Hi!
I planted a hazelnut tree a few years back. it was on the edge of a berm so drainage was good and there was a lot of peat and sand in the soil. It never did much and one year it disappeared (never budded out).

Since then I have been told that in order to get the nuts you will have to net the tree as squirrels will out compete you for the prizes!

Good luck!

My brother in law has a large piece of property on the old homestead. I dug up a hazelnut tree and brought it home and planted it. No nuts the first year, but have had nuts every year since. It is about 3 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide Really quite a nice shrub. The squirrels do like the nuts so you have to be quick. I'm really not sure just how tall they grow. We've had ours about 5 years. We only have the one. It is planted beside a beautiful tamarack tree I also dug up.

Some Years ago, I also have experimented in some hazels, no luck!

Yes, our Native ones, maybe the last resort.....but toooo small for me to bother with.
Konrad

After some thought, I decided to go with a columnar aspen instead. Not that the two plants have anything in common, just that I decided to go with something more upright and narrow for the spot. Thanks for everyone's help though.

I planted a native hazelnut about 4 yrs ago and got 5 nuts this year. Can't wait to see what it does next year. I looked for hazelnuts in the woods this fall and never found any, so maybe they don't produce every year.

i have had a hazelnut for 15 years and it never produced nuts,,last year i planted 5 different miniture fruit trees. this year my hazelnut is full..any ideas why?

I planted a hazelnut tree I dug out in the woods about 5 yrs. ago. It was loaded this year and I haven't seen any chipmonks or squirrels around so I guess i was lucky. I picked them all and now i have to peel and shell.

Many moons ago I planted one but in the wrong place-as it became larger I tried to dig it up to transplant-they don't like that-it has a large tap root and if disturbed or broken it dies. Then to the Arbor Day Project-a multiple disaster which never saw a pen to my survey report of how each had progressed. One Rep.said they wait till the 2nd freeze to send when dormant. Another when I question their look said they weren't dormant -to plant right away in ground-this was after thanksgiving in the NE. No survivors.

I'm not as far north (Iowa City IA, zone 5) but have a few hazelnut observations.

Winkler - there is one solitary tree nearby, gets loaded up with nuts. These are bigger nuts, approaching normal commercial size. Fairly tasty (only tried a few). I am going to switch to the Winkler for better nut size. Anybody know of a source of trees?

Minnesota hybrids - grow like clump of bushes with lots of suckers, lots of nuts at least with multiple plants, but to me the nuts are only medium good, and quite small. Best way to harvest: clip whole branches off about the time the squirrels start, and hang up in garage or someplace the squirrels can't get them. After they dry in a few weeks they are as good as if you'd grown on tree. Best way to eat: take the husks off, then plop a dozen into an old air popper. When smell is good they are roasted.

Interesting that this posting is still around after six years. I bought a hazelnut(corylus avellana 'royal red') and will be experimenting with it in the front yard. Though most web sites say it's only hardy to zone 4, hopefully it has a chance in a sheltered city yard in zone 3.

I took a plant propagation class in January of 2012 in which I was able to graph a few apple trees and a single hazelnut. All have survived to date and this week the first of the catkins formed on the hazelnut. I am wondering if I am going to need to invest in a second plant for this one to produce in the next few years, this plant seems to have a secondary trunk that has formed (at ground level, far below the graft) and both seem to be budding and leafing as expected. It is the newer truck that is forming the catkins. I am hoping to layer a branch this fall and get it rooting but I am not sure it this is the best course.

Raygrogan, if you are still interested in the Winkler, it is offered by Edible Landscaping in VA. I have planted several bush hazels over the last 2 years, and about half to 2/3 have not made it. I'm still waiting for my first nut! The survivors don't appear to be grafted, so it might be a couple more years for me. Best of luck to you!