(Corylus maxima) by Roundtable AGM Report 2016

Hazelnuts Cob © RHS Lesley Whayman

Author Kirsty Angwin AGM Round Table Coordinator, The Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey, GU23 6QB

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016

RHS Hazelnut

AGM by Roundtable

The criteria which a needs to fulfil in order to receive the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) are:

 excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions  available  of good constitution  essentially stable in form and colour  reasonably resistant to pests and diseases

AGM by roundtable discussion is a method of awarding AGM when the genus or plant group in question displays any or all of the following criteria:

 impractical or impossible to trial  not in the trials plan for the next 5 years  proposing plant committee does not contain the expertise to recommend ‘in house’

and has the following attributes:

 current lack of AGMs  relevant to today’s gardener  outside expertise is identified

Present at Meeting: J Morgan (Chairman),Simon Brice, John Cannon, Nick Dunn, David Pennell Not Present Contributor/s: Dr Meg Game and Alexander Hunt RHS Staff: L Whayman (Partnership Coordinator)

The Hazelnut forum was created by the RHS , Vegetable and Herb committee to assess nuts in 2014. The forum comprised Dr Joan Morgan (chairman), Simon Brice, John Cannon, Nick Dunn and David Pennel. A meeting was held by the forum on 28 August 2014 under the guidance of John Cannon of Roughway Farm, Plaxtol, Kent. The assessment was based on the nuts grown at Roughway Farm, both those for sale and as part of a collection of some 40 .

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016

Information was also gathered from Alexander Hunt of Potash Farm, Plaxtol, who markets nuts for sale and from Dr Meg Game, a professional ecologist who has made a special study of growing and sells nuts.

Background Information There are a few points to be born in mind when growing hazel nuts in a garden. The tree requires another to pollinate it and produce a crop. This is not usually a problem in the countryside where there are wild hazel nuts growing in hedges and woodland, but in an urban situation it will be necessary to ensure that there is another tree nearby.

If possible, it is best to plant trees on their own roots rather than grafted, so as to avoid the problem of too much suckering from the rootstock.

Hazel nuts are not prone to insect pests and diseases, though nut weevil and ‘big bud’ can be a problem. The main pest is the grey squirrel (American grey tree rat) and sometimes crows later in the season.

John Cannon reported that “the new threat to the commercial harvesting of brown hazel nuts is the uncontrollable increase in the badger population – not just the taking of the ripe nuts ready for shaking but the climbing and destruction of small trees laden with nuts.

The voting forum made the following recommendations at this roundtable discussion.

The Panel recommended the Society’s Award of Garden Merit to:

Photo Kentish Cob © RHS Lesley Whayman

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016

Corylus maxima 'Kentish Cob' (F) Synonyms Corylus maxima 'Lambert's Filbert', Corylus maxima 'Longue d'Espagne' Raised c1880 by Mr Lambert of Goudhurst, Kent. Good sized nut; kernel fills the shell; very few blanks. Excellent flavour; rich and meaty. Early season, cropping before the squirrels become active. Regular, good crops. Medium vigour tree; moderate amount of suckering. Pollinated by Gunslebert, Cosford, Hall’s Giant/Merveille de Bollwiller. The main cultivar of commercial nut plantations in Kent. Reliable hazel nut, easy to grow in a garden situation; needs a pollinator.

Corylus maxima 'Gunslebert' (F) Synonym Corylus maxima 'Gunsleben' (F) Old German cultivar obtained in 1757 by Pastor Henne of Gunsleben in Hanover. Good sized nut; kernel fills the shell; very few blanks. Excellent flavour; very tasty. Mid-season. Regular, good crops; nuts held as large clusters of four nuts. Medium vigour tree; moderate amount of suckering. Pollinated by Kent Cob, Cosford. Good tree habit, a natural goblet shape and exceptional attractive with prolific making it also an ornamental tree. A mainstay of Kent nut production. Reliable, hardy hazel nut, easy to grow in a garden situation; productive and ornamental; requires a pollinator.

The following were also considered for AGM but were not awarded.

Other Hazel Nut Cultivars Examined

Corylus maxima ‘Butler’ Discovered 1958 by Joe Butler in his orchard c1940 in Wilsonville Oregon, USA; probably Barcelona X Daviana. Introduced 1980. Large nut; moderate to weak flavour; grown mainly as a source of nut oil. Late season; heavy regular crops. Vigorous tree; moderate amount of suckering. Pollinated by Ennis, Hall’s Giant/Merveille de Bolwiller Flavour below average; too vigorous for a garden.

Corylus maxima ‘Cosford’ Brought to notice 1816; originated Ipswich and probably named after the ‘hundred’ of Cosford in Suffolk, according to Bunyard. Large nut; very good flavour, but not as good as Kent Cob and Gunslebert on this occasion. Thin shell; very easy to crack. Light to moderate crops. Pollinated by Gunslebert, Hall’s Giant/Merveille de Bolwiller, Kentish Cob.

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016

Corylus maxima ‘Ennis’ Developed by F. Groner, Washington, USA; introduced 1940; Barcelona x Daviana. Large nut; very good flavour; tendency to produce a good many blank nuts. Consider the best flavoured of all by some nut producers, but not reliable enough for commercial production. Pollinated by Butler, Hunt’s Giant/Merveille de Bolwiller, Kentish Cob.

Corylus maxima ‘Hall’s Giant’ Syn., Merveille de Bollwiller. Raised Silesia, introduced c1820 by Bauman’s Nursery of Bollwiller, Alsace. Large nut; moderate flavour; bit dry; good deal of ‘felt’ around the kernel; very hard shell. Good regular crops. Medium vigour tree; moderate amount of suckering. Pollinated by Cosford, Butler, Ennis, Kentish Cob Main virtue is the large size of the nut; insufficient worth for a garden.

Corylus maxima ‘Merveille de Bollwiller’ see Hall’s Giant

Corylus maxima ‘Pearson’s Prolific’ Originated Newark, Notts from a nut said brought home from Labrador. Introduced by Pearson’s Nursery, Chilwell, Notts. Medium/small nut; very good flavour. Nuts not easy to de-husk. Crops regularly and very heavily, hence the name. Weak to medium vigour tree. Needs a pollinator.

‘Corylus maxima Red Filbert’ Ancient origin. Resembles White Filbert except for red skin on the nut and red foliage. Medium sized nut; good flavour. Ornamental red foliage, but light crops. Needs a pollinator.

Corylus maxima ‘Webb’s Prize Cob’ Raised by Tomas Webb, Calcott, Reading. Large nut; kernel fills the shell; few blanks; very good flavour. Closely resembles Kentish cob and possibly superior flavour. Easier to de-husk than Kentish cob. Early season; heavy crops; little suckering. Weak to medium vigour tree. Needs a pollinator. Very similar to Kent Cob; need to keep under observation.

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016

Corylus maxima ‘White Filbert’ Known for many centuries Medium/small nut, smaller than Kent cob; moderate flavour. Earliest of all nuts; medium crops; medium vigour tree; moderate suckering Needs a pollinator. Not attractive enough for a garden.

Source: Horticultural Trials and Relations, RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB E-mail: [email protected]

More information about RHS Trials, AGM Round table awards and other colour illustrated reports can be found on the RHS Website: http://www.rhs.org.uk/trials

Hazelnut AGM round table report 2016 K. Angwin 2016