Jeffersonian Fruit and Nuts

[ericthered]

I just got back from a trip I took with the wife for our 8th anniversary. We spent the weekend in Charlottesville, VA visiting Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate. There was a farm attached to the property called Tufton's Farm, I believe, that was having a plant sale. We returned home with two pawpaw plants, one American Hazelnut, and one Marseille Fig. We got them in the ground yesterday, and we have high hopes that in a few years we'll be able to partake of some bounty enjoyed during the time of our Founding Fathers.

Have any of you had any experience with the selections we made? Any tips or pointers to improve our chances of success?

 

[deluxestogie]

American Hazel will sucker mercilessly from the ground. If you want a small tree (optimistic max height of 18'), you will need to remove all but one stem, and allow it to gradually grow taller, year by year, as you begin to remove lower branches. For a small bush (6-10'), you can allow 3 or 4 stems to grow. I believe it took my two American Hazels about 4 years to begin to produce nuts. (You will need to order a second one for a pollinator. You can get two bittsy ones from Burgess for about $5: https://www.eburgess.com/store/6273-hazelnut-nut )

Once you have the general shape you desire (after several years of growing), then you can allow the ground suckers to grow throughout each season, then cut them all at the same time, once the leaves fall. These suckers grow to a remarkably similar length. Once cut and dried, you will have a batch of 3' long hazel switches that are flexible and sturdy, and can be used for artwork, crafts, woven trellis panels, classroom discipline, etc.

Depending on the squirrel population in your area, you may need to place an inverted cone around the lower trunk of a tree, to keep them from stealing every last nut. I haven't had to do that, but couldn't anyway, since I chose to have two bushes instead of two trees.

My nut harvest is bountiful. American Hazelnuts are smaller than the commercial "filbert" nuts sold in the store, but just as tasty. The leaves of hazel contain tannin, and can be included either green or autumn yellow / orange into a pickle jar to enhance the crispness--and make the jar pretty.

Bob

 

[ericthered]

Thanks Bob! I'll look into getting another for pollination. You aren't kidding about the suckers... there were three or four little suckers already coming up in the pot before we planted it!

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Is it possible that I remember correctly that a childhood friend had an entire hedge of hazelnut?

 

[deluxestogie]

Is it possible that I remember correctly that a childhood friend had an entire hedge of hazelnut?

I can't speak to your memory, but American Hazel can easily be pruned regularly to form a dense hedge. If the little seedlings (those 2/$5 ones) are planted at 1 foot intervals, you can prune it to a hedge between 3' and maybe 10' in height. A staggered 2 row hedge of them would be impenetrable by dogs and kids.

Bob