HAZELNUT INSTRUCTIONS

Thank you for buying trees from us.  We want you to have a success, so here are some tips that might help.

HANDLING YOUR TREES:

Your trees are either bare rooted or recently potted.  In either case the root system must be kept moist and supply the water requirement for the plant tissue.  Sometimes the top needs to be trimmed back to balance the water suppling capability of a reduced root system.  The root system can further be damaged by exposure to freezing, sunlight, wind, or drying air.  Even brief exposure can kill roots. 

PLANTING:

Keep the plant roots moist while digging a hole as deep and wide as the fully extended (no trimming or bending back) root system.  We use the excavated soil to build a dike to for watering.   Use fine soil to plant your tree.  It is better to buy some potting soil if you have nothing suitable.  Potting soil is cheap compared to an expensive dead tree. Press the soil around the roots to avoid air pockets.  Water slowly to allow the water to soak in, not run away.

PROTECTION:

The number one risk for the first year is insufficient water.  The new plants should be watered any week without an inch of rain.  Sod or weeds around the plant can steal the water and nutrients.  Competing grass and weeds are almost toxic.  Cultivate, spray, or mulch can solve this problem.  Mulch has the additional advantage of retaining water. 

We have a deer problem, so we also use stakes and tree tubes.  Check the trees every few days for leaf damage.  Some insect attacks are very sudden and extensive.  Most newly planted trees do not have the reserves to recover from full defoliation.

GROWING:

Hazelnut trees require very little pruning.  Hazelnuts send up root sprouts around the main stem.  These suckers can be cut off or killed a couple of times a year to achieve the tree form preferred by commercial growers.  The suckers can be left to grow and form a bush or multi-stemmed plant.  Commercial growers also prefer a “wineglass” shape with an open center and 3 to 5 limbs branching upward from the trunk around chest height.  We have had to prop up leaning trees with heavy nut crops, so we heavily prune the lower side to keep the mass of the tree balanced above the stem. 

Keep in touch.                                                                                                                                   www.thescalepit.com

John Kelsey                                                                                                                                        jfknutz@gMail.com