Growing Nut Trees in NYS

[Carl Albers]

Nuts are good for your health; they are truly super foods.  Like anything else worthwhile they do require a bit of work to grow, harvest and make use of.  However, doing so can be rewarding and is a way to add some healthy, locally grown food to your diet.  The best adapted nut species for NYS are black walnuts, butternuts, chestnuts (depending on your hardiness zone,) hazelnuts, and shagbark hickories.

Hazelnuts are easy to grow and come into production in roughly 4 to 5 years depending on how well you take care of them.  They will grow on a wide range of soil types though a well-drained site is best. 

When purchasing hazelnuts, be aware of the difference between layers (clones) and seedlings. With a hazelnut layer you are getting an exact copy of the parent plant with all its good characteristics (and bad.)  However, with seedlings you may end up with a plant that is even superior to its parents, or more likely one that isn't.  The longer, more in depth the breeding/selection program the greater the likelihood that a seedling will produce a plant with the desirable characteristics of its parents.

Hazelnuts are wind pollinated and you need at least two different plants (not identical clones) for good pollination.  Greater diversity in a planting will result in better pollination and nut set.  Avoid planting on windswept sites if possible.  A porous windbreak on the windward side of a planting is ideal; you want good air movement to reduce the incidence of fungal disease, but not too much to negatively affect pollination.

Well drained soils are best.  On sites with less than perfect drainage planting on a slightly raised bed aligned so it's on a roughly 1 percent slope may provide the best compromise between good infiltration and slow removal of excess rainfall during downpours. 

A soil test prior to planting, actually a whole year ahead is a good idea.  Aim to raise the soil pH to roughly 6.5 throughout the top 1-foot of soil (follow the liming directions you receive with your soil test report.) 

Dig a square hole so that the roots don't circle around the outside of the hole as they grow.  Plant so that all the roots are straightened out leading towards the sides of the holes.  It is better to widen out the hole or clip off long roots than to bend them to fit into an existing hole.  Adjust the height of the plant relative to the surrounding soil level so that you just cover the topmost roots of the plant with soil.

On less than perfectly drained sites you can raise the hazel 4 to 6-inches above the surrounding soil level and use extra soil so that you have enough to cover the topmost roots of the slightly elevated plant.  Hand weed or use cardboard to control weeds during the first few growing seasons.  Water the hazels well at planting and then once per week during the first growing season.

I've had good luck with hazels from Z's Nutty Ridge (znutty.com,) Grimo Nut Nursery (grimonut.com,) and Oikos Tree Crops (oikostreecrops.com.)  It is getting late to order so many of the better selections may not be available at this time.  You can find more information about growing hazels on the websites of the above mentioned vendors and at the NY Nut Growers Association homepage at www.nynga.org.

[chris S]

After about 7 years I had my first hazelnut harvest from “Fingerlakes Superhardy” cultivar. That year I physically daubed a low fluffy catkin from another cultiver (Precocious)onto the dark pink tiny tassels of the female flowers in early spring. It was so amazing to get protein food from a plant in the yard! The hens also like the hazels for resting in the shade under their multiple trunks. But I am having trouble with catkin survival at zone 4. In 2019 there were no fluffy catkins. I have since planted a short more-northern cultivar (Skinner, from Oikos) that I hope gets protected by snow cover. A site with good info about home-grown hazels is by Ben Vanheems of the UK. At the bottom of the article is a great ongoing (5yr) discussion: https://www.growveg.com/guides/a-guide-to-growing-your-own-hazelnuts/

[Carl Albers]

Z's Nutty Ridge and Twisted Tree Farm are two NY based nurseries that offer locally adapted hazelnut stock.  I'm no expert on hazel pollination but from what I understand it's a matter of getting pollen from the male catkins onto the tiny female flowers before they start to darken and are therefore no longer receptive.  My biggest challenge at present is nut theft by squirrels and chipmunks.  If one wants to plant hazels I would strongly encourage planting as far away from woods/trees as possible. 

[chris S]

Ooh yah, hazels are actually beautiful in a lawn planting, many yards from the treeline.