Hazelnut Planting Tips

[Teeder]

I have a good 100 or so hazelnuts that I hope to start in pots in a couple of weeks. They've been in the fridge since fall, so should be stratified. How critical is it that the shells crack open, if at all? So far, I don't see any that have opened.
I was going to start them in the same deep pots that I use for acorns. Any other tips?
Thanks

 

[Hoytvectrix]

They need longer cold stratification than oaks or chestnuts. It varies with variety, but they should take between 45-60 days. Some take much longer than that. I prefer long fiber sphagnum moss for the media and use ziplocs that are cracked open. I would not take them out of cold storage until the nuts are opening up. You typically get a few weeks after that point before they start sending out a radicle, so you have time to stagger them if you want. Taking them out too early before the open up normally fails for me.

I would leave some in cold stratification that do and do not open up. Sometimes you can direct seed those in the field or in pots on your patio once the threat of frost is gone. Those later planted ones can often catch up to the others grown indoors.

 

[Teeder]

Ok. I'll just leave them in the fridge then.

 

[williams111]

Teeder,
I have had trouble getting hazelnuts to germinate on their own in the past. I put them in the vise with the split line of the shell perpendicular to the jaws and put just enough pressure on them to see the shell begin to split. If they don't start to do it on their own, it might be worth a shot.

 

[Angus 1895]

I didn’t have much luck with seeds germinating.

But the bare roots from MDC grew very well.

 

[Teeder]

I have no sign of life yet. I may open a couple and see what's what.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I put my hazelnut seeds in media to cold stratify January 3 and do not have any cracking open yet. They should start anytime now. Some can take 3 months.

 

[Teeder]

Mine went in the fridge in October.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Mine went in the fridge in October.

Did you harvest your seeds yourself - or buy them from a vendor?

 

[Teeder]

Got them on here.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Mine went in the fridge in October.

Do you have them in sphagnum moss or any other media that is moist? Also, any chance they are getting too cold?

I would think that you should have had some starting to crack open by now.

 

[Teeder]

Sawdust and slightly moist.
They were right with my acorns and chestnuts.

 

[Kooch]

You guys caging or protecting your hazelnuts in any way? I’ve got bare root on the way.


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[rocksnstumps]

Cages for hazelnuts. Put 2 or 3 bare roots inside and make the cage diameter big enough so about 18" from sides. Once they get several years of growth they can take some browse but first yr or two are vulnerable.

Have done some tubes but are really too bush like for that and think cages are better.

 

[Angus 1895]

I cage my bare roots. I tubed a few that I sprouted from seed. The tubed ones got tall quickly.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I started off tubing a bunch of hazelnuts because they were cheaper and easier to setup. Eventually, they need to be converted over to cages regardless of the form you want them to have. If you are planting named European cultivars, you can probably get away with a tube for a bit longer.

This is a 2 year old Yamhill seedling I started indoors. I think I planted it into this 5 ft tube in June 2023 and at that point it was about 24-30 inches tall. I put a cage around this one but left the tube on for the next year or so.