Bear walnut (Hazel tree)

Treelike hazel (Bear nut) belongs to the genus Hazel, the Birch family. Because of the beautiful and durable wood, hazel was massively cut down. In nature, it is found only in hard-to-reach places. The ability to grow at an altitude of more than 1700 m above sea level saved the bear nut from the final destruction of the variety. The tree is listed in the Red Book.

Bear nut description

Treelike hazel is a type of hazel. The only representative of its kind that has a tree as a life form. Its height in the wild reaches 30 m, in Russian latitudes the maximum growth of a tree is 8 m. Life expectancy is 200 years.

The crown of a bear nut is symmetrical, pyramidal, dense, dense. The trunk is covered with deeply fractured bark and detachable light brown plates. Young shoots are lowered, gray. The foliage is large, 12-13 cm long and 8 cm wide, broadly ovate, dark green in color. The base is cordate, the edges are serrated. The length of the petiole is 3-5 cm. The buds are oblong, with a reddish prolapse, covered with small scales. The tree-like hazel leaves the green color of the foliage until late autumn. The root system of the bear nut is rod-shaped, deep. Allows you to firmly hold the tree in the ground, therefore, the plant is often used as forest protection plantations.

Treelike hazel blooms early, in March or April. Male flowers have an oblong shape in the form of earrings, up to 12 cm long. Their color is light yellow. The female flowers are hidden in the buds. The fruits are small, strong, oblong in shape, flattened on the sides. The size of the nuts is 2 cm on average. The shell is hard and thick. There is a seed inside the fruit. On top of the nut there is a velvety, wide-open cupule. Compound fruits are collected from nuts in 48 pieces.

Advantages and disadvantages of the view

Seeing a photo of a tree hazel, you might think that the tree is devoid of all flaws.

However, this issue should be dealt with in more detail. Positive qualities of a bear nut:

• climatic endurance;
• annual abundant fruiting;
• fruits are a dietary food;
• excellent decorative qualities;
• the best stock for hazelnuts;
• durability.

The disadvantages of the bear nut should be highlighted:

• small fruits and hard shells;
• high tree height, there are difficulties with harvesting;
• fruiting occurs by 7-8 years.

The use of tree hazel

The fruits of tree hazel are used in the food industry. Nuts have a high energy value. The consistency of the kernel is oleaginous. The composition includes useful trace elements, vitamins.

The appearance of a bear nut is very attractive not only in the photo, but also in reality. A slender tree with large carved leaves and a compact crown looks like a sycamore. Tree hazel attracts the eye from afar and will easily decorate any landscape. It is used in landscape design, for decoration of alleys, parks. Bear walnut is planted in groups or singly in botanical gardens.

Wood is prized in the furniture industry. It is dense, finely layered, and has a beautiful reddish tint. Suitable for decoration of cabins, ceremonial halls, furniture production.

Optimal growing conditions

Forest-steppe, broad-leaved and mountain forests, forest edges are considered the ideal growing zone in the wild.You can see the bear nut along rivers, in gullies, in places where there is a lot of humidity. Calcareous, deep soils are preferred for tree hazel. Does not tolerate saline, compacted soil.

Bear nut is a shade-resistant tree that grows quickly. Often forms thickets. Does not form pure plantings, it is found in mixed forests. Grows together with beech, oak, hornbeam, maple. Able to withstand a drop in temperature to -30 ° C and below. Therefore, it is common on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, Asia Minor, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, the Balkans. In Russia, it is found in the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia.

Planting and caring for a bear nut

Tree hazel seedlings with a closed root system, which are planted in early autumn, have a quick survival rate. The culture prefers only fertile, well-drained soils. It is recommended to apply compost or organic humus to an area with poor and sandy soils. When choosing a place, it should be borne in mind that the distance to a neighboring tree should be at least 5 m.

Preparatory work for planting tree hazel consists of the following steps:

• preparation of a hole 60x60 cm and a depth of 50 cm;
• the introduction of 0.5 kg of mineral fertilizers and 10 kg of humus;
• moistening the pit with water.

Immediately before planting, the roots of the bear nut are cut and dipped in a clay mash. This contributes to better survival rate. After that, the tree is watered abundantly, and the near-stem circle is mulched.

Caring for tree hazel is uncomplicated. The main thing is to regularly remove weeds and loosen the soil, for unhindered access of air to the roots, as well as water, fertilize, cut.

1. The first watering is carried out a week after planting the bear nut. In the future, once every 30 days is enough. Thus, during the growing season, the frequency of watering is 6-7 times.
2. The rate of one tree hazel is 30-50 liters. In dry summers, you need to moisturize more often.
3. In the first year, the land under the seedling should not dry out.
4. It is recommended to feed the bear nut in the spring. During the swelling of the buds, 50 g of ammonium nitrate is added under the tree.
5. The second time nitrogenous fertilizers are required in July, which stimulates the ripening of fruits at the same time.
6. In the fall, it is necessary to feed tree-like hazelnuts with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. The procedure is repeated every 3 years.
7. Bear nut pruning is performed annually in the spring, before the start of the growing season. The tree only needs sanitary pruning.
8. The near-stem circle must be regularly loosened to a depth of 5-7 cm.
9. Weeds need to be removed, so it will be easier to cut off the root suckers.

Reproduction

In the wild, the bear nut propagates through seeds and root growth. In horticultural farms, the culture is bred by cuttings, grafts, dividing the bush, layering.

1. Arc layering... In the spring, the lateral annual shoot is bent down, laid in a trench 15 cm deep. The stem is fixed with pegs, and the top remains above the surface. Sprinkle with earth and watered periodically. Roots will appear by autumn. The site should be detached from the mother plant and transplanted to another location.
2. Offspring... Approximately 1 m from the tree-like hazel, young shoots sprout from the roots. After 2-3 years, they are used as a fully developed planting material. The peripheral offspring of the bear nut are excavated and separated from the roots with an ax. These seedlings can be planted in a hole in several pieces at once.
3. Bush division and grafting... For grafting, it is recommended to use wild tree hazel, as it does not give offspring. Cuttings are carried out in the spring, and budding in the fall. The upper parts of the bush are suitable for cuttings. They are cut in winter and stored until warm under the snow.

It is important that each half has roots 25-30 cm long. The sections are disinfected with crushed activated carbon.

Diseases and pests

Despite the fact that tree hazel is considered a resistant crop with good immunity, it is still susceptible to diseases and attacks of harmful insects.

1. Powdery mildew... Symptoms: white bloom on leaves, stems, fruits. Over time, it darkens, acquires a dense structure. The affected areas die. The bear nut becomes more susceptible to cold weather.
2. White rot... A fungal disease from which the tree suffers greatly. If measures are not taken in time, tree hazel may die.
3. Fungal rust... Symptoms: the appearance of orange spots on the leaf plate, the edges are mesmerized upward, dry.
4. Aphid... It feeds on plant sap, which later leads to death. The fruit of a sick bear nut does not ripen.
5. Kidney mite... A small insect that spends the winter hiding in the buds of a nut. There he lays eggs. And in the spring, the affected buds dry out.
6. Nut weevil... The bug is 10 mm in size. Its females lay the larvae in immature fruits. If measures are not taken in time, up to 50% of the harvest is lost.
7. Nut leaf beetle... A pest that eats hazel leaves.

Fight against fungal diseases with the help of fungicides: Falcon, Topsin, copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid. And insect pests are destroyed with insecticides: Fufanon, Kemifos, Karbofos.

Conclusion

Treelike hazel is a beautiful tree. However, using it exclusively for decorative purposes is wasteful. There are not many varieties of nuts in the human diet. In addition, the high content of proteins and microelements makes it a dietary, medicinal product.

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