How to Germinate Hazelnuts

Rub each hazelnut with sandpaper until a moderately deep depression is created on the hull. Soak them in a bowl of warm water for 48 hours before sowing them.

Fill 1.5-gallon nursery containers with a soil mixture of equal parts loam and medium-grit sand. Fill the containers to within 2 inches of the top.

Set a hazelnut on the surface of the soil in each nursery container. Press the hazelnut into the soil until it is halfway buried. Cover it with a 1-inch-thick layer of the soil mixture created in Step 1.

Run a garden hose into each nursery container until the soil is saturated in the top 4 inches. Let the water drain off for 15 minutes before moving the nursery containers.

Place the nursery containers inside a secure, well-ventilated cold frame for the winter. Water the hazelnuts only if the soil becomes dry in the top 2 inches.

Close the ventilation on the cold frame in spring as soon as daytime temperatures reach 50 F. Keep the ventilation closed until the seeds germinate, which takes approximately 30 days at 68 F.

Remove the nursery containers from the cold frame as soon as the hazelnuts germinate. Move them to a sheltered, partially shaded spot until the following spring, then transplant the seedlings 25 feet apart in a sunny bed.