Pruning / coppicing hazel

Hi,

I have a hazel "tree" - corylus avellana (though technically I think it is a big shrub) that is getting a bit too big. It has been in the ground for around 4 years and some of the stems are very thick, so I think the plant is strong enough for some rough treatment.

Based on a look online, two forms of pruning are discussed:

1. Light pruning
2. Coppicing, almost down to ground level.

However, what I would like to do, is in between the two... I was thinking of reducing the height by 2/3 and also thin it out. I am assuming that since the two extremes (light pruning coppicing) are OK, so should something in between. Do you agree? I don't really care about missing out on hazels (it produces very few anyway).

Thank you.

 

You can do as you suggest. We coppice our allotment hazel because it promotes new straight shoots that are useful but in our garden we prune for shape. Over the years we have maintained a nice twisted multi trunk specimen with a raised canopy but still have to deal with the straight shoots at the base. It's the best season for heavy cutting but tbh we cut bits back as and when we want and have never had any problems.

 

Perfect, thank you very much @Thevictorian

 

I have gone to town with it. I hope it's happy in Spring

 

Do not be concerned if the largest stem fails to regrow. Hazel often grow out radially once cut, producing many more stems. Infact, it is this multiplication that makes ideal for coppicing to produce timber.

 

Thank you @infradig, that's very useful to know. I must admit that I was hoping that growth wouldn't be from the base, but from the main stems. However, as long as it is happy and of a manageable size, that's fine by me. I do regret a bit cutting it back so hard, if I was doing it now I would have left 1-2 ft more.

 

https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/02/rin259.pdf

 

I have 2 hazels for nuts, planted by previous owner. Both have got very big with lots of trunks. I had a tree surgeon last year for another tree so he also coppiced one hazel, he said the other one could stay as it is as it isn't in the way as the first one was, by the path.

This year the coppiced one grew masses of new stems. I have cut all but 8 to use as plant supports and I will let the eight grow, may reduce them to six.

The other hazel didn't have nuts in its shells last autumn. I thought it may be because of the wet spring but recently I read that if you want nuts you need 2 trees to fertilise each other, so maybe that's the reason.

 

I do coppicing for conservation, we cut them down to about 10-30cm above the ground depending purely on how lazy we are at the moment and theyre always ok after. only danger is the deer nibbling the new bits so we usually leave a few fresh whips to sustain its energy

 

This is what you can do with 'worthless whippy waste' thats no good for sticks or hurdles.

 

the most wasteful bit is rly the giant logs, too big for stakes. nobody wants to pick them up as its a slog. food for mushrooms and bugs it is! we just dump them on the ground in piles.
maybe we could turn it all into charcoal or something. grow edible mushrooms?

 

Not really wasteful as they provide homes for lots of wildlife.

 

Thats because the coppice has been neglected ie overgrown . Should only be a problem once....just remember to go back in 7 years
Expect if you put the logs near a roadside gateway they will walk. Mushrooms for sure, charcoal if you have the inclination, neither is rocket science.

 

I remembered that I had started this thread a while ago and thought I would provide an update. This is the hazel now:



It took a while for growth to reappear. While everything else was waking up in Spring, there wasn't much happening with the hazel, but eventually it woke up. I like it, and I am glad that the growth is not from the base.

 

We have a hazel hedge which is kept to a manageable size. As well we have 4 hazels trees/bushes. These are coppiced in rotation. The cut branches are used around the garden especially in the veg areas for support. Only one year did we get any hazelnuts. The squirrels take the lot.