Nut tree
How to grow hazelnuts and cobnuts
Corylus avellana / C. maxima
Hazelnuts, cobnuts and filberts grow in sun or light shade on almost any well-drained soil, and crop best where the ground is not rich. Plant bare-root between November and March, 4 to 5 m apart. They are pollinated by wind in February, so plant two different varieties for a full crop. Train each as an open, goblet-shaped bush about 2 m tall so you can reach the nuts, and expect to compete with grey squirrels for them from late August.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Sun to light shade
- Soil
- Most well-drained soils; not too rich
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting hazelnuts and cobnuts
WhenPlant Nov to Mar; catkins Feb; harvest Sep to Oct
Starting off
Plant bare-root Nov to Mar, pot-grown any month. Propagate by layering: peg shoots down in Feb to Mar and sever the rooted layer next winter, or lift suckers. Nuts sown fresh in Oct outdoors germinate in spring but do not come true. Wind-pollinated, grow two cultivars: Kentish Cob, Cosford, Gunslebert, Butler.
Spacing and planting
Trees 4 to 5 m apart (plat orchards use 4.5 m), grown as an open-centred bush on a 45 cm stem about 2 to 2.5 m tall; in a hedge 1 m apart. Hole 60 cm wide, planted at the nursery depth. Not a container plant.
Varieties worth growing
- Kentish Cob
- The traditional Kent variety, properly a filbert: long nuts of very good flavour and heavy crops. Needs a partner such as Cosford or Gunslebert.
- Cosford
- Thin-shelled, sweet nuts and plenty of catkins, which makes it the best all-round pollinator to plant alongside any other variety.
- Gunslebert
- Vigorous and heavy cropping, with medium nuts in large clusters. A good pollinator for Kentish Cob.
- Butler
- Large round nuts on a strong, upright tree, cropping reliably and ripening mid season.
- Red Filbert
- Purple-red leaves, long claret catkins and red-skinned nuts. Lighter cropping, grown as much for looks as for the harvest.
Hazelnuts and cobnuts month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Plant bare-root trees. Catkins lengthen. Sever and transplant last year's rooted layers.
- February
Catkins shed pollen and the tiny red female flowers show. Prune now; brushing the branches helps the pollen fly.
- March
Finish pruning. Light feed for young trees only. Peg down shoots to layer. Last bare-root planting.
- April
Leaves open. Water newly planted trees in dry weeks.
- May
Pull or cut suckers from the base while they are soft.
- June
Water young trees in drought as the kernels begin to fill.
- July
Nothing to do. Keep the grass short under the trees ready for harvest.
- August
Brut: snap strong new side-shoots half through at about six leaves and leave them hanging. Pick green cobs from late in the month.
- September
Main harvest as the husks yellow. Gather fallen nuts daily before the squirrels do.
- October
Last nuts. Dry in a single layer in an airy shed for two to three weeks, then store in the shell.
- November
Plant bare-root trees. Rake up leaves and fallen nuts.
- December
Plant in open weather. Turn the soil lightly under the bushes to expose weevil grubs.
Feeding hazelnuts and cobnuts
A light feeder that gives wood, not nuts, on rich soil. Feed lightly for the first three years to build the framework, then stop altogether.
Low, over-rich soil gives growth, not nuts; a light feed only.
Feeding plan
At planting, once
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, in contact with the roots: 50 g for a tree from a 10 litre pot, or enough to coat the damp roots of a bare-root tree.
March, first three years only
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m², the low end of the label range: 70 g over a 1 m² circle round each tree, raked in. Skip it on fertile soil.
Established trees
No fertiliser
Nothing. If a mature tree is making shoots over 60 cm a year with few nuts, the soil is already too rich: let grass grow underneath and prune in August.
Signs to watch
Vigorous 1 m shoots and few nuts
Nitrogen excess or over-rich soil
Stop feeding, grass down, brut in August
Pale leaves and short growth on a young tree
Nitrogen short
Light balanced feed in March
Older leaves yellow between the veins
Magnesium
Epsom salts or kieserite
Pests, diseases and problems
Nuts stripped from the tree while still green, with split shells and husks on the ground
Grey squirrels
Nothing organic keeps them off entirely. Keep bushes low and 5 m clear of taller trees and fences that squirrels can jump from, and pick as green cobs in late August before they have taken the lot. A small bush can be netted with wire mesh.
A neat round hole in the shell and the kernel eaten
Nut weevil; the grub feeds inside, then bores out and drops to the soil to pupate
Gather and bin fallen nuts promptly in late summer. Lightly cultivate the soil under the bushes in winter to expose the grubs to birds, or let hens scratch there.
Shells that are empty or hold only a shrivelled kernel
Poor pollination, or drought in early summer as the kernels fill
Grow at least two varieties close to each other, do not prune until the catkins are shedding pollen, and water young trees in a dry June.
Buds swollen to several times normal size in winter, which fail to open
Hazel big bud mite
Pick off and bin the swollen buds in winter. It looks worse than it is and rarely reduces the crop.
White powdery patches on the leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew
No action needed this late in the season. Rake up the fallen leaves.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
Winter-prune in Feb to Mar at catkin time (the shaking spreads pollen): keep 8 to 12 open main branches, shorten leaders by half while young, cut suckers to the base. 'Brut' in Aug by snapping strong new laterals halfway and leaving them hanging, then shorten them to 3 to 4 buds in Feb to encourage female flowers.
Harvest and storage
Pick green cobs in late Aug to Sep to eat fresh and milky, or wait until the husks brown and nuts drop in Sep to Oct. Dry in a single layer in an airy shed for 2 to 3 weeks; first crop 3 to 4 years, 2 to 5 kg per mature tree. Stored dry in shell they keep 6 months.
Good to knowGrow two for cross-pollination.
Growing hazelnuts and cobnuts in pots
Hazels are not suited to pots. A cropping tree needs a wide root run, you need two of them for pollination, and a containerised hazel makes weak growth and very few nuts. If space is short, plant them 1 m apart as part of a mixed hedge and leave a stretch unclipped: an untrimmed hedge hazel still carries nuts, though fewer than an open bush.
Hazelnuts and cobnuts: common questions
Do I need two hazel trees to get nuts?
Yes, for a worthwhile crop you need two different varieties. Hazels are wind-pollinated and a tree's own pollen rarely sets its own nuts, partly because the catkins and female flowers on one tree are often not ready at the same time. Plant two varieties in the same garden; Cosford is a good partner for most. Wild hazel in a nearby hedge also helps.
How do I stop squirrels eating my hazelnuts?
You cannot stop grey squirrels completely, but you can beat them to part of the crop. Pick the nuts green in late August and early September, when the kernels are full but before the squirrels strip the tree, and eat them fresh. Keeping the bushes low and isolated from taller trees, and netting small bushes with wire mesh, also helps.
What is the difference between a hazelnut, a cobnut and a filbert?
They are all hazels and are grown in the same way. Hazelnut is the general name and the wild nut. A cobnut is a cultivated hazel with a short husk that leaves the nut showing. A filbert has a long husk that covers the nut completely. Confusingly, the famous Kentish Cob is a filbert by that definition.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.