Filbertalso thanks to tasty and healthy nuts, it has long since gained popularity as a garden crop. Representatives of the genus, which unites about two dozen species of deciduous shrubs and trees, can be seen in different parts of North America, Asia and Europe. Despite the difference in size and range, all species have much in common. First of all, it concerns the appearance of hazel leaves, the structure of its flowers, fruits, the characteristics of its flowering and reproduction.
Description of the
Hazel Plant The Corylus genus is dominated by large shrubs, formed by numerous shoots and reaching a height of 3–10 meters. An exception is the tree hazel, not prone to the appearance of root shoots and eventually turning into a powerful, long-lived tree with a height of up to 20 meters.
Leshchina of any kind can be easily recognized by broad-oval or nearly round leaves with a serrate edge and a well-marked venation. They are kept on short dense petioles and densely cover long branches resembling twigs.
Hazel flowers are divided into male and female. The appearance of earrings with male flowers is considered the beginning of the universal spring flowering. Fertilization of female flowers occurs due to the dispersion of pollen and the first insect. In the inflorescences formed from 1 to 5 ovaries. The fruit of hazel is ripening inside a solid woody shell called a nut.
A characteristic feature of the culture is the presence of a kind of wrapper around the ovary. Resembling a helmet, or in Greek korys, the plusus is formed from a modified bract. As the fruit ripens, it dries out and presents a silver-brown or brownish walnut shell.
Cultivation of hazel
The magnificent taste of hazelnut or hazelnut, our ancestors appreciated the high nutritional value and benefit several thousand years ago. For centuries, the inhabitants of Europe gathered the fruits of hazel, which grew in abundance in deciduous forests. The first cultural landings, as evidenced by written sources, could be located on the territory of the modern Balkans, the Mediterranean south of Europe, or on the Black Sea coast. Thus, in the Caucasus, nuts were grown more than 6 thousand years ago, and their often used name “hazelnuts” is of Turkish origin.
Varieties of southern origin are distinguished by large fruit and excellent nut quality.
But in the northern regions, where winters are more severe than in Turkey, Italy or Azerbaijan, the plants are at risk of dying or will give a meager harvest. Therefore, the selection of hazel is an important task of domestic specialists, the first of whom was I.V.Michurin.
Common Hazel( S. avellana)
The species, named after the Italian region of Avellano, the oldest cultural center in Europe, is one of the most common. The natural range of common hazelnut or real hazelnut covers the west of the European continent, as well as a significant part of Russia from the Leningrad region in the north to the Crimea and the Caucasus in the south.
Shrub common hazel well adapted to life in the forest ashes, forest-steppe and even in the steppe areas.
Mature plants can reach a height of about 5 meters and, under favorable conditions, they thrive perfectly, forming dense, difficult-to-pass thickets. Common common hazel depicted in the photo feels under the canopy of deciduous forest. Here are the plants:
- protected from frost;
- get enough nutrition and moisture;
- but due to the poor spread of pollen, the fruit is not fully productive or does not form at all the ovary.
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View is actively used by humans. Due to the durability, unpretentiousness and winter hardiness, hazel is used in breeding. Today, more than 20 varieties of hazelnut hazelnut, giving hazelnuts of excellent quality, and several interesting decorative forms that will rightfully decorate both the garden and the urban landscape have spread in Russia.
Decorative forms of hazel
Obtaining nuts is not the only purpose of hazel. Decorative plants are widely used, differing from the wild ancestor by leaf color, crown shape and individual shoots.
The red-leaf hazel leaf is the most popular. The shrub differs little from a normal plant, but its foliage has a pronounced reddish tint. At the same time, on young leaf plates the redness is much brighter than at the base of the shoots, and more and more green tones appear in the shade in the coloring. A feature of C. avellana atropurpurea hazel is an anthocyanin coloration not only of the leaves, but also of the plumes around the ovaries.
Many Russian hazelnut varieties are also distinguished by their reddish foliage, which gives additional expressiveness to the plantings.
In addition to hazel purpurea, other varieties can be seen in Russian gardens. An example is the variegated forms:
- Albovariegata, distinguished by leaves, on which a light green or almost white stripe is clearly visible along the edge;
- Aurea, in the color of the foliage and the whole crown of which yellow and golden-green tones predominate;
- Aureomarginata, in which the golden color affects only the edge of the leaf plate and forms a kind of border.
At the disposal of landscape designers and everyone who is not indifferent to unusual plants, there are forms of hazel dissected, serrated, pinnate and even folded foliage.
Hazel is of undoubted interest:
- weeping or C. pendula, growing in the form of a stem tree with drooping branches;
- is curved or C. contorta, all the shoots of which are intricately twisted, and the speed of the company is several times lower than that of ordinary plants.
Hazel large( C. maxima)
The species from which the cultivation of the hazelnut began with is called large hazel. Since ancient times, the plant, as a source of nutritious and very tasty nuts, was cultivated in the Balkans, Italy, Turkey, the Caucasus and the Crimea. By the name of the Italian region of Lombardy, the species became known as the Lombard nut, and the peoples of the Black Sea region knew it as Pontic.
Like other species, this crop is demanding on the soil. Where hazel grows:
- soil is pre-saturated with nutrients;
- take care of regular watering and aeration;
- regularly use top-dressings that are especially important for obtaining a stable and full-fledged crop.
Culture, giving the highest quality hazelnuts or hazelnuts, can be easily distinguished by large, multi-stemmed bushes reaching a height of 10 meters.
Twice-toothed, oval or nearly round leaves of the plant are noticeably pubescent. On the leaf plates, the venation is clearly visible, and the young foliage often has a rich anthocyanin coloration. There are reddish and long, completely obscuring the nut-toothed pinnacles.
Hazel Treelike( C. colurna)
Hazel, which looks like a bush that is not familiar to many, but a tall tree, is called a tree. The species characteristic of Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, and the Balkan Peninsula, along with the Pontic nut, are among the most ancient cultures that have interested a person with their fruits.
Hazel tree has been grown in Turkey for a long time, but today it has given way to more productive and simple bush cultivators in agricultural technology.
Trees that live to be two hundred years old are increasingly finding a place in gardening. Plants, which are popularly known as bear nuts, can be found thanks to:
- slender trunks covered with grayish bark;
- crown, having the form of a wide candle or a cone;
- dark toothed foliage;
- collected 3–8 pieces of fruit, hidden in a velvety, heavily dissected plyus.
Hazelnuts of this species are not just edible, but very tasty. They ripen in late summer or in the first half of September. In Russia, tree hazel is able to bear fruit only in the southernmost regions; in the middle lane, the culture is used as an ornamental.
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Hazelnut( C. heterophylla)
The Asian variety is common where the area of common hazel ends. Diverse leaf hazel, named because of the characteristic shape of the leaf plates, can be found in the Far East, the Chita region, in China, Mongolia, as well as on the Korean Peninsula and even on the Japanese islands.
Like its gather, this species prefers dry slopes, on which broad-leaved mixed forests and oak forests willingly grow. Shrub:
- differs wide-rounded crown, consisting of several trunks with a diameter of 10 cm;
- in height reaches 3 meters;In favorable conditions,
- forms dense thickets that impede the growth of other species characteristic of the underbrush.
A distinctive feature of multiple-leaf hazel is leafy plates with a small pointed tip and a cut-off upper part.
Early flowering and fruiting are also characteristic of the species. Ovary surrounds consisting of two parts, pubescent plusus, in shape resembling a bell. Ripe hazel nuts reach a diameter of 15 mm. The core is hidden under a strong grayish shell.
The plant is incredibly hardy, it tolerates drought better than other species and is not afraid of frost. This allows you to grow hazel in Siberia, use it to strengthen the slopes of ravines, planted where there is a danger of wind erosion.
The main thing is that the place where the shrubs are to grow should be protected from flooding and stagnant melt or rainwater.
In the backyard area, the hazel proved its unpretentiousness and docile disposition. It is light-requiring, but it can grow in partial shade, the thickened crown can be easily put in order with the help of a shears, and with proper care the bushes live and bear fruit for several decades.
Manchurian Hazel( C. sieboldiana var. Mandshurica)
Manchurian Hazel grows in the Russian Far East, Korea and northern China. This variety differs from the plants described above in the unusual form of plyus. Forming a long dense tube that hides a nut, it grows up to 6 cm.
Shoots forming a shrub up to 4 meters high are covered with brownish-gray bark, smooth on young branches and covered with cracks on perennial wood. For the species characteristic large soft foliage. The ovary, which is formed after the May flowering, is grouped together by 3-4 pieces. Nuts ripening in the first half of autumn have an oblong pointed shape. The kernels are thin-shelled and edible, but getting nuts is difficult because of the bristly clumps.
The plant is not afraid of frost. Therefore, with the right place for planting hazel in Siberia and care, the culture can be used as a nut-bearing and decorative one.
How to grow hazel
Hazelnut - undemanding culture, care of which even the novice gardeners can take care of. Preparing for planting and caring for common hazel begins with choosing the right place.
Hazel likes light, but can grow in the shade. But if the foliage of the seedling is red, it will look brighter in the sun. In the shade, such plants gradually lose their attractiveness and turn green. Foliage with white or yellow color, fading under direct sunlight, and here you need to take care of protection for the hottest hours.
In the wild, shrubs settle in deciduous forests with humus-rich loose soil. In this case, the root system of the plant does not tolerate stagnant moisture, and drought quickly provokes wilting of the foliage and a drop in the crop.
In spring, the plant wakes up early, and moving it to a new place can cause long-term acclimatization. Therefore, the best time to plant a hazel is autumn.
Pits of at least 50 × 60 cm in size are prepared in advance. If hazel cultivation and care is to be done once after several specimens, about 4–5 meters of free space is left between them. For rapid rooting and active growth for backfilling, a mixture is prepared based on:
- fertile soil;
- 10 kg of high-quality humus;
- 200 g of superphosphate;
- 50 g of potash fertilizer.
Read also: Cabbage leaf - species, varieties, cultivationWhen the pit is filled, the soil is compacted, watered abundantly, and then mulched to maintain optimum soil moisture. How to grow hazel, not only decorating the site, but also regularly pleasing with tasty nuts. Experts advise to select varieties according to the timing of flowering, as well as take into account the possibility of pollination by the wind.
Crop care includes:
- watering, essential during the ripening period of the nuts;
- top dressing in early spring and at the time of formation of the ovary;
- pruning to form a crown, rejuvenate or maintain a healthy state.
In regions with severe winters, young shrubs may freeze. They are advised to bow in the ground and shelter. Pruning hazel in spring allows the plant to free from broken, frozen or dried branches. In addition, a simple procedure will help to correctly form the crown, to give the sun access to each fruit-bearing branch.
To do this, 8–10 strong shoots are left in each bush, and the rest, trying to free the center, are removed at ground level. For hazel is possible to grow on the trellis, as well as the formation of a stem plant.
In order not to weaken the bush, they annually cut out excess root growth. This is especially important on grafted specimens.
Hazel: useful properties and contraindications
The main treasure of the plant are nuts. This is a real storehouse of vitamins, healthy fats, proteins and minerals.
About 65% of the weight of the core accounts for essential fatty acids. Among the micro and macronutrients there is magnesium, potassium and calcium, phosphorus and sulfur, zinc, manganese, fluorine. Vitamins are represented by group B, ascorbic acid, A, E, and PP.Caloric content of 100 grams of fruit is 700 kcal.
The rich composition and high energy value of the product determines the beneficial properties of hazelnut and contraindications, which should be taken into account when eating tasty nuts.
How is hazelnut useful? Nuts rich in healthy fats, magnesium and potassium are valuable products for the prevention and treatment of heart and vascular diseases, especially:
- atherosclerosis;
- ischemic disease;
- sclerosis of cerebral vessels;
- myocardial infarction.
Natural remedy not only stimulates the heart muscle, but also strengthens blood vessels, improves blood quality. In addition, hazel nuts are useful for the nervous and digestive systems, they stimulate the gallbladder, improve metabolism and resist the aging process of the body.
Due to the mass of vitamins, proteins and fatty acids, hazel fruits are indispensable in the diet of vegetarians, and people with lactose intolerance can replace cow's milk with tasty and healthy nut milk. Low sugar content ensures that the hazelnut dessert does not affect the diabetic's health and does not cause weight gain for those who are trying to lose weight.
Speaking about the benefits of common hazel, we must not forget about the leaves, bark, plyus and other parts of the plant. All of them contain biologically active substances, which impart astringent, antipyretic, vasodilating, anti-inflammatory, and regenerating properties to vegetable raw materials. Infusions and flocks on the basis of hazel prescribe problems with digestion, vascular diseases, urinary diseases and helminthic invasions.
Walnut oil has a wound-healing effect. It helps to quickly remove irritation, reduce pain, and speed up tissue regeneration. Milk from pounded kernels is a proven remedy for the treatment of gastritis, cholecystitis and enterocolitis, as well as for other problems, accompanied by cramps, irritation and pain.
Secrets of growing nuts - video
