PlantSowGrow
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Hazel (Kentish Cob): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 4+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water in dry spells for the first summer
- Soil
- Any well-drained soil; not too rich · pH 6.0–7.5
- Spacing
- 4–5 m apart
- In pots
- Best in the ground
- Feeding
- Little feeding needed; mulch in spring
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–8
- Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant the Tree
Plant the hazel at the same depth it grew in its pot, in a hole twice as wide as the root ball. Firm the soil and water well.
- Straight after “Plant the Tree”
Stake and Tie
Drive in a short stake on the windward side and fix it with a soft tree tie. Check the tie each spring so it never cuts into the bark.
- 1 day after “Stake and Tie”
Water In Deeply
Soak the root area with a full watering can, then keep the soil moist (not wet) for the first few weeks.
- 7 days after “Water In Deeply”
Mulch the Base
Spread 5–8 cm of compost or bark mulch in a 1 m circle, keeping it clear of the trunk.
Every year
- FebruaryWinter Pruning ("Brutting")
While catkins are out, thin congested growth and remove suckers from the base to keep an open, multi-stemmed bush.
- MarchSpring Mulch
Mulch the root area with compost.
- AugustSnap the Shoots
Break (not cut) strong new side shoots halfway and let them hang — this "brutting" encourages next year's flowers.
- SeptemberHarvest Cobnuts
Pick green cobnuts from late August for fresh eating, or wait until husks turn brown and store dried. Beat the squirrels to them.
