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Hazel hazel bears fruit with tasty and healthy fruits, this explains its great popularity among summer residents. The plant looks attractive, unpretentious in care and gives good yields. Hazel reproduces easily, so there will be no shortage of planting material.
Description of hazel
Variegated hazel shrub – a kind of hazel, belongs to the Birch family. A plant of medium vigor, outwardly very similar to hazelnuts. An adult bush does not exceed 4-5 m.
Young bushes are well leafy, with age the crown thins. The leaf plate is oval, wide, pointed at the end. Its length reaches 11 cm. The outer side of the leaf is dark green, and the inner side is somewhat lighter.
The flowering of the shrub begins in early spring, already in mid-April, earrings appear. Ripe nuts are harvested at the end of September.
In its natural habitat, the shrub is found in the Far East, Siberia, East Asia. The frost resistance of the species is good, the trees painlessly tolerate a drop in temperature to -40 ° C. If the flowering period coincides with the return frosts, then the flower buds can easily withstand up to -8 ° C, while the pollen does not suffer at all. However, the tops of the branches may freeze slightly if a shrub is planted in the wrong place.
The fruiting of the shrub begins early. Already a 3-year-old seedling will give a little harvest. His average life expectancy is 80 years. The fruits of hazel variegated are small nuts, not more than 1,5 cm in diameter. At the beginning of formation, they are densely covered with green leaves resembling a bell. As they ripen, the nuts turn dark brown. The shell is strong, so the fruits do not crack on the branches. Ripe nuts fall off easily.
Planting and caring for hazel hazel
In order for the shrub to develop properly, you need to choose a suitable place and time for planting for it. After all, the amount of the harvest will depend on this. Caring for hazel variegated does not take much time and does not cause trouble.
Preparation of planting material and site
Hazel variegated does not tolerate sunny places. The abundance of bright rays reduces the yield, young leaves are baked and curled. In its natural environment, the tree grows in shady forests, undergrowth. However, heavily shaded areas are not suitable. The ideal conditions for growing shrubs are sparse shade.
The soil on the site should be rich in humus and other organic matter, moderately moist. Landing in wetlands is not carried out. The groundwater level for hazel is at least 1,5 m.
Before planting hazel, the soil is prepared in advance. If necessary, it is flavored with leaf litter, ripened compost and dug up.
It is possible to plant a multi-leaved hazel both in spring and in autumn. It depends on the personal preferences of the grower and the growing region. Spring plantings need more care.
Hazel seedlings are prepared for planting in advance. The roots are shortened to a length of 25 cm. The shoots are cut by a third. If the root system has dried up during transportation, then it is better to soak it in a bucket of water. The procedure is carried out a day before the upcoming landing.
Rules of landing
Hazel is planted separately from other trees. The distance between them should not be less than 5 m. A pit for planting is prepared for a month. Its width does not exceed the root system, the depth is up to 50 cm. For the normal development of the seedling, the pit should be filled with fertilizers:
- manure;
- humus;
- mineral complex of phosphorus-potassium mixtures;
- leaf land.
The top layer of soil is mixed with fertilizers, the bottom of the pit is well drained with improvised means, after which the soil mixture is laid. The hole prepared in this way is watered abundantly, covered with a film and left for a month so that the earth settles.
Watering and top dressing
Diversified hazel needs regular watering and top dressing so that the plant can fully bloom and bear fruit. The soil under the bush is moistened 6 times per season, if the weather is hot. At the same time, the watering rate is at least 60 liters per plant. If it rains regularly, then watering is reduced so that the root system does not suffer from waterlogging.
You need to feed the plant in spring and autumn. At the beginning of the growing season, hazel needs nitrogenous fertilizers more to build up enough green mass. In autumn, it is advisable to switch to top dressing, in which phosphorus and potassium predominate. Experienced gardeners recommend regularly applying humus and manure. Moreover, such fertilizers are preferable for young plants, nuts will ripen together.
Trimming and shaping
Variegated hazel bushes do not need regular pruning. A well-developed plant should have at least 6-10 strong shoots. It is enough to shorten young branches a little every season, remove dry or thickening shoots.
If the hazel is grown in the form of a tree, then you need to take care of it a little differently:
- regularly remove the lower branches on the trunk;
- to form a crown in the shape of a bowl, so that it is convenient to collect nuts;
- prune shoots in spring and autumn.
During spring pruning, dry and poorly overwintered shoots are removed, the ends of the branches are slightly shortened, stimulating growth. In autumn, a more radical pruning is done. To do this, cut out all the shoots that thicken the crown, cut the rest by 1/3.
Preparation for winter
An adult plant hibernates without additional shelter. It is enough to dig the soil around it well to reduce the likelihood of pest infestation and carry out water-charging late-autumn watering.
It is better to additionally insulate young trees so that they endure the temperature drop well. The trunk is well spudded, covered with dry foliage and wrapped with covering material. In the spring, the shelter is removed gradually.
Harvest
The yield of variegated hazel is periodic. The tree bears fruit steadily for 2-3 years, after which there is a dormant period. The yield is reduced or non-existent.
The multi-leaved hazel has cross-pollination, so you can increase the yield by planting several plants at a distance of 3-4 m from each other.
Reproduction
Multi-leaved hazel propagates in several ways, but not all of them are suitable for home use and give good results:
- Seed Reproduction – a long process, the first harvest appears after 8-10 years. Parental qualities are not preserved.
- Grafting on a wild nut – the method allows you to get a varietal tree that will bear fruit well. You can graft by the method of copulation, in a split. The best time is the end of summer.
- Division of an adult bush – the fastest way that fully preserves the maternal qualities of the plant. Fruiting hazel will begin early.
- retraction method – an effective way when you need to quickly get a quality seedling. Shoots from the bottom of the bush are pinned to the ground and the next year they give roots. You can propagate in this way in spring and autumn.
- Planting root suckers – the method is suitable for beginner gardeners. A young plant in a few years will begin to bear fruit. Maternal qualities are fully preserved.
If you need to get a large number of seedlings of hazel, you can try cuttings from a bush. To do this, young shoots are cut in the fall, planted in closed ground, and in the spring they are transferred to a permanent place in the garden.
Diseases and pests
Hazel variegated has an average resistance to diseases and pests. In rainy autumn, the plant is affected by fungal diseases:
- powdery mildew;
- leaf spot;
- diplodiosis.
To avoid damage, the shrub should be regularly cleaned of dry branches, treated with copper sulfate and whitened with copper sulphate. The crown is sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux liquid at the beginning of the growing season and after harvesting.
The most important pests of hazel hazel are:
- weevil;
- moth;
- wave girl
These insects feed on the green parts of the tree, penetrate the kernels and can destroy most of the crop. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive fight to destroy pests. In addition to timely tree treatments, you need to regularly shake off the larvae and destroy them, dig up the trunk circle, clean it of weeds, and burn worm nuts.
You can notice the appearance of pests by the twisted leaves of the hazel hazel. As the larvae develop, the leaves dry, the growth of the tree stops, holes and stripes appear on the leaf plate. Leaf fall starts early.
Conclusion
Hazel variegated is suitable for growing on an industrial scale and for hobbyists. The shrub does not need a kind of care, it takes root well in the conditions of Our Country, gives a bountiful harvest.