Large hazel

Synonyms: filbert, Lombardy nut, hazelnut

Corylus maxima (Large hazel) – a species of woody deciduous shrubs of the genus Corylus (Corylus) in the birch family (Betulaceae). The fruits are known as hazelnuts.

In the wild it is distributed in southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is cultivated in large quantities in Turkey, Italy, the Balkans, the southern regions of Germany and France, and in North America. Mesoxerophyte, mesotherm.

It is a large shrub or small tree 3-10 m in height. Crown ovate or broadly globose. Bark ash-gray. Young shoots reddish-green, densely pubescent; one-year shoots almost bare, sometimes with stalked glands. Lifespan 150-180 years.

Root system superficial, located in the upper arable layer of soil at a depth of 10-15 cm.

Buds obovoid in shape, light brown, vegetative buds considerably smaller than flowering ones.

Leaves rounded-ovoid or broadly ovate, 7-12 cm long and 6-10 cm wide, slightly lobed and shortly acuminate, unevenly doubly-serrated, green or dark red in color, lighter beneath, pubescent along the veins. Petiole short, 0.8-2 cm long. Stipules elongated.

The plant is monoecious, pollination is cross-pollination. Male catkins up to 10 cm long and 1 cm in diameter. Flowers from February to March, if conditions permit.

Begins to bear fruit in the 4th-5th year. Fruits grow in groups of 3-6, rarely singly or up to 8. Clustered on a stalk up to 3 cm long. The involucre is fleshy at the base, twice as long as the nut, tightly enveloping and then extended above it into a narrowing tube, divided into toothed broad lobes, green or red-green in color, glandular-hairy and velvety-pubescent.

Nuts oblong-ovoid to almost cylindrical, 2-2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter, of very high taste quality, reminiscent of almond in taste. Fruits ripen in September. Yield is high; in 5-6 years it gives up to 6,000 kg/ha.

Forms: Corylus maxima 'Purpurea'

Hardiness: 6b (-30°C).

Location: not demanding to site and soil, but does not tolerate dry sandy, waterlogged or saline soils. Shade-tolerant. Grows well on slopes, except southern ones (as it flowers earlier there and is damaged by late frosts).

Planting: planting is best done in autumn one month before frost; it can also be done in spring 3-5 days before the start of field work. Planting hole size: 70x70x70 cm. For spring planting, holes are recommended to be dug in autumn; for autumn planting – 1.5-2 months before planting. Add 5-6 kg of manure mixed with the topsoil into the hole. The root collar should be at ground level; seedlings with a weak root system are recommended to be planted 5-6 cm below the root collar to form additional roots. After planting, the seedling should be shortened by 15-20 cm from the ground. When planting orchards, 4-6 different cultivars of filbert are required for good pollination, arranging them alternately every 3-4 rows.

Care: for improved fruiting, apply fertilizers – compost or manure – 200-300 kg of manure per 100 m2 with the addition of 0.5 kg of phosphate-potassium fertilizers. Irrigation is necessary in regions where precipitation is less than 600-1000 mm. In such cases, autumn moisture-retentive irrigation and 2-3 vegetative waterings are carried out – 300—350 L of water per bush. Recommended irrigation periods: 1 - beginning of May, 2 - beginning of June, 3 – beginning of July, 4 – beginning of August, 5 – October-November. It is especially recommended to water filbert during the period when the generative organs of the next year are being formed – in June-July. The tree circles are cultivated to a depth of 6-8 cm. In winter, the inter-rows are dug to a depth of 20 cm during the first two years, 14-16 cm in the 3rd year, subsequently to 10-12 cm.

Pruning: remove excess root suckers. Sanitary pruning of the shrub or tree is performed – remove broken, weak branches, as well as those growing inward that thicken the crown. Rejuvenation of the plant is recommended once every twenty years.

Diseases and pests: in the conditions of Ukraine it has no diseases and pests, except the nut longhorn beetle.

Diseases and pests: Propagation: grows well when grafted onto seedlings of cultivated plum varieties. It does not have sufficient affinity with cherry plum (Myrobalan).

Propagation: by seeds, by division of bushes, by root suckers.

Uses: hazel fruits are consumed fresh because they have very high taste and nutritional qualities (contain 50-60% fat and 15% protein). Widely used in the confectionery industry, for making halva, as an almond substitute. A very tasty and fragrant oil is produced, which is also used in the food and confectionery industries. In landscape design it is used rarely – in groups, on edges, as an understory in sparse plantations.