Coppicing Hazelnut: When to Do It and What to Expect

Coppicing — cutting a hazelnut back to near ground level to regenerate from the stump — is one of the oldest woodland management techniques in Britain and northern Europe. Hazelnut is one of the species best adapted to this treatment, and coppicing can restore an overgrown, unproductive plant to vigorous fruiting condition remarkably quickly.

When Coppicing Is the Right Choice

There are three main situations where coppicing a hazelnut makes sense. First, an overgrown stool that has become so large and congested that annual pruning cannot restore it to manageable size. Second, a plant severely affected by big bud mite, where cutting to the ground removes the infested wood entirely and forces clean regrowth. Third, a very old plant that has stopped fruiting well and whose main stems are producing little new productive wood. Coppicing is not a routine annual task — it is a restoration or renewal treatment used when more moderate pruning has reached its limits.

When to Coppice

The ideal timing for coppicing hazelnut is late winter or very early spring — February to early March in the UK — just before or as the sap begins to rise. At this point the plant's energy reserves are stored in the root system, and cutting now triggers rapid, vigorous regrowth from dormant buds on the stump and from the root system. Autumn coppicing is also possible but may produce weaker initial regrowth. Avoid coppicing in summer when the plant is in active growth.

How to Coppice

Using a sharp pruning saw or loppers, cut all the stems down to within five to ten centimetres of ground level. Make cuts as close to the main stump as possible without leaving long stubs, which can die back and invite disease. The stump that remains is called the coppice stool. It contains the accumulated root system of the plant and will drive rapid regeneration. Remove all the cut material from the site — this is when to deal with any diseased wood without spreading spores. A coppiced hazelnut typically produces dozens of new shoots from the stool within the first growing season.

Managing the Regrowth

In the first summer after coppicing you will have a mass of vigorous new shoots, often two metres tall by the end of the season. In the second winter, thin these to six to ten of the strongest and best-positioned, removing the rest at the base. This gives you the framework of a new multi-stemmed bush. By year three, most coppiced hazelnuts begin producing catkins again, and crops follow in year four or five. The wait is worthwhile — a well-thinned coppice regrowth produces better crops faster than the old congested stems it replaced.

Long-Term Coppice Rotation

In traditional woodland management, hazelnut was coppiced on a seven to twelve year rotation, producing the straight poles used for hurdles, wattle fencing, and other crafts. For a fruit-producing garden hazelnut, a longer cycle — coppicing every fifteen to twenty years when the plant becomes overgrown — is more appropriate. Between coppicings, annual thinning and selective stem removal maintains productivity.