spring, at a late stage of flowering. It is believed that pollination of crops improves in this way and crop yields increase further.
During pruning, remove broken, dried or damaged shoots. For normal productivity, the shrub lacks 10 strong branches growing in different directions. Therefore, cut the excess and interwoven shoots so that the middle of the bush does not thicken.
For adult crops aged 18–20 years, it is advisable to conduct anti-aging pruning. Cut 2-3 old trunks annually, but leave as many root offspring growing closer to the center of the plant. In addition, shorten new skeletal branches. This stimulates the growth of side shoots.
Harvesting
Common hazel nuts should be collected in late August - early September. Determine the ripeness of hazelnuts by the state of the wrapper. It should turn yellow or brown, and the fruit itself is easily removed from the leaves.
After harvesting, spread the nuts in a thin layer in a well-ventilated drying room. After 4–5 days, peel the remnants of the wrapper and store in a cool, dry place.
Winter preparations
Adult shrubs are frost-resistant and calmly tolerate the cold period. But young animals under the age of 4-6 years old need to do shelter for the winter. To do this, cover the bushes with lutrasil. In addition, you can bend plants to the ground and throw them with spruce branches, and then with a layer of snow. Then the shoots will not freeze.
Breeding
There are several ways to propagate common hazel. The most popular among gardeners are such methods of breeding hazelnuts:
- Horizontal layering. Begin this event in early spring or late fall. Choose annual shoots, lay them in furrows 10-15 cm deep. Fix twigs, but do not cover them with earth. Remember to shorten the tip. Layering buds will give vertical shoots that need to be earthed to mid-height. After 1-2 years, roots form on the branches, and they can be transplanted to a separate site.
- Green cuttings. For reproduction, use young growth of 1-2 years old. Proceed to cuttings in the early to mid-summer. Cut strong shoots with 2-3 buds and root them in a mixture of peat and sand. When planting, provide abundant watering, while moisturizing not only the soil, but also the leaves of the shoots.
- Root shoots. This method is suitable for shrubs from the age of three years. For breeding, separate a part of the rhizome from the mother plant and place it in the greenhouse. Provide frequent watering and ventilation of the seedlings. When the plant is strong, remove the shelter. Transplant hazel to a permanent place after 1-2 years.
- Division of the bush. Dig an adult hazel and divide it into parts. At the same time, make sure that each seedling has a root 15–20 cm long. Treat the slices with crushed charcoal and plant the plants in pre-prepared pits.
Diseases and Pests
Hazel is endowed with strong immunity, but in some cases gardeners have to deal with such diseases:
- Powdery Mildew The symptom of the disease is the appearance of light plaque on the leaves and shoots of the bush. Subsequently, it becomes denser and browner. Affected areas weaken and die over time.
- Rust. On the upper part of the foliage dark red tubercles form. And on the underside they take the form of oval or round pustules. As the disease develops, the affected areas turn into stripes. Foliage culture turns yellow and falls.
Treat the bush with fungicides at the first sign of illness. Excellent deal with these diseases Bordeaux liquid and copper sulfate. But it is much easier to prevent the occurrence of diseases than to fight them. Therefore, provide hazelnuts with good care and carry out all agricultural activities, and then you will have no problems with the culture.
More often, hazel is infested by insect pests. Often gardeners have to deal with such parasites:
- kidney mite;
- aphid;
- nut weevil;
- hazelnut barbel;
- walnut leaf beetle.
If you find these pests on a hazel, spread a film under the shrub and try to shake off the insects. Then do not forget to burn parasites away from the culture. If the pest invasion could not be stopped, then treat the shrub with insecticides. Actellik, Chlorofos and Karbofos preparations are good against insects.
A novice gardener can also grow hazel in a personal plot, because non-capricious character and love of life are qualities that ordinary hazel is valued for. Planting and caring for the plant will not take you much time and effort. And if you provide the shrub with a minimum of attention, he will certainly thank the harvest of delicious nuts.