hazelnut trees?

[organicartist]

My plot could really do with a windbreak. As hazelnuts seem to thrive in my area and abound in every hedge, they seem a good choice. Is it worth trying to propagate woody cuttings from one of the more productive wild trees, or would I be better off buying trees commercially? OK, it would be cheaper to propagate, but I'm guessing it would take a long time for the cuttings to establish & yields are less than certain. Any thoughts?

[organicartist]

[Palustris]

Hazel (now the experts will all jump in and say, Oh yes I have done it) is generally not propagated from cuttings. The reason it is used as plant supports and fencing etc. is because it does not normally root, unlike say Willow. So you either plant the hazel nuts and wait OR if you look on the back pages of various gardening magazines under Hedging you will find dozens of companies offering bare root Hazel of sizes from 1 foot to 5 feet at fairly reasonable costs. In the correct season Bridgemere Garden Centre has bundle of them for sale, so I presume that other places will too.

[kelso]

They are surprisingly quick and easy to grow from seed judging from the ones that self seed in the garden. ;)

[Bluejane]

If you've got any self-seeded ones lurking about, you could try digging them up and transplanting where you want them to grow. I moved some tiny plants (about 4-9 inches) the year before last (in autumn if memory serves - getting a bit senile these days) and have now got bushes about 3 foot high. Also worked with ash and hawthorn, but blackthorn less successful for some reason.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hazel's a fast grower soit's perfectly feasible from seed. It needs frequent cutting though if you're using it in a hedge.

[jennym]

If you want to get lots of nuts, grow two varieties - I grow Kentish Cob and Cosford and get lots.

[organicartist]

thanks for the great advice everyone! I think I'll probably buy a few young trees from a nursery to start me off & also go seed collecting in a month or 2 when the nuts start falling. If the trees grown from local seed don't produce good nuts, I know a piece of woodland where they'll be very happy.

[Palustris]

We get lots of catkins and lots of immature nutlets, but rarely get any ripe ones. Reason....................not squirrels as you might expect. but mice!
Also check the nuts themselves, lots of the hedgerow ones here have tiny holes bored in them, and contain a grub, one of the nut-boring insects.

[redimp]

I get a couple of handfulls from my two native hazels each year.  They are not ideally sited and I have to coppice regularly but the nuts taste unquantifiabley better than the supermarket equivalent.

[Amazin]

I recommend Buckingham Nurseries for hedging - they even have a calculator for how many plants you'll need for the length/ width of the area.
I bought a LOT of hedging (hawthorn, blackthorn, etc) as 4ft transplants a couple of years ago and they've been superb.

www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk