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Red-leaved hazel is a honey plant with excellent tasting fruits. Thanks to its lush crown with burgundy leaves, hazel is used as an ornamental plant that fits perfectly into any landscape.
Description of red-leaved hazelnut
Red-leaved hazel is a tall (more than 5 m), heat-loving shrub that grows in the central regions of Russia and in the south. In the wild, the spreading plant can be found in deciduous forests and steppes. Hazel prefers fertile, well-moistened soils. One bush can have 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 shaped like a low tree. After planting, the crop quickly takes root and grows.
The leaves of red-leaved hazel are large, oblong in the shape of a river bream fish, which gives the shrub its name. Their length is approximately 10 cm, width - 8 cm. In spring their color is dark brown with a green tint, in summer - burgundy, in spring - yellow-orange. The bottom of the leaf is always lighter than the top. 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 and appear simultaneously. Male flowers are similar to birch catkins, only pink, female flowers - in the form of buds collected in inflorescences.
Hazelnut fruits are oblong with a strong gray-brown shell. They grow 6-8 pieces on one cutting. The kernels are round, dark beige in color, nutritious, high in calories and have excellent taste. They ripen in late August or early September.
Red-leaved hazel in landscape design
Hazelnut bushes are planted as hedges. Their dense crown allows you to protect the garden from the winds. Shrubs can be used to trim tall trees. A flowerbed 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 porch or under the windows of the house. Small groves of red-leaved hazelnuts on a personal plot look simple and at the same time very impressive. Moreover, for good fruiting it is necessary to plant several plants nearby, 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 secure areas of the garden that are prone to sliding: ravines, hills.The plant's strong superficial roots anchor the soil in which it grows.
The photo shows how red-leaved hazel is used in landscape design:
Varieties of red-leaved hazel
A large number of red-leaved hazelnut species were bred in Russia, neighboring countries, and Western Europe. All of them are used not only to obtain nuts, but also to decorate the garden. Shrubs with burgundy leaves serve as color accents among garden greenery.
Lambert's red-leaved hazelnut
The plant was obtained in Holland through selection. This is a low-growing shrub (height does not exceed 4 m) with small red leaves. They remain this way only in spring; at other times of the year, only the top of the hazel has a burgundy tint.
Lambert hazelnuts bloom early, in February. Not afraid of frost. It is planted as a pollinator for other hazel varieties. The fruits of the bush are small, but have good taste. Their weight does not exceed 2 g. The nuts can be harvested as early as mid-August.
Hazel Contorta red-leaved
This is the most unusual variety of hazelnut in appearance. It has long curved shoots and wrinkled leaves. In spring the branches are densely covered with pink-red catkins. In nature it grows throughout Western Europe, the Caucasus, and Crimea. Due to its unusual appearance, Contorta hazel is used as an ornamental plant.
Red-leaved hazelnut Contorta is a low-growing shrub, its length does not exceed 3 m. The width of the crown is 2-3 m. After planting, the plant quickly takes root and grows. After fruiting begins, growth may slow down.
The shoots of the bush are dark brown, 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 dark-colored earrings, 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, on moderately moist soils.
Contorta hazel bears fruit in September. The nuts are small, oblong, in a strong braid.
The red-leaved hazelnut looks unusual and whimsical in late autumn, when it sheds its leaves and twisted, as if curled, shoots are exposed.
Red-leaved Warsaw hazelnut
The variety was bred in Warsaw in the last century. This is a tall plant that reaches 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 approximately 7 cm. In spring, the shoots are covered with numerous male inflorescences in the form of earrings. Their length reaches 7 mm.
Red-leafed Warsaw hazelnut is a fastidious plant, vulnerable to frost and waterlogging of the soil. The shrub does not tolerate shading or drafts, and bears fruit well in neutral, fertile soils. Under unfavorable conditions, hazelnuts are not pollinated; they require a pollinator plant 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 leaf hazelnut Siren
The variety was bred in Poland in the last century.This is a low-growing plant (4-5 m) in the form of a bush. After planting, it quickly gains growth. Hazel is decorated with large oval leaves of a dark red color with bright scarlet veins. Their uneven, sinewy surface is covered with small fluff.
In spring, gray catkins appear on the shoots, which turn bright red when they bloom. They grow in inflorescences of 2-3 pieces.
Hazel bears fruit at the end of summer. Nuts are located on one stalk, 5-7 pieces each. The fruits are large, oblong, the wrapper is thin and fragile. After harvesting and drying the fruit, the nut kernels are easy to remove. 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 bloom.
Planting and caring for red-leaved hazel
Hazelnuts prefer fertile, moderately moist soils that do not contain sand or clay. Hazel develops well in illuminated open areas; it 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 winds. Planting can be done in spring or autumn. Agronomists recommend rooting this crop in mid-September.
For planting, several red-leaved hazelnut seedlings with different ripening periods are selected. They will pollinate each other well. Seedlings are selected with a small number of leaves and a well-developed root system. The length of the branches on the rhizome is at least 30 cm. One seedling must have 3 or more shoots. Before planting, the roots are soaked in special solutions to stimulate growth.
A month before planting, prepare the hole.During this time, the earth in it will settle and compact well. Its size should be approximately 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 maintain a distance between seedlings (3-5 m) and choose an area that is not flooded by spring floods.
Landing algorithm:
- A mound of earth is poured in the center of the hole to root the hazel.
- The roots are taken out of the solution, straightened, and laid evenly in the center of the mound.
- The shoots are fixed vertically, tied to a wooden peg, which should be installed in the hole.
- Afterwards, the roots are covered with loose soil and lightly trampled down.
- The root collar is left 5 cm above the soil level.
- The seedling is watered with 3 buckets of water.
Watering and fertilizing
Red-leaved hazelnut loves moist soils, but does not tolerate excess water. After planting and watering, the tree trunk 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. Avoid stagnation of moisture near the shoots and rotting of the roots.
In summer, watering is carried out 2-3 times a month. Water consumption per plant is 10 liters. It is important to prevent the roots from drying out in June and July. At this time, the fruits of the current year are being formed.
After planting, red-leaved hazel should be fed no more than once every 3 years. Humus and compost are used as fertilizer. For 1 plant you will need 5 kg.At the beginning of summer, to increase productivity, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the amount of 100 g per plant.
Loosening and mulching
In the summer, the tree trunk circles need to 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 mown grass, pine needles, and tree bark. This will help retain moisture near the root.
Pruning and crown formation
Red-leaved hazelnuts are pruned in late autumn after the leaves have fallen. It is important to thin out young plants annually until they are 4 years old. This will increase the yield of the plant during the fruiting period.
The hazel is cut starting from the center of the crown, forming something like a vase. This will allow the sun's rays to penetrate to young, unformed shoots. This increases the number of nut ovaries.
During autumn pruning, dry, damaged, or too long branches are removed. The side shoots are bent down and to the sides and secured with wire. This will facilitate 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 and secure them with metal brackets. The top of 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, Pushkinsky red) overwinter well without shelter.
Harvest
The plant bears fruit 4 or 5 years after planting.Harvesting red-leaved hazel fruits 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 picked from the bush, fallen fruits are collected. From 2 to 4 kg of fruit are collected from one hazelnut bush.
After being removed from the bush, the nuts are dried for 2 weeks. Hazelnuts whose tops have fallen off are considered edible.
Reproduction
Varietal hazelnuts are propagated by grafting buds or cuttings onto a wild hazel bush. They do this at the end of summer.
In addition, there are other ways to propagate red-leaved hazel:
- seeds;
- root layering;
- shoots.
The easiest way is to divide the bush. At the end of summer or autumn, using a well-sharpened shovel, I separate a 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. Afterwards, 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, and walnut weevils. To prevent the appearance of insects on hazelnut leaves, it is treated in February before the buds open 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 mixture.
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 means and techniques, you can get a good hazelnut harvest in the fall.
We bought a red-leaved nut, planted it, and after a week the leaves began to turn green. New leaves are red, but after a few days they turn green. And the old leaves began to dry out, although we water them every other day.