Hazel cultivation
Hazel grows quickly with a large number of stems on coppice stools.
The young shoots are supple which makes them perfect for weaving.
Hazel can grow as a small, single stemmed tree, but as it tends to be shrub like and grows a number of stems from the base. Buds open in April and the shoots grow throughout the summer. The leaves stay on the trees until October or November. The female flowers tend to be wind pollinated and the nuts ripen in September and October.
Hazel grows best in sunny conditions. After it is coppiced, the dormant buds on the stool and under the ground will begin to grow.
When in rotation very little hazel dies off when coppiced, stools can live for several hundred years. When neglected stools can become unstable and may only live for 70 - 100 years.
Hazel coppice can either be grown as simple coppice, or coppice with standards. It is traditional to grow hazel with oak standards. A neglected hazel coppice, however, can have too many standards that have not been thinned and the hazel regrowth will be stunted due to the increased shading.
A stool density of about 1500 per hectare will give a good yield. Hazel is best cut at between 6 and 10 years when the butt diameter of the stem is about 7.5cm
Forestry Commission have produced a good guide on restoring hazel coppice.
Pests and diseases By Prof. Julian Evans
Strouts and Winter list rather more diseases and insect pests than for chestnut but in my experience none is widespread and damaging. It also suffers a bit from the bacterium Xanthomnas causing some death of buds and spotting of leaves. The main problem trying to grow good quality hazel is deer damage.
Mammal browsing by John Bailey of Sussex Environmental Pest Solutions
Hazel coppice can become susceptible to damage from deer and rabbits in the early stages of re-growth. When food is short, rabbits will find hazel coppice irresistible even balancing on their hind legs to browse off the bark and leader shoots. To prevent rabbits from browsing the hazel re- growth I have found several methods that work. Fencing is the favoured ecological approach; however it can be quite expensive and labour intensive to erect, also restricting other wildlife within the woodland. The least favoured ecological approach is to carry out rabbit control using phostoxin. Through experience of managing hazel coppice woodlands, I have found this method to be “90% successful” but fumigation must be carried out by experienced trained personnel.
Deer are seen as the number one offenders and cannot resist newly coppiced hazel re-growth, often using the coupes as MacDonald's drive through’s. The top method of control/prevention is to fence off the entire compartments and cull the deer fenced off inside, however this method is very expensive (see Forestry Commission for advice on grant aid). Other solutions are available however they are not very effective. (See deer deterrents). It is from experience that if you are thinking of coppicing large areas of hazel without rigorous pest control the objective laid out in the site plans will fail or fall short of the mark.
Further reading
Identification and prevention of mammal damage to trees in woodland