Content
Red-leaved hazel is a honey plant with excellent fruit taste. Thanks to the lush crown with burgundy leaves, hazel is used as an ornamental plant that fits perfectly into any landscape.
Description of red-leaved hazelnuts
Red-leaved hazel is a tall (more than 5 m), thermophilic shrub that grows in the central regions of Russia and in the south. In the wild, a spreading plant can be found in deciduous forests, steppes. Hazel prefers fertile, well-moistened soils. One bush can contain up to 9 trunks. Their bark is ash-gray, dense, smooth. In young shoots, it is dark red.
In nature, the shrub has a spreading, ball-shaped crown. Its diameter can reach 6 m. In artificially created landscapes, hazelnuts are given the shape of a low tree. After planting, the culture quickly takes root and grows.
The leaves of the red-leaved hazel are large, oblong in the form of a river bream fish, which gave the name to the shrub. Their length is about 10 cm, width - 8 cm. In spring their color is dark brown with a green tint, in summer - burgundy, in spring - yellow-orange. The lower part of the leaf is always lighter than the upper one. There is a small fluff on the veins.
Hazelnuts bloom early, before the leaves appear, in late February, early March. Male and female inflorescences are on the same plant, appear at the same time. Male flowers are similar to birch catkins, only pink, female flowers are in the form of buds collected in inflorescences.
Hazelnut fruits are oblong with a strong gray-brown shell. They grow in 6-8 pieces on one cutting. The kernels are round, dark beige, nutritious, high-calorie with excellent taste. Ripen in late August or early September.
Red-leaved hazel in landscape design
Hazelnut bushes are planted as hedges. Their dense crown protects the garden from winds. You can use a shrub to trim tall trees. A flower bed bordered with dark red hazel plants will look great at any time of the year.
It is good to plant lush purple bushes near the front porch or under the windows of the house. Simple and at the same time, small groves of red-leaved hazelnuts on a personal plot look very impressive. Moreover, for good fruiting, it is necessary to plant several plants side by side, at a distance of 5 m from each other. For decorative purposes, red-leaved hazel is planted at a distance of 3 m between the bushes.
With the help of hazelnuts, you can fix areas of the garden that are prone to sliding: ravines, hills. The strong surface roots of the plant anchor well the soil on which they grow.
The photo shows how red-leaved hazel is used in landscape design:
Red-leaved hazel varieties
A large number of species of red-leaved hazelnuts were bred in Russia, the near abroad, in Western Europe. All of them are used not only to obtain nuts, but also to decorate the garden. Shrubs with burgundy leaves serve to place color accents among garden greenery.
Lambert's hazelnut red-leaved
The plant is obtained in Holland by selection. It is a low-growing shrub (no more than 4 m in height) with small red leaves. They remain as such only in spring, at other times of the year only the top of hazel has a burgundy hue.
Lambert's hazelnuts bloom early, in February. Not afraid of frost. It is planted as a pollinator for other varieties of hazel. The fruits of the shrub are small, but have good taste. Their weight does not exceed 2 g. The nuts can be harvested in mid-August.
Hazel Red-leaved Kontorta
This is the most unusual hazelnut variety. It has long curved shoots, wrinkled leaves. Branches in spring are densely covered with pink-red earrings. In nature, it grows throughout Western Europe, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. Due to its unusual appearance, Kontorta hazel is used as an ornamental plant.
Red-leaved hazelnut Kontorta is a low-growing shrub, its length does not exceed 3 m. The crown width is 2-3 m. After planting, the plant quickly takes root and grows. Growth may slow down after fruiting begins.
The shoots of the shrub are dark brown in color, ornately twisted. The rhizome spreads close to the surface of the earth, the branches are long, strong, curved. The leaves are small, no more than 2 cm in length, red in spring and autumn, green in summer. Their surface is covered with fluff, they look dented, as if damaged by pests. The bush blooms with earrings of dark color, on top they are covered with yellow pollen.
Red-leaved hazel blooms in late March or early April. Prefers to grow in open, well-lit areas, in moderately moist soils.
The Kontorta hazelnut bears fruit in September. Nuts are small, oblong, in a strong sheath.
Red-leaved hazelnuts look unusual and bizarre in late autumn, when they shed their leaves, and twisted, as if curled shoots are exposed.
Hazelnut Warsaw red-leaved
The variety was bred in Warsaw in the last century. It is a tall plant that grows up to 7 m in height. The crown is lush, spreading, the size in diameter reaches 6 m.
The leaves are large, long, brown-red in spring, green in summer, bright orange in autumn. Their length is about 7 cm. In spring, the shoots are covered with numerous male inflorescences in the form of earrings. Their length reaches 7 mm.
Varshavsky red-leaved hazelnut is a whimsical plant, vulnerable to frost and waterlogging of the soil. The shrub does not tolerate shading and drafts, bears fruit well on neutral fertile soils. Under unfavorable conditions, hazelnuts are not pollinated; they require a pollinator or artificial pollination.
Warsaw hazelnuts ripen in early autumn. It has medium-sized fruits (approximately 2.5 cm in length), and the fruit wrapper is thin.
Red-leaved Hazelnut Siren
The variety was developed in Poland in the last century. This is a low-growing plant (4-5 m) in the form of a bush. After disembarkation, it is rapidly gaining growth. The decoration of hazel is large oval leaves of dark red color with bright scarlet veins. Their uneven, sinewy surface is covered with a small downy.
In spring, gray catkins appear on the shoots, which turn bright red when blooming. They grow in inflorescences of 2-3 pieces.
Hazel bears fruit at the end of summer. Nuts are located on one handle, 5-7 pieces. The fruits are large, oblong, the wrapper is thin and fragile. Once harvested and dried, the kernels are easy to extract. The taste of the nuts is high.
Hazelnut siren is a frost-resistant plant that can withstand temperatures down to -20 Cᵒ. It blooms early - in early March, before the leaves open.
Planting and caring for red-leaved hazel
Hazelnuts prefer fertile, moderately moist soils that do not contain sand or clay.Hazel grows well in lighted open areas, grows in the shade, but bears fruit poorly.
Preparation of planting material and site
To get a good harvest of nuts, several hazelnut bushes are planted nearby. Choose an open area, well lit by the sun, not blown by the winds. Planting can be done in spring or autumn. Agronomists recommend rooting this crop in mid-September.
Several seedlings of red-leaved hazelnuts with different ripening periods are chosen for planting. They will pollinate each other well. Seedlings are chosen with a small number of leaves, a well-developed root system. The length of the branches on the rhizome is at least 30 cm. One seedling should have 3 or more shoots. Before planting, the roots are soaked in special solutions to stimulate growth.
A month before planting, a pit is prepared. During this time, the earth will settle in it and be well rammed. Its size should be about 70x70 cm, no less. The bottom of the pit is covered with a bucket of humus with a glass of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium sulfate.
Landing rules
For good survival and rooting, hazel is planted according to certain rules. It is important to observe the distance between seedlings (3-5 m), choose a site that is not flooded by spring floods.
Landing Algorithm:
- In the center of the pit, a hill of earth is poured for rooting of hazel.
- The roots are taken out of the solution, straightened, evenly laid out in the center of the bulk mound.
- The shoots are fixed vertically, tying them to a wooden peg, which should be installed in the pit.
- After the roots are covered with loose earth and slightly trampled.
- The root collar is left 5 cm above the soil level.
- The seedling is watered with 3 buckets of water.
Watering and feeding
Red-leaved hazelnut loves moist soils, but does not tolerate excess water. After planting and watering, the near-stem circle must be mulched with pine needles or sawdust.
A week after planting, watering is repeated. It is necessary to ensure that the moisture from the previous time is completely absorbed. Stagnation of moisture near the shoots and rotting of the roots should not be allowed.
In summer, watering is carried out 2-3 times a month. Water consumption per plant is 10 liters. It is important not to allow the roots to dry out in June and July. At this time, the fruits of the current year are being formed.
Red-leaved hazel should be fed after planting no more than 1 time in 3 years. Humus and compost are used as fertilizers. For 1 plant, they will need 5 kg. At the beginning of summer, to increase productivity, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in an amount of 100 g per plant.
Loosening and mulching
In the summer, the trunks must be loosened several times a month. This should be done carefully and shallowly, since the roots are close to the surface of the earth. After watering, as soon as all the moisture is absorbed, the soil around the rhizome is mulched (covered) with cut grass, needles, tree bark. This will trap moisture near the root.
Pruning and shaping the crown
Pruning of red-leaved hazelnuts is carried out in late autumn after the foliage has fallen off. It is important to thin out young plants up to 4 years old annually. This will increase the yield of the plant during the fruiting period.
Hazel is cut, starting from the center of the crown, forming a kind of vase. This will allow the sun's rays to penetrate the young, unformed shoots. This increases the number of nut sets.
During autumn pruning, dry, damaged, too long branches are removed. Lateral shoots are bent down and to the sides, fixed with a wire. This will facilitate the access of sunlight and air deep into the crown.
Preparing for winter
Young plants up to 4 years old must be wrapped in agrofibre or film for the winter. You can bend long shoots to the ground, fix with metal brackets.From above, the bush is covered with spruce branches. As soon as snow falls, it is thrown on top of the bush. Red-leaved hazelnuts older than 4 years, frost-resistant varieties (Maria Makarevich, Miracle of Vsesvyatsky, Pushkin red) winters well without shelter.
The harvest
The plant bears fruit in 4 or 5 years after planting. Collecting the fruits of red-leaved hazel begins in late August or early September, depending on the variety. Maturity is determined by the yellowing of the shell, the fruits begin to crumble. Nuts are plucked from the bush, the fallen fruits are collected. From one hazelnut bush, from 2 to 4 kg of fruits are harvested.
After being removed from the bush, the nuts are dried for 2 weeks. Hazelnuts, which have fallen off the plyus, are considered suitable for food.
Reproduction
Varietal hazelnuts are propagated by grafting a bud or cutting on a wild hazel bush. They do this at the end of summer.
In addition, there are other ways of breeding red-leaved hazel:
- seeds;
- root layers;
- shoots.
The easiest way is to divide the bush. In late summer or autumn, using a well-sharpened shovel, I separate the plant with 2-3 shoots from the mother bush. Small cuts are made on them at a distance of 15-20 cm from the rhizome. This stimulates the growth of new branches. After the new bush is rooted according to all the rules.
Diseases and pests
Red-leaved hazel is a disease and pest resistant variety. Rarely attacked by aphids, scale insects, caterpillars, nut weevil. To prevent the appearance of insects on hazelnut leaves, it is treated in February before bud break with appropriate preparations. The bushes are sprayed again after the leaves appear.
Red-leaved hazelnuts are susceptible to fungal diseases. To combat them, the bush is sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
Conclusion
Red-leaved hazel is an unpretentious frost-resistant plant. Its fruits are loved for their high nutritional value, rich mineral composition, and good taste. Using a minimum of agrotechnical tools and techniques, you can get a good harvest of hazelnuts in the fall.
bought a red-leaved nut, planted it, a week later the leaves began to turn green. The new leaves are red and turn green after a few days. And the old leaves began to dry out, although we water every other day.