Corkball, I have nothing for your first two questions, but I do have C. fargesii, which was purchased from Rarefind Nursery in 2015 as a tiny 1-gal. plant. It has been a vigorous grower and is now at least 10’. No nuts yet, but the deer are not interested and foliage stays pristine all season. The highly ornamental bark is a bonus. No winter dieback, but I’m guessing that won’t be an issue for you. The only criticism would be lack of fall color.

No nuts yet

If it requires cross pollination - as orchard filberts do - perhaps you will never see much production.

LOL thanks Maackia - it is going to be tricky making jumps from z4 to z9! I have to say, my turkish hazels were really pretty. And they grew GREAT in MN. Would love to be able to grow SOME sort of hazels in FL. Maybe it is just zone denial :)

There are a couple species originating in sothern China that might work in FL, but where do you find them in the U.S.? I have no idea, but please check-in to let us know how this quest goes.

I left a C. colurna behind as well. It was just starting to take on that nice Tilia-like form. Tough and pretty all in one.

BTW, I’m supposed to tell you that Minnesota misses you. :)

LOL! Thanks maackia! I miss MN too - well the summers anyway. Also the greenery is far more attractive than down here.

I already have pecans and chestnuts. But my favorite are hazels. You might be right. I have seem some descriptions say to zone 9, but mostly 8, and no sources. I have seen some oblique references (like Dave's Garden) to folks having hazels in FL, but no decent descriptions. Oh well, I guess I will see.

It's not the zone so much, as that is really only a reflection of winter cold (although in warmer winter climates that could affect dormancy and vernalization). But it can certainly depend on winter chill hours (which may be insufficient in Fl to encourage fruiting). But I would think that high summer humidity may be a concern as well. And the propensity of most species of fruiting corylus to contract Eastern Filbert blight, which has pretty much wiped out the Oregon hazelnut industry.

Farthest south I'm personally aware of anyone growing any 'improved' hazels is Franklin, TN, just south of Nashville. Cecil Farris' daughter (he was the legendary hazelnut breeder, from MI) had some of his numbered selections growing and fruiting there 20+ years ago, but I'm not sure if she or the hazels are still there. IIRC, G-17 and G-21 or G-22 were some of Farris' best selections...but still... I doubt they'd fare well anywhere in FL.

Hi, I was wondering if you had any success with planting hazelnuts in florida?

Looking for something similar for Nth Florida, found that Jojoba nuts are supposed to have a similar flavor, and are very temperature hardy. I have some seeds from a site called trade winds fruits and we are trying them this year. They are supposed to be large shrubs, size was important for us, we wanted something smaller than a pecan tree!

Might be worth looking into for you?

Seriously?

" Only Bailey's pocket mouse, however, is known to be able to digest the wax found inside the jojoba nut. In large quantities, jojoba seed meal is toxic to many mammals. Later this effect was found to be due to simmondsin, which inhibits hunger. The indigestible wax acts as a laxative in humans. "

If I were in Ocala, I'd try to find out which cultivar of Macadamia nut is considered the hardiest...plant it in a sheltered spot and prepare to protect as necessary.

https://www.havenmagazines.com/haven/profiles/in-a-nutshell-growing-macadamia-in-central-florida/article_4ef92a04-0f9d-11ea-bd15-3f6c946a826f.html

Thanks for the warning on the jojoba, I will look into that further!

I had thought it was odd that no one but the seller had mentioned growing them as a food source and was going to dig deeper, but I quit gardening for a year right after I got those seeds.

Next year when I start up again I had planned to dive in more specifically to the compact nut growing problem.

There have been a lot of plants I had never heard of, and a few of them not widely discussed, which I have had to learn to grow and use safely since moving to FL. often new foods have a learning curve and come with specific risks if not handled and prepared properly.

I research unusual plants pretty heavily before trying to actually eat anything new, but I suppose other people may not do that (scary thought), so thank you for responding with that caveat.