Hazel Nuts - (Select posts from a QDMA forum thread)

[yoderjac]

I have a bunch in the fridge to try. I heard that you need to use some sandpaper and lightly sand the edge of the nut to help with germination.
Matt

I may have already blown mine. I read one source that says these nuts need a warm cycle of 30 days followed by cold stratification and that scarification as you mentioned helps. There is not a lot of information I could find on growing them from nuts. I did not do the 30 days of warmth. However, I don't know how they were collected and stored prior to receipt so I may be OK.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Search University of Nebraska for hazelnut info....I think that's where I found majority of planting insight for hazelnut.

Strm,
I found nothing on propagation by nut with UN or UNL. UNL had lots of stuff on commercialization. If you have specific links, that would be great.
All,
I did find some relevant titles in an archive of Nutshell newsletter listings:
Hazelnut Stratification - Instant Stratification Sprouting Hazelnuts in Just Ten Days - Potts, T.
Hazelnut Stratification - Seed Collection, Stratification and Germination of Hazelnut - Brinkman, K.A.
Nutshell is the Northern Nutgrowers newsletter. The web site say that members have access to old articles in their publications. Is anyone a member?
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

What I can find says keep in damp sphagnum at 35 to 40f until mid spring. Over drying will put them into deep dormancy. Some people do repeated soaks in fresh water to remove some water soluble germination inhibitors which seems to help. Soak overnight in fridge, remove water in am and all day, repeat at night for 5 days or so. I think the soak is prior to stratification

The article you sent me is focused on growing them outdoors. It describes using cold to both stratify the nuts and to prevent germination until spring. I'm trying to figure out the other side. How little stratification is necessary to produce good germination rates. I want to start mine indoors under lights.
One source I found online suggest they need 30 days of warmth followed by 90-120 days cold stratification. I have not found any other sources that talk about warmth for 30 days before cold stratification. I was also hoping some folks with hands-on information could talk about germination rates after 90 days of stratification.
Mine have been in cold stratification (without intentional warmth for 30 days first) since mid-October. Mid-January will be about 90 days.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

I've grown them from nuts, drought ended up smoking them tho and germination was not all that great.
Bob Henrickson from the NE State Arboretum gave me some tips on how to grow them properly....wished I would remember exactly what that was. :D
Something along the lines of not letting then dry out and planting immediately in the ground from picking comes to mind...

 

[yoderjac]

My hazelnuts have been in cold stratification for 100 days now. Yesterday, I took them out and soaked them in water for several hours. None had root radicles and there were no signs of mold. I put them back in the ziplock bags with the damp long-fiber sphagnum and put the bags under lights in one of my grow boxes.
I plan to keep them there for about 5 days and then check them. I'll plant any the produce a root radicle and put the rest back in the fridge for more cold stratification.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Well, it has been 5 days and I checked the hazelnuts today. Only one had a root radicle starting. I planted it in an 18 and put the rest back in the fridge to cold stratify longer.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

My hazel nuts have been in the fridge for another week now, so yesterday I decided to take them out and warm them again for another 5 days to see if any more produce root radicles. When I removed them, I gave them a quick hydration bath in water before putting them back in the ziplock bags with the media and placing them in a grow box. No more of the nuts had started a root radicle while in the fridge.
So far I only have the one. Well, today, I watered it and saw the beginnings of top growth. Looks like a little red stem loop is starting. At least I think that is what it is. It could be simply the root radicle that is lifting out of the soil. I'll probably know tomorrow. I'll try to remember to take a picture.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Here is the pic of my first Hazelnut:

Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

My hazel nuts have been out of the fridge for a couple days now. I decided to check them today. I found one with a root radicle so I plant it. Seems like germination is slow, but once they start they seem to grow similar to the other trees I've tried; at least so far.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Just thought I'd provide a quick update. I've been moving my hazelnuts from fridge to warmth back and forth for about a week of each. The last time before I but them back in the fridge, I checked them and found 6 more that were beginning to open but had not radicle sticking out. I thought I could see a radicle forming inside, so I planted them.
I put the rest back in the fridge for a week and pulled them back out today. none of the ones from the fridge showed any forward movement but I decided to leave them out for another week in the warmth still in the bags. They don't seem to be very susceptible to mold. When I checked the nuts planted last week I found two more with top growth starting giving me a total of 4 with top growth.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,
Do it appear to you that hazelnut are slower than chestnut to pop a radicle?
Do they think they are about the same to germinate once a radicle appears?
I have hazelnut but mine are bare root from West Virginia.

I believe they are harder to germinate. I think the cold stratification requirement is 90 to 120 days. Some of the reading I did said they needed a warming period before cold stratification. I have also read that scarification can help but I didn't try that. I had not read about the warming requirement prior to cold stratification until I had already put them in. However, they may have received enough warming between the time they were picked and when I received them.
They are clearly slower to germinate than chestnuts. I don't yet have a handle on germination rates.
After mine had been in cold stratification for 100 days, I took them out for 5 days and had one root radicle appear (you can read back up the thread for details). Since then, I've been basically alternating between warm and cold one week each and checking nuts at the end of each cycle. I can't recall my total nut count but I'd estimate it at about 50. So far, I've planted 7 or 8 (have to check which) and only have 4 with top growth.
It will be a while before I have a handle on germination rate. I'll keep reporting back here.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,
Mine are sprouting in the refrigerator. Haven't had a need to alternate them between warm and cold.
Matt

Matt,
How long have they been in the fridge?
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Just another update. I checked them today. I have 7 that have pushed up top growth now. Some are very tiny and hard to see in the picture:

Next I checked the seeds that have been warming up since Sunday. I found 4 more that had produced root radicles so I planted them as well. Perhaps things are looking up with the filberts.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

About 90 days

Interesting, after 100 days of cold stratification I had no root radicles. With the first 5 day warm up I got only 1. Things seem to be moving now.

 

[yoderjac]

I checked my nuts today and found one more with a root radicle and planted it. If I counted right, I have 32 nuts in ziplock, 6 nuts planted that have no top growth and 7 nuts with some top growth.
So, that is 15% with top growth and 28% that have at least produced a radicle.
It looks like a few more are close, but I'm headed to the farm for a couple days tomorrow so I'll find out where things stand on Saturday when I return.
So far, things are going better than I expected given what others have reported.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

I'm now up to 10 Hazelnuts with top growth out of 23 that have been planted. The rest are still waiting to germinate.

 

[yoderjac]

Guys just a word of caution. I have never had a critter mess with my 18s but I left a flat of hazelnuts that I had just planted unprotected and birds obliterated them! They found every nut under the soil and most were eaten or just pulled up. I also had a partial flat with a mix of American chestnut and hazel. All the hazels are gone. They didn't touch the chestnus.
Matt

Interesting. Mine are still indoors under lights. I'll be sure to remove the nuts before taking them outside.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Well, my hazelnuts are moving a long at a very uneven snails pace. I just had 2 more produce a root radicle today so I plant them. So far, it looks like I have about a dozen with top growth.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[yoderjac]

END OF TRANSFER OF SELECT POSTS FROM QDMA FORUM

 

[yoderjac]

The latest picture of my hazelnuts (and DCOs):

Thanks,

Jack