Hazelnut Seeds - Beaked

**Orders containing large seeds are only eligible for parcel shipping rates.**

(Corylus cornuta) Perennial.  Zones 3 - 8. 

Beaked Hazelnut is a native nut tree species that adds diversity to a woodland garden and produces a delicious crop of highly nutritious nuts! Beaked Hazelnut is also known as beaked hazel, beaked filbert, American cuckold nut, western hazelnut or western hazel. 

Beaked Hazelnut is an important food for First Nations communities and can be eaten fresh or saved for longer storage. Twigs and stems can be used as ties, for weaving baskets and fish traps, and making arrows. 

Hazel is a harbinger of Spring - its small round buds erupting in May in a tiny flurry of magenta at the end of slender stems! Beaked Hazelnut can be identified by its bright green leaves, which are rounded oval, saw-tooth and fuzzy. Leaves turn a brilliant yellow in Fall and slender catkins are lovely in the late Winter garden.

The round, edible Beaked Hazelnuts are enclosed in a green, bristly beaked husk, often in groups of 2-3 ripening in early Autumn. Rich in protein and fat, creamy and delicious, hazelnuts are beloved by foragers, human and wild alike! If you want to harvest the tasty nuts, you may have to compete with chipmunks, squirrels, ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, woodpeckers and blue jays! 

The shrub grows up to 10 feet under the right conditions. It grows well as an understory shrub in the dappled shade of tall trees. For a productive nut harvest, plant at least two Beaked Hazelnut together in full sun. 

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Cold Hardiness: Zones 3 - 8

Edible: Yes

Size: Small Shrub

Growth Rate: Medium - Slow

Nitrogen Fixer: No

Native Plant: Yes

Germination: 60 - 80%

Sun requirements: Tolerates heavy shade. Fruits best in Full Sun.

Soil Requirements: Rich, moist, well draining. Tolerant of poor soil.

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GROWING INSTRUCTIONS

**Refrigerate seeds upon receipt. Keep seeds cool until you're ready to start stratification**

SEED PRETREATMENT: Soak seeds in water for 24 hours. Mix seeds with a moistened grow medium equal to 3-4 times seed volume. Place in a plastic bag, covered tray/cells or container.

STRATIFICATION: After soaking seeds, start 30 days warm/moist (20°C), the top of your fridge is a good spot for this. Monitor for mold. Next, 180 days cold/moist (5°C), in your fridge is a good spot for this. Inspect periodically for even moisture and germination.

POST-STRATIFICATION: Sow stratified seeds 1” deep, ideally in a peat/perlite mix. Water evenly and regularly.

GERMINATION: When all previously mentioned requirements are fulfilled, germination generally occurs in 60-75 days.

Hazels are thicket forming shrubs, plant in a spot they can spread.