Red-leaved hazel is a honey plant with excellent taste of fruits. Thanks to the lush crown with burgundy leaves, hazel is used as an ornamental plant that fits perfectly into any landscape.
Description of red hazelnut
Red-leaved hazel is a high (more than 5 m), heat-loving 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. In one bush can be up to 9 trunks. Their bark is ash-gray, dense, smooth. In young shoots, it is dark red.
In nature, the shrub has a sprawling, ball-shaped crown. Its diameter can reach 6 m. In artificially created landscapes, hazelnuts give the shape of a low tree. After planting, the culture quickly takes root and grows.
Important! During the fruiting period, shrub growth slows down.The leaves of the red hazel leaf are large, oblong in the form of river fish bream, 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 tinge, in summer - burgundy, in spring - yellow-orange. The bottom of the sheet is always lighter than the top. On the veins there is a small down.
Hazelnut blossoms early, before the appearance of the leaves, in late February, early March. Male and female inflorescences are on the same plant, appear simultaneously. Male flowers are similar to birch earrings, only pink, female flowers are in the form of buds, gathered in inflorescences.
The hazelnut fruit is oblong with a strong gray-brown shell. Grow 6-8 pieces on one handle. The kernels are round, dark beige, nutritious, high-calorie with excellent taste. Ripen in late August or early September.
Important! Hazelnut fruiting for 4 years after planting.Red hazel leaf in landscape design
Hazelnut bushes planted as a hedge. Their dense crown helps protect the garden from the winds. A shrub can be used to tamp tall trees. The flowerbed, bordered with dark red hazel plants, will look advantageous at any time of the year.
It is good to plant lush purple bushes near the porch or under the windows of the house. Unpretentious and at the same time, very small groves of red-leaved hazelnut on the backyard area 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 hazel leaf is planted at a distance of 3 m between the bushes.
With the help of hazelnuts you can fix the areas of the garden, prone to sliding: ravines, hills. Strong superficial roots of a plant well fix a soil on which grow.
The photo shows how red-leaved hazel is used in landscape design:
Varieties of red hazelnut
A large number of species of red hazelnut was bred in Russia, the near abroad, in western Europe. All of them are used not only to produce nuts, but also to decorate the garden. Shrubs with burgundy leaves are used for placement of color accents among garden greens.
Lambert's hazelnut leaf
The plant is obtained in Holland by breeding. It is a short shrub (height does not exceed 4 m) with small red leaves. As such, they remain only in spring, at other times of the year only the tip of hazel has a burgundy shade.
Lambert hazelnut blossoms early in February. Frost is not afraid. 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. Harvest nuts can be collected in mid-August.
Branch Hazel
This is the most unusual kind of hazelnut. It has long curved shoots, shriveled leaves. The 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, hazel office is used as an ornamental plant.
Red-leaved hazelnut Konturta is a short-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. After the start of fruiting, growth can slow.
Shoots in dark brown shrubs, ornate twisted. The rhizome creeps close to the surface of the earth, the branches are long, strong, curved. The leaves are small, no more than 2 cm in length, in spring and autumn red, in summer - green. Their surface is covered with fuzz, they look wrinkled, as if damaged by pests. The bush is blooming with dark-colored earrings; on top they are covered with yellow pollen.
Red-leafed hazel blossoms bloom in late March or early April. Prefers to grow in open, well-lit areas, on moderately moist soils.
Fruit hazel Kontorta in September. Nuts are small, oblong, in a strong braid.
Red-leaved hazelnuts look unusual and bizarre in late autumn, when they shed their leaves, and twisted as if curled shoots are laid bare.
Filbert Warsaw krasnolistny
Variety bred in Warsaw in the last century. This is a tall plant that reaches 7 m in height. The krone is magnificent, sprawling, the size in diameter reaches 6 m.
The leaves are large, long, in spring brown-red, in summer they are green, in autumn they are bright orange. Their length is about 7 cm. In spring, shoots are covered with numerous male inflorescences in the form of earrings. Their length reaches 7 mm.
Red-leaved Hazelnut Warsaw is a capricious plant that is vulnerable to frost and waterlogging. The shrub does not tolerate shading and drafts, bears fruit well on neutral fertile soils. Under adverse conditions, hazelnuts are not pollinated, it requires a pollinator plant or artificial pollination.
Hazelnut ripen Warsaw in early autumn. It has a medium-sized fruit (approximately 2.5 cm in length), the fruit wrap is thin.
Important! During ripening kernels may fall out.Red hazelnut Siren
The variety was bred in Poland in the last century. This is a short growing plant (4-5 m) in the form of a bush. After disembarking, it is rapidly gaining growth. The decoration of hazel are large oval leaves of dark red color with bright scarlet veins. Their uneven, wiry surface is covered with a small down.
In the spring, gray earrings appear on the shoots, which, when blooming, turn bright red. They grow in inflorescences of 2-3 pieces.
Hazel is fruiting at the end of summer. Nuts are located on the same handle 5-7 pieces. Fruits are large, oblong, the wrapper is thin and fragile. After harvesting and drying the fruit of the nut kernel is easy to remove. Tastes nuts high.
Hazelnut siren - a plant frost-resistant, can withstand a temperature drop to -20 Сᵒ. Blooms early - in early March, before the leaves bloom.
Planting and care for red hazel leaf
Hazelnut prefers fertile, moderately moist soils that do not contain sand or clay. Hazel grows well in open areas of light, it grows in the shade, but bears poor fruit.
Preparation of planting material and plot
To get a good harvest of nuts, planted several hazelnut bushes nearby. Choose an open area, well lit by the sun, not blown by the winds. The landing can be carried out in spring or autumn. Agronomists recommend rooting this culture in mid-September.
For planting choose several seedlings of red hazelnut with different ripening terms. They will pollinate each other well. Seedlings choose with a small number of leaves, well-developed root system. The length of the branches on the rhizome is not less than 30 cm. There must be 3 or more shoots on one seedling. Before planting, roots are soaked in special solutions to stimulate growth.
A month before planting prepare pit. During this time, the land in it will settle and well compacted. Its size should be about 70x70 cm, not less. The bottom of the pit is filled with a bucket of humus with a glass of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium sulfate.
Landing rules
For good survival and rooting hazel planted according to certain rules. It is important to observe the distance between the seedlings (3-5 m), choose a site that is not heated by spring floods.
Landing Algorithm:
- In the center of the pit piled hill land for rooting hazel.
- Remove the roots from the solution, straighten, smoothly spread in the center of the bulk of the hill.
- Shoots fixed vertically, tying to a wooden peg, which should be installed in the pit.
- After the roots fall asleep loose earth and lightly trampled.
- The root neck is left 5 cm above the soil level.
- Sapling watered 3 buckets of water.
Watering and feeding
Red-leaved hazelnut loves moist soils, but does not tolerate excess water. After planting and watering, the trunk circle should be mulched with needles or sawdust.
One week after planting, watering is repeated. It is necessary to ensure that the moisture from the previous time is fully absorbed. We can not allow stagnant moisture near shoots and rotting of the roots.
In the summer, watering is carried out 2-3 times a month. Water consumption per plant - 10 liters. It is important to prevent the drying of the roots in June, July. At this time, the formation of the fruits of the current year.
Feed the red hazel leaf after planting should be no more than 1 time in 3 years. As a fertilizer use humus, compost. For 1 plant they need 5 kg. At the beginning of summer, nitrogen fertilizers in the amount of 100 g per plant are added to increase the yield.
Loosening and mulching
In the summer several times a month, tree trunks should be loosened. This should be done carefully and shallowly, because the roots are close to the ground. After watering, as soon as all moisture is absorbed, the soil around the rhizomes mulch (cover) with mowed grass, needles, tree bark. This will keep moisture near the root.
Important! The mulch should not come into contact with the trunk or the shoots of hazel. From this they peruyut and rot.Cropping and crown formation
Pruning hazelnut hazelnut spend late autumn after foliage fall. It is important to thin out young plants up to 4 years old. This will increase the yield of the plant during the fruiting period.
Leshchina cut, starting from the center of the crown, forming the likeness of a vase. This will allow the sun's rays to penetrate the young, still unformed shoots. This increases the number of nuts.
During the autumn pruning, dry, damaged, too long branches are removed. Side shoots bend down and to the side, fixed with wire. This will facilitate the access of sunlight and air into the crown.
Preparing for the winter
Young plants up to 4 years old must be wrapped with agrofiber or film for the winter. You can bend down long shoots to the ground, fix with metal brackets. From above the bush is covered with spruce branches. As soon as the snow falls, throw it on top of a bush. Red-leaved hazelnut over 4 years old, frost-resistant varieties (Maria Makarevich, Miracle of the All-Svyatsky, Pushkin Red) winters well without shelter.
Harvest
Fruits the plant at 4 or 5 years after planting. The collection of red-leaved hazel fruits starts 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, collecting fallen fruits. From one bush of hazelnuts collect from 2 to 4 kg of fruit.
After removal from the bush, the nuts are dried for 2 weeks. Hazelnut is considered to be suitable for food, and its pluses have fallen off.
Breeding
Varietal hazelnut propagated by grafting buds or cuttings on wild bush of hazel. Do it at the end of the summer.
In addition, there are other ways of breeding red hazelnut:
- seeds;
- root layering;
- shoots.
The easiest way - the division of the bush. In late summer or autumn, with a well-sharpened shovel from the mother bush, I separate the plant with 2-3 shoots. On them at a distance of 15-20 cm from the rhizome make small incisions. This stimulates the growth of new branches. After a new bush rooted according to the rules.
Diseases and pests
Red-leaved Hazel - variety resistant to diseases and pests. Rarely attacked by aphids, shchitovki, caterpillars, walnut weevil. For the prevention of the appearance of insects on the leaves of hazelnuts it is treated in February before the blooming of the kidneys with appropriate preparations. Repeatedly spray the bushes after the appearance of the leaves.
Important! Dangerous hazel pest - driller beetle. His females lay eggs in the fruits of the plant. After insects completely destroy the crop.The krasnofistny filbert is subject to fungal diseases. To combat them, spray the bush with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.
Conclusion
Red-leaved hazel is an unpretentious frost-resistant plant. Its fruits are loved for its high nutritional value, rich mineral composition, good taste. Using a minimum of agricultural tools and techniques, you can get a good harvest of hazelnut in the fall.
