Additional information
| Scientific Name | Corylus avellana x colurna |
|---|---|
| Height | 20' |
| Spread | 15' |
| Foliage | Green |
| Zone | 5 |
The Beast TM Hazelnut (Corylus avellana x americana OSU 541.147)
$40.00
Bred at Oregon State University and tested in New Jersey and Nebraska, OSU 541.147 ‘The BeastTM’ is the latest selection from the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium. ‘The BeastTM’ is 75% European hazelnut and 25% American hazelnut and highly resistant to eastern filbert blight (EFB), a characteristic it gets from the American hazelnut ‘Rush’. ‘The BeastTM’ is vigorous and productive in New Jersey, where it has shown no EFB in several years of evaluation. Testing in Nebraska has shown it to be hardy to at least zone 5, while further testing in zone 4 is still ongoing.
The nuts are small-medium in size with a slightly long shape and borne in clusters of 3-4 with open husks about 60% longer than the nuts. The kernel size is 1.16g, which is similar to ‘Wepster’ and suitable for the kernel market. Nuts are 44.1% kernel by weight, which is similar to ‘Barcelona’, and about 85% fall free of the husk at harvest time, similar to ‘Jefferson’. ‘The BeastTM’ can be grown as a small, rather upright tree with proper pruning, and will grow to approximately 20’ tall and 15’ wide after 10 years. Otherwise, the plant will grow as a large multi-stemmed shrub without any pruning.
As with all hazelnuts, ‘The BeastTM’ needs other pollen-compatible hazelnuts nearby to produce nuts. Pollen compatibility alleles for ‘The BeastTM’ are 8 & 23, and it is recommended that it be paired with ‘Grand Traverse’ (11 & 25) or other hazelnuts that do not carry the same pollen allele numbers. Open-pollinated seedlings can help boost pollen availability for nut production until more pollenizers are available. Typical orchard spacing recommendations are 20’ x 20’. Another option is 20’ x 10’ with the idea to prune out half of the plants by year 10.
Check out the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative for more info on orchard design, pruning etc. https://www.midwesthazelnuts.org/
$1.50 Royalty included in the price of the plant
Planting an orchard? – Call for bulk discount pricing!
