WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Corylus cornuta, WUCOLS IV

How often to water beaked hazelnut in California

In July in the Central Valley, established beaked hazelnut in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 7.6 gallons a week. Beaked hazelnut is a deciduous, suckering shrub named for the long, beaked husk around each small nut. Pale catkins hang from bare twigs in late winter or early spring, before the leaves open. Its western form, California hazel, grows wild in woodland shade and near streams. It does best with steady moisture in soil that drains well, and it is not a drought plant.

ShrubRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water beaked hazelnut, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for beaked hazelnut and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 3 to 4 inches down under a young hazelnut's branches means it is ready for a deep soak
  • Leaves that wilt in afternoon heat and stay limp into the evening, with dry soil below, point to thirst
  • Leaves turning golden yellow in autumn before they fall is normal for this shrub, not a sign of drought
  • Leaves yellowing in midsummer while the soil stays soggy point to poor drainage rather than thirst
  • Catkins that brown and drop after a cold night in early spring show frost damage, since its flower buds are frost tender

How to water it

  • Water a young beaked hazelnut over its root ball and just beyond, widening the wet area as suckers thicken the clump
  • Soak until water reaches about 12 to 18 inches down, then let the top couple of inches dry before the next soak
  • Plant it in part shade under taller trees, as it grows in the wild, in rich soil that drains well
  • Keep fallen leaves or a layer of wood chips over the root zone to hold moisture like a woodland floor
  • Cut out root suckers you do not want, and keep the drip zone inside the clump you mean to keep

Through the seasons

Water a new beaked hazelnut through its first summers, until its roots spread well past the planting hole. It stays a moderate water shrub after that, not a drought plant. Catkins open on bare stems in late winter or early spring, and leaves follow. Nuts ripen from late summer into fall. Leaves turn yellow and drop in autumn, and the bare shrub rests through winter. WUCOLS rates beaked hazelnut moderate water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley and on the south coast. Winter rain covers the cool months in those regions. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Beaked hazelnut suckers and spreads, so a container suits it only while it is young. Use a deep pot with open drainage holes and a rich mix that still drains well. Check the mix 2 inches down every few days in summer, and more often in inland heat. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer. Keep the pot in part shade, out of hot afternoon sun. The bare winter plant uses little water, so let rain do most of the work and check the mix between storms.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.671.32.02.70.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.671.32.02.70.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Beaked Hazelnut: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.78–––
Feb0.530.650.81–––
Mar0.871.091.15–––
Apr1.181.521.4–––
May1.462.081.61–––
Jun1.612.481.74–––
Jul1.612.671.98–––
Aug1.492.391.86–––
Sep1.241.81.49–––
Oct0.871.181.15–––
Nov0.470.560.84–––
Dec0.310.340.65–––
Year1217.1115.5–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like beaked hazelnut. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

RosesRosa hybrids..bushmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAzaleasRhododendron spp. (CA native and non-native spp.)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCamelliasCamellia japonica (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGardeniasGardenia spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBird of ParadiseStrelitzia reginae (shade in desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHibiscusHibiscus rosa-sinensismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySago PalmCycas revolutamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyArborvitaeThuja occidentalis ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBambooBambusa spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyLilacsSyringa hybrids (including Descanso hybrids)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpireaSpiraea spp. (CA native and non native spp.)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyButterfly BushBuddleja davidii and hybridsmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyRed BuckeyeAesculus paviamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyWestern ServiceberryAmelanchier alnifoliamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than beaked hazelnut in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

LavenderLavandula spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRosemaryRosmarinus officinalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyOlive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySalviaSalvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybridslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySucculentsEcheveria spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRussian SagePerovskia spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWild PrivetLigustrum vulgarelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCoralberrySymphoricarpos orbiculatus (SHADE)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue Leaf WattleAcacia salignalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes beaked hazelnut, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water beaked hazelnut in summer?

In July, established beaked hazelnut in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley and about every 11 days on the south coast. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does beaked hazelnut need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established beaked hazelnut needs about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 4.3 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for beaked hazelnut change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates beaked hazelnut separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can you eat beaked hazelnuts?

Yes. The small nuts are edible and can be roasted once the hairy husk is removed. Squirrels and other wildlife often take most of the crop, so protect or pick the nuts if you want them. Commercial hazelnuts come from other species.

Is beaked hazelnut native to California?

Yes. Its western variety, California hazel, grows wild in California woodlands and forest openings. The species also ranges across much of Canada and the eastern United States.

Will beaked hazelnut grow in shade?

Yes. California hazel grows as an understory shrub in part to full shade. The species is also grown in full sun to part shade, in soil with medium moisture that drains well.

How do I stop beaked hazelnut from spreading?

It sends up root suckers and can form a thicket if they are left. Remove unwanted suckers promptly at ground level. Let them grow only where you want a hedge or screen.

Why did my hazelnut lose its catkins?

Its flower buds are easily damaged by early spring frost. Catkins that brown after a cold snap usually show frost injury, not a watering fault.

Do deer eat beaked hazelnut?

California hazel is listed as deer resistant. Birds still feed on its winter buds and spring catkins. The nuts draw squirrels and other wildlife in late summer and fall.

More plant watering guides

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Sources