If you look closely at our hazelnut trees right now, you might notice something unexpected.
While this year’s hazelnuts are still maturing, long, pale green structures called catkins are already beginning to develop for next year’s crop.
It might seem strange that the trees are preparing for next year before we’ve even harvested this year’s nuts—but that’s exactly how hazelnut trees work!
What Are Catkins?
Catkins are the male flowers of the hazelnut tree.
They begin forming during the summer and continue developing throughout the fall. They remain on the tree all winter, waiting for the right conditions.
By late winter or early spring, the catkins release millions of tiny grains of pollen into the air.
How Are Hazelnuts Pollinated?
Unlike many fruit trees, hazelnut trees rely on the wind, not bees, for pollination.
When the weather is right, the catkins release their pollen, which is carried by the wind to the tiny female flowers on nearby hazelnut trees.
Those female flowers are easy to miss—they’re only a few millimetres across and look like tiny red tufts emerging from a bud.
Once pollination takes place, the tree begins developing the hazelnuts that we’ll harvest later in the season.
A Tree That’s Always Planning Ahead
One of the fascinating things about growing hazelnuts is that the tree is always thinking ahead.
While we’re watching this year’s crop mature, the tree is already producing the catkins that will help create next year’s harvest.
It’s a reminder that hazelnut growing is a year-round process. Every season plays an important role, and every stage helps shape the crop we’ll enjoy in the future.
As we get closer to harvest, we’ll continue sharing what’s happening in the orchard and some of the fascinating processes that make growing Ontario hazelnuts so unique.