Do I need more than one hazel tree?

Yes — almost always. Most cobnut and filbert varieties are self-incompatible (their own pollen doesn't fertilise their own flowers). You need at least two different varieties planted within 50 m for cross-pollination. Kentish Cob + Cosford is the classic UK pairing. A single hazel will produce catkins (the dangling male flowers) and small red female flowers, but sets few or no nuts. The wind moves pollen between trees in February, so a neighbour's hazel might be doing the pollination work already.

Why isn't my hazel producing nuts?

Three usual causes. (1) Squirrels take them unripe in August — by the time you check in September, the bush appears barren but the nuts were taken weeks earlier. Net the bush or pick at full size in early August even if not fully ripe. (2) No pollination partner: most varieties need another variety nearby. (3) Too shaded: hazels tolerate part shade but heavy shade reduces flowering and cropping. Move the bush, or thin overhead canopy.

When are hazelnuts ready to pick?

Early to mid-August for cobnuts (full-size kernel, husks browning at the edges, but nut still slightly soft). Late August to September for filberts (the longer husks fully cover the nut). The squirrel test: if grey squirrels are taking them, they're getting too ripe to leave on the tree. Pick from the bush rather than waiting for fallen nuts (which are eaten within hours of falling). Spread on a tray to dry for 2–3 weeks in a warm dry place before storing.

What's the best hazelnut variety for the UK?

Kentish Cob is the UK standard cobnut — large round-oval nuts, reliable heavy cropping in southern England, the traditional commercial choice. Cosford is the classic pollination partner — medium oval nuts, easy to crack, sweet flavour. Butler is the modern heavy-cropping choice. For ornamental use: Contorta (Harry Lauder's walking stick — see separate harry-lauders-walking-stick slug) is grown for twisted stems, not nuts. Atropurpurea has purple foliage but cropping is light.

What's the difference between a cobnut and a filbert?

Both are forms of Corylus avellana, distinguished by the length of the husk relative to the nut. Cobnut: husk shorter than the nut, leaving the nut tip visible (e.g. Kentish Cob, Cosford). Filbert: husk longer than the nut, fully covering it (e.g. Kentish Filbert, Halle's Giant, most American varieties). Both crop similarly; filberts often have a slightly sweeter flavour but are less commercially common in the UK.

How do I coppice a hazel?

Cut every stem on the stool to 10–15 cm above ground, in winter (December–February). The plant re-shoots vigorously from the cut stool the following spring with a thicket of straight new poles. After 3–4 years, poles are pea-stick thickness (1.5 m, 2 cm diameter); after 7 years, beanpole thickness (2.5 m); after 10 years, hurdle weaving and hedge-laying material. Hazels live 100–200 years on a continuous coppice cycle — by far the most sustainable garden carpentry material UK gardens produce.

Hazelnootstruik / hazelaar

Corylus avellana

Plant hazelnut bushes bare-root from November to March, in sun or part shade, in well-drained soil — they're a vigorous UK native shrub or small tree (4–6 m), traditional source of cobnuts and filberts, and equally valuable as a coppice plant for poles and beanpoles. Hazel is very hardy (RHS H6), thrives in almost any soil except waterlogged ground, and pollinates by wind in February when the lambs-tail catkins shed pollen onto the tiny red female flowers. Plant at least two different varieties for cross-pollination — most cobnuts and filberts are not self-fertile. Grey squirrels are the dominant pest — they take nuts unripe in August, before you'd think to harvest. Kentish Cob and Cosford are the classic UK varieties. Coppice every 7–10 years for harvest of straight 2 m hazel poles (peas, beans, garden structures).

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