How to Grow Hazelnuts | Full-Season Growing Guide

At a Glance

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Soil pH	6.5 - 7.5
Sunlight	4-8 hours direct sun
Time to harvest	1095-1460 days
Drainage	Light, sandy, well-drained soil; ideal for chalky soils; excessive fertility reduces cropping (RHS).
Lifecycle	Deciduous, monoecious shrub or small tree bearing separate male catkins and female flowers on the same plant. RHS gives flowering as January to March over 4-6 weeks. Self-pollination is only sporadic -- cross-pollination from a different, compatible cultivar is essential, so at least two different cultivars should be planted (RHS). Grows on its own roots -- no rootstock choice needed -- and is usually bought as a one-year-old, unbranched whip (RHS).
Edible parts	nuts

Soil & Growing Conditions

Soil pH range

6.5 7.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Stage	BBCH	Notes
Planting and establishment	0	Plant while dormant, November to March, on their own roots -- no rootstock choice needed, usually bought as one-year-old, unbranched whips. Space around 5m apart in a square-formation group to aid pollination; unpruned bushes reach 6m by 5m (RHS).
Flowering and pollination	6	Monoecious and wind-pollinated, flowering January to March over 4-6 weeks. Self-pollination is only sporadic, so cross-pollination from a different, compatible cultivar is essential -- plant at least two cultivars and check compatibility with the supplier; wild hazel growing nearby can pollinate most varieties (RHS).
Training and summer pruning (brutting)	3	Train as a goblet-shaped bush for fruit production, keeping a 60cm radius of clear soil around the trunk (RHS). In August, break the longer side-shoots of the season's growth by bending them in half, leaving the broken section hanging rather than removing it -- a traditional technique called brutting that opens the bush to light, encourages more female flowers, and reduces vigour (RHS).
Fruiting and harvest	8	First crops after three or four years. Harvest as the husks begin turning yellow, in late September; store in a dry, airy room or shed in slatted boxes in shallow layers, turning regularly, then remove the husks once dried and continue storing the same way (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: First crops after three or four years (RHS). Harvest when the husks begin to turn yellow, in late September (RHS).

Storage

Store in a dry, airy room or shed in slatted boxes in shallow layers, turning regularly; once dried, remove the husks and continue storing the same way (RHS).

Diseases

Eastern filbert blight

high

Anisogramma anomala

Named by Wisconsin Horticulture Extension, not RHS: Eastern filbert blight (Anisogramma anomala) is highly destructive on the commonly grown European hazelnut in the United States, typically killing most of an…

Powdery mildew

low

Named directly by RHS: powdery mildew, worse in overcrowded bushes -- another reason brutting/pruning to open the canopy matters.

Pests

Squirrels

high

Sciurus spp.

Named directly by RHS as damaging crops.

Mice

low

Muridae (mice, various spp.)

Named directly by RHS as a threat to stored nuts.

Nut weevil

moderate

Curculio nucum

Named directly by RHS (Curculio nucum): creates holes in developing nuts; cultivating the soil in winter destroys overwintering grubs.

Hazelnut Photo Gallery

A fresh harvest

A basket of freshly harvested hazelnuts.

Ripe husks

Ripe hazelnut husks turning colour on the branch.

A husk on the branch

A hazelnut husk on the branch.

Nuts in their shells

A pile of hazelnuts in their shells.

Kernel detail

Hazelnut kernels next to their shells.

A cluster of husks

A cluster of hazelnut husks on the branch.

A young green husk

A young green hazelnut husk among the leaves.

A large husk cluster

A large cluster of hazelnut husks.

A husk forming

A green hazelnut husk forming on the branch.

References

1. Royal Horticultural Society - Cobnuts and filberts

   Site: full sun or light shade, sheltered with no frost pockets; light, sandy, well-drained soil, pH 6.5-7.5; excessive fertility reduces cropping; ideal for chalky soils. Planting: November-March while dormant; on own roots (no rootstock), usually bought as one-year-old unbranched whips; space 5m apart in square-formation groups for pollination; reaches 6m x 5m unpruned. Pollination: monoecious, wind-pollinated, flowering Jan-Mar over 4-6 weeks; self-pollination sporadic, cross-pollination with a different, compatible cultivar essential -- plant at least two cultivars, check compatibility with supplier; wild hazel nearby can pollinate most varieties. Training: goblet-shaped bush for fruiting, 60cm radius of clear soil around the trunk. Brutting: in August, break (do not remove) the longer side-shoots of the season's growth by bending in half, left hanging -- opens the bush to light, encourages female flowers, reduces vigour. Harvest: first crops after 3-4 years; harvest as husks begin turning yellow in late September; store in a dry, airy room/shed in slatted boxes in shallow layers, turned regularly; after drying, remove husks and store as before. Pests/diseases: squirrels, mice (stored nuts), nut weevils (holes in nuts -- cultivate soil in winter to destroy grubs), powdery mildew (especially in overcrowded bushes). Propagation: rooted suckers, layering, stooling, or whip grafting.

2. University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension (Wisconsin Horticulture) - Eastern filbert blight

   Pathogen: Anisogramma anomala (fungus). Symptoms: cankers (dead, collapsed areas) on branches or trunks, with black football-shaped stromata often forming in rows of two; on European hazelnut cankers expand 1in to 3ft a year, forming long deep gouges/grooves. Transmission: spores spread by water splash and, over longer distances, wind; primarily infects immature actively-growing shoot tissue; cankers appear 12-18 months after infection; also spread by tools/hands/infected wood movement. Susceptibility: American hazelnut and beaked hazelnut show little damage; European hazelnut, Harry Lauder's walking stick and Turkish filbert are highly susceptible. Resistant cultivars: Jefferson, Santiam, Yamhill, Theta (nut-bearing), Red Dragon (ornamental). Management: prune 2-3ft below each canker, decontaminate tools with 10% bleach or 70% alcohol; remove severely affected plants; chlorothalonil fungicide is preventative only, applied at bud break and every two weeks after. Distribution: found throughout the United States.

2 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.