January Hazelnut Care Guide

Main Theme: Winter Pruning & Planning the New Season

January is the month when the hazelnut bush sits in full dormancy. The leaves have dropped, sap movement has stopped, and the branch framework is clearly visible to the naked eye. That visibility makes January the best month of the year for pruning and reshaping the orchard. It is also the harshest month for frost and snow load, so January work has to be planned around weather windows: concentrate the work into a mild week and wait out the hard freezes.

What you do in January sets the foundation for the whole season — the shape of the canopy, the soil test your fertilizer plan will rest on, and the repair of orchard infrastructure. Anything left unfinished carries over into the February care calendar.

The January Pruning Window

The aim of pruning is to open the bush to air and light, rejuvenate ageing wood, and keep a high proportion of productive branches. Once the leaves have fallen, reserves have moved down into the roots and trunk, so a January cut costs the plant less energy than a cut at any other time of year.

Choosing the Right Day to Prune

Not every January day is a pruning day. Let the weather decide:

Weather condition	Prune?	Reason
Dry air, temperature above 0 °C	Yes	The wound surface dries quickly and starts to callus
Night frost, daytime above 0 °C	Yes, limited, in the afternoon	Cuts are cleaner once the wood has thawed
Temperature below -5 °C	No	Frozen wood turns brittle and the fibres tear
Branches covered in snow or ice	No	High risk of a bad cut and of accidents
Persistent rain or fog	Postpone	A wet wound surface is an open door for fungal spores

Cutting Order and Basic Rules

• Remove dead, broken and diseased branches first; you only see the true condition of the bush once those are gone
• Thin out branches that rub against each other, grow inwards, or close off the centre of the canopy
• Cut at the base of the branch without damaging the branch collar, and leave no stub
• Never remove more than 30% of the canopy volume from one bush in a single season

Caring for the Cut Surface

On branches thicker than a finger, the cut is an open wound. Cut on a dry day, tidy the surface, then apply pruning sealant. Disinfect shears and saws between bushes — this step is essential after working on a bush showing signs of canker or bacterial blight.

Removing Suckers

Hazelnut grows as a multi-stemmed bush and constantly throws new shoots from the root crown. Left alone, these suckers crowd the bush, block light and air, and divide the water and nutrients that should go to productive stems.

Winter is the ideal time for this job, because:

• On a leafless bush it is obvious which stem is a sucker and which is a productive trunk
• The plant is dormant, so the shock of cutting is at its lowest
• A sucker removed before it lignifies leaves only a small wound

Cut suckers at ground level with shears. A stub left 10-15 cm above the soil will push out several new shoots in spring. Do not leave the removed material at the base of the bush.

Dormant-Season Spraying

Dormant-season spraying is a protective treatment aimed at pests that overwinter on branches and trunks, and at disease organisms sheltering in bark crevices. With no foliage in the way, the spray reaches the bark directly, which is why the treatment is so effective at this time of year.

Two rules govern the timing:

• Apply after leaf fall but before bud swell
• Choose a day that is frost-free, still and dry; the spray needs a few hours of dry weather to settle

If the window is missed in January, the treatment shifts into February, which is the main month for winter pest sprays in hazelnut.

Soil Analysis: The Fertilizer Plan Is Built in January

January is the best time of year for soil sampling: no fertilizer has been applied, there is no crop on the bushes, and when the results arrive there is still time to plan the spring programme. Since the first nitrogen application goes on in mid-March, a sample taken in January comes back exactly when you need it.

• When: On a day when the soil is friable, not muddy
• Where and how deep: Under the canopy drip line, at a depth that represents the root zone
• Method: Sub-samples from several points in the orchard are mixed into one composite sample
• Where to send it: An accredited laboratory recommended by your provincial or district directorate of agriculture

Farmyard manure is also planned now: well-rotted manure is applied at roughly 25-30 kg per bush, once every 3-4 years, spread under the canopy drip line. It does not need repeating every year.

Checking for Snow Damage

Always walk the orchard after heavy snowfall. Wet, heavy snow breaks branches, especially on bushes with wide crotch angles.

Check point	What to look for	What to do
Main stems	Splits, cracks, leaning	Clear the snow load, add support if needed
Branch unions	Torn bark, opened crotches	Tidy up with a clean cut and seal it
Broken branches	Hanging or half-snapped wood	Remove the branch completely and smooth the wound
Young plants	Bending, loose root collar	Straighten with a stake and firm the soil

Do not beat branches with a pole to shake the snow off; frozen wood snaps under that impact. Clear snow by hand or with a shovel, working gently from the bottom upwards. Ragged break surfaces never callus over properly and become entry points for pathogens such as canker.

Preparing for Frost Protection

Hazelnut has not woken up in January, so the risk of frost damage is low; the real danger comes with early bud break in late February and early March. January is therefore a preparation month:

• Identify the hollows and enclosed spots where cold air pools in your orchard
• Check over any equipment you plan to use for frost protection
• Get into the habit of following meteorological warnings
• Clear hedges and piles that block air movement through the orchard

For the methods themselves, see our frost protection guide.

Orchard Infrastructure: The Advantage of the Dead Season

There is no crop on the bushes in January and machinery tracks will not damage new growth, which makes it the best time of year for infrastructure work.

• Drainage: Clear the channels. Water standing in the root zone is the single biggest trigger of root rot
• Terraces and banks: On sloping ground winter runoff washes out the banks; repair them before erosion spreads
• Orchard tracks: Fix the muddy sections that held you up at harvest
• Boundaries and fencing: Finish wire, post and gate repairs this month

Tool and Equipment Maintenance

Rainy days belong in the workshop. Equipment serviced in January prevents lost days during the February-March rush.

Equipment	Maintenance
Hand saw / chainsaw	Sharpen teeth, adjust tension, check oil and filters
Pruning and lopping shears	Sharpen, replace springs, oil the joints, disinfect
Sprayer	Check seals and hoses, clean nozzles, test pressure
Hoes, spades, rakes	Tighten handles, remove rust

Run the sprayer with clean water and check the spray pattern: a worn nozzle throws the dose off, wasting product and giving uneven coverage.

What Not to Do in January

January Work Plan at a Glance

Period	Priority
Week 1	Walk the orchard, assess winter damage, draw up the job list
Week 2	Take soil samples, start pruning if the weather allows
Week 3	Continue pruning and sucker removal, clear the debris
Week 4	Drainage and track repair, equipment servicing, plan February

The plan shifts with location: in the higher orchards of Giresun and Ordu the pruning window is narrow, while along the coastal belt it is considerably wider. Build your own calendar from your orchard’s records of previous years.

📚 Hazelnut Research Institute 📚 FISKOBIRLIK 📚 Giresun Chamber of Agriculture