Why You Need Native Hazelnuts on Your Property!

there is more to hazelnuts than Nutella and cappuccino in fact native hazelnuts are shrubs with high Wildlife value and are easy to grow today I'm going to cover the two native North American hazelnut species and discuss where and how they grow what Critters use them and I'll throw in some other fun facts about them towards the end so be sure to stick around for that I'll start off with the American hazelnut Corless Americana the most widespread hazelnut in eastern North America it is a large shrub it can grow to 10 to 16 feet tall with an 8 to 13 foot spread it tends to grow slowly and forms a multi-stem clump and can create thickets hazelnuts have distinctive separate male and female flowers on the same plant the male flowers called catkins are long yellow and appear in the spring before the leaves they remind me of caterpillars hanging from the still leafless branches the small female flowers open at the same time but are tiny about the size of a pencil eraser and look like a bud only the bright red stigmas protruding from the end of the flower make them noticeable they remind me of some weird outer space pineapple American hazelnut flowers early from March through April in most areas the female flowers form in the nuts and the invalucers the leaves that surround the nuts are very distinctive with frilly edges and resemble tiny cabbages the nuts and envelopers will turn brown as they ripen from September through October it grows best in full sun to partial shade and will grow in moist to dry well-drained soils if you love native nut producing shrubs be sure to pollinate that like button the most obvious value of hazelnuts to Wildlife are the nuts they produce all critters seem to love them for mice to deer and especially squirrels in fact if you want to try them for yourself you're going to have to time it just right or the critters will get them all birds such as wild turkey Northern Bobwhite rough grass larger woodpeckers and Jays also Feast on the nuts in addition the forming catkins are an important winter food source for wild turkey and rough grass the leaves and twigs are browsed by deer and the bark and young shoots are eaten by rabbits in the winter Buccaneers seem to really enjoy rubbing off velvet and thrashing hazelnut with their antlers if hazelnut is growing near a stream or river they are often cut by Beaver for food be sure to protect your newly planted hazelnuts accordingly just as important as the food they provide is the excellent cover provided by hazelnut it's thick foliage and dense branching multi-stemmed and often thick at forming growth habit provides excellent nesting and Escape cover for a multitude of Songbird species the dense overhead cover with open ground beneath it is also vital for Grouse Broods and for feeding and brooding cover for the declining American Woodcock possibly the coolest bird in North America if you would like to see a video devoted solely to the epically cool timberdoodle let me know down in the comments hazelnuts are wind pollinated so they do not produce a nectar to attract pollinators but they are still a source of pollen the catkins are often visited by native bees and honeybees to gather this early season protein Source it is also a host plant for at least 25 species of mods and butterflies including the polyphemus moth the next species of native hazelnut is the baked hazelnut coralist carnuta this species has a more Northern and higher elevation distribution than the American hazelnut though their ranges do overlap in general where the two are found living together the beaked hazelnut will be found in more moist soil areas and the American hazelnut will be living in the drier areas the flowers look quite like American Hazelnut and the catkins and red female flowers also Bloom early from March through May depending on location the invalucers that enclose the nuts are the main distinguishing characteristic between beaked and American hazelnut the invalucers of big hazelnut form into a long curved very distinctive beak shape the green invalucers and nuts will turn brown as the nuts ripen in August through October big hazelnut also has a multi-stemmed Thicket forming growth pattern and can grow to 12 to 20 feet tall with an 8 to 12 foot spread it grows best in full sun to part shade and in moist well-drained soils a bonus to the hazelnuts is they have great fall color the early bloom good looking spring and summer foliage and the fall color give hazelnut nearly a year-round visual appeal while hazelnuts do have male and female flowers on the same plant they are self-incompatible so for nut production more than one will need to be planted native hazelnuts are widely available from native plant nurseries as both bare root and potted stock I encourage you to try and buy hazelnut stock of known Eco type that is local to your area that will ensure that your plants will perform best in your local conditions while I have said native hazelnuts are edible and delicious don't expect them to look exactly like the European filberts that are sold at the grocery store the native hazelnuts will be smaller but many think they taste better this would include the squirrels who you will have to race if you want any if you would like to learn about another group of Native shrubs that have year-round appeal or a hit with birds and pollinators check out this video and get out and explore nature in your backyard

Channel: Backyard Ecology

Views: 15,809

Keywords: hazelnut, hazelnuts, growing hazelnuts, native hazelnuts, American hazelnut, beaked hazelnut, Corylus americana, corylus cornuta, hazelnut tree, hazelnut nuts, wild hazelnuts, hazelnuts for wildlife, hazelnuts for grouse, hazelnuts for pollinators, ruffed grouse, hazelnut nursery stock, hazelnut bushes, planting for wildlife, native plants, wild hazelnuts edible, Hazelnut flowers, hazelnuts for wildlife cover, native shrubs, native shrubs for wildlife, corylus

Id: DdIoNp5OuXo

Length: 5min 21sec (321 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 31 2023