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Hazelnut pruning schemes in the fall will help novice gardeners to properly form a productive plant. Everyone independently chooses what form to give to the seedling, bush or standard. Thanks to regular pruning in autumn, the long-lived garden form of the hazelnut will delight you with fruits for several decades.
Why autumn pruning of hazelnuts is needed
Caring for any tree or shrub involves regular pruning. Thin out and bushes of hazelnuts, a garden form of hazel, which is pollinated with the help of the wind. A good result will be if the crown is not thickened, and the leaves do not interfere with the movement of pollen. Pruning hazelnuts in autumn contributes to:
- more efficient plant development;
- early entry into fruiting;
- better yield;
- good ripening of wood and fruits;
- increase the lifespan of the plant;
- improving winter hardiness;
- resistance to fungal diseases and pests.
Pruning, which is carried out in the fall, regulates the timing of the spring growing season of hazelnuts, including the beginning of flowering and the development of branches. The goals that the gardener achieves:
- the formation of a sparse light crown, where sunlight and air flows freely enter;
- stimulating the growth of more short fruitful branches at the tops of all shoots.
Timing of pruning hazel
The optimal time for planting hazelnuts is autumn. Then the first pruning is carried out, proportionally equalizing the ratio of the mass of branches and roots. Usually only 20 cm of shoot is left. Pruning hazelnuts in the fall is very important, starting from 5-6 years of development. The walnut enters the period of fruiting, which, with proper agricultural technology, can last more than 100 years. Hazelnuts are vigorous, especially many root offspring appear. For a decent yield, the crown must be clarified annually, and the shoots removed.
Start pruning after leaf fall. Pruning hazel in the fall for beginners only at first seems to be a difficult process. You need to carefully study the tips and diagrams and begin to form a plant. In spring, pruning is carried out in March, before flowering, and in the south even in February, if there are no severe frosts in the long-term forecast. Dried shoots, treated with this special technique in August, are pruned into a bud in the flowering phase. They try to leave 3-4 buds with female flowers on a branch.
Hazelnut branches are dried by breaking off so that they do not grow in length, but the wood ripens well. The procedure is carried out with the most vigorous branches. They break their 3-5 cm tops with their hands and leave them in this form until spring pruning. On such branches receive the most plentiful harvest.
How to prune hazelnuts in autumn
It is important to carry out the first pruning in the fall when planting or in the spring on an already rooted seedling. If you leave all the branches, in the spring leaves will bloom on them, which weak roots will have to nourish to the detriment of their development. In hot spring, there is also active evaporation from the leaf blades, in which the root system dries up. A plant that has undergone pruning starts growing a week later. At this time, the root system works almost for itself and takes root easily. The main principle of pruning a hazelnut seedling in the fall is that the fewer thin roots, the more shoots you need to cut.
In the first years of growth, young hazelnuts form a fruiting crown of 6-8 strong shoots. Weak trunks are cut in autumn at ground level, as low as possible. The tops of the left shoots are pruned by a third of the growth to stimulate the appearance of overgrown branches with fruitful buds. The next year, short fruitful branches begin to grow on the tops of the skeletal branches, which must be preserved, and removed only due to sanitary cleaning. Pruning well-developed lateral branches to the middle of the length is carried out. Carefully examine the young shoots, noting those shoots where there are female flowers. In the summer they are not pruned, and in the autumn the weakest ones are removed from them after harvesting.
How to cut a hazelnut under a bush
In nature, hazel grows in the form of a bush, so hazels are more common with such a harmonious silhouette. In height, the shoots are almost not cut, pay attention to their thinning. The shape of the bush is created immediately after planting. Pruning the shoot is done low, leaving only 6-7 buds, which is approximately equal to 14-22 cm in height. This procedure stimulates the development of side shoots and the formation of shoots that will become skeletal branches.
In the second or third year of growth, hazelnut rationing begins in the fall, weak shoots and those that grow in the center of the bush are removed. Opening the middle for free access to sunlight and air flow, lay the future successful harvest. Under the warm rays, the wood will ripen better and create more fruit twigs and buds. That is why pruning of hazelnuts in the fall is mandatory, which is also confirmed by the video for beginner gardeners. It is better to leave no more than 9 shoots for fruiting.
All these skeleton-forming branches are also subjected to regular pruning in the fall, so that short, fruitful shoots are created on them. The lateral processes on the skeletal shoots are cut off to 3-4 buds, and the tops of these leading shoots are cut off. 1/3 or ½ with strong growth. The cut is always carried out over a kidney that is growing outwards. The bush is formed in the form of a bowl or “boat”.
At the cup-shaped crown, the central conductor is shortened in autumn, and the highest shoot from the outer bud is bent with improvised means to free the center of the hazelnut bush. For the second type of crown, the side branches are attached to two trellises, leaving the middle open. The first type of crown is applied to a lonely growing hazelnut, and the second – if the bushes are planted in a row.
How to trim a hazelnut tree
This type of pruning of common hazel and hazelnuts is not as popular, but many gardeners practice it for the sake of a spectacular effect. There is an opinion that the hazelnut bole under the same conditions with the bush formation is less productive. At the same time, with proper pruning in industrial cultivation, standard hazel gives a larger yield per 1 sq. m due to the fact that on the same area the planting of walnut trees is more compact.
This type of formation has a number of advantages:
- the trunk is easier to care for;
- fruiting accelerates;
- compact fit for increased collection;
- duration of fruiting and tree life.
When forming hazelnuts with a tree in the form of a bowl, the following standards are followed:
- tree height up to 2-3 m;
- recommended trunk height – up to 40 cm;
- at the age of 4, 6-7 skeletal shoots;
- the number of branches in an adult specimen is up to 10-15 pieces.
For effective branching, summer growth is annually shortened to half. Lower the height if desired. Root shoots and thickening branches are removed in the fall. The bowl is formed in the late flowering phase.
Rejuvenating pruning of old hazel
From the age of 20, the hazelnut bush is gradually rejuvenated, cutting out 1-2 branches every year. A new bowl or trellis is created by cutting from root offspring. In autumn, a radical rejuvenating pruning is sometimes carried out, removing all shoots, and re-forming a bush from overgrowth.
Sanitary pruning of hazelnuts in autumn
Bushes and boles of large garden hazel and hazel are regularly cleaned through pruning in the fall on a ring:
- root shoots are cut off at the base;
- dry and weak branches are removed, leaving fruitful ones;
- shoots that go inside the crown.
Walnut care after pruning
After a radical pruning of hazelnuts in autumn, the bush is spudded to a height of up to 7 cm with humus or compost. Mandatory watering and top dressing, and in hot weather – mulching of the trunk circle.
Conclusion
Hazelnut pruning schemes in the fall are quite simple and can be done by beginners in gardening. Carefully following the advice, treating the sections with var or oil paint, further feeding the plant will give undoubted results.
