HAZEL TREES

[andy s410c 61]

I will be taking the plunge into longnetting in the spring months ive just read the Longnetting book by Jon Hutcheon & found it very informative & shed some light on a craft i have never done or seen done i have also read the vast info placed on this part of the forum .My question for the moment is what am i looking for in a hazel tree i,ve Googled the image but im no Titchmarsh what will i have to recongnize this time of year?? i know it has dark bark but thats it :wallbash:Any help is greatly appreciated Andy....

[Rolfe 2]

I will be taking the plunge into longnetting in the spring months ive just read the Longnetting book by Jon Hutcheon & found it very informative & shed some light on a craft i have never done or seen done i have also read the vast info placed on this part of the forum .My question for the moment is what am i looking for in a hazel tree i,ve Googled the image but im no Titchmarsh what will i have to recongnize this time of year?? i know it has dark bark but thats it :wallbash:Any help is greatly appreciated Andy....

If you can find some coppiced hazel that is the best for long net pegs..........by coppiced i mean hazel that has been cut back to ground level.This then produces the long straight hazel sticks prized by long netters, snarers and stick makers.

Just look for a clump of long straight sticks in any mature woodland and you can be virtually certain this is hazel.

 

Rolfe.

[Hob&Jill 258]

Young leaves are hairy, the leaf stems have white hairs growing on them and obviously haxel nuts. The leaves are fairly rounded going into a point. The bark can also peel abit.

 

Winter, well they have catkins (google it) and generally grow in sprigs with lots of similally size branches growing up.

 

Keep looking the internet there are plenty of websites around, trust me I have had to learn 45 trees for college

[andy s410c 61]

Thanks for the replies just checked out those catkins on Google they say you,ll see them in February its been that mild might see them now im pretty sure what im looking for now Andy...

[hedgesteeper 2]

The've got hazel nuts on em

[Guest baldie]

The first thing to look for is a river or stream running through the wood, or very wet ground, here you will find your hazel, as it likes water. Cut it in winter, when the saps down, and let longnet poles , which are gonna be half inch thick-ish, season for 6 months in a dry shed.if you dont want to have to straighten them, lash them to a plank.

[andy s410c 61]

The've got hazel nuts on em

Not this time of year

[martin 332]

Try this mate...................... http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/Tr...lery/hazelc.htm

[gnipper 6,508]

Hazel ( Coryllus avellana ) is rare as rocking horse shit round here so I planted a fair few in a few different places, you can buy the whips for about 30p or less, grow your own and some extra for the wildlife

[andy s410c 61]

Try this mate...................... http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/Tr...lery/hazelc.htm

Been on there Martin spot on thanks....

[moxy 617]

The thing i find living up north like is that hazel isnt always available, yes you do get hazel, common as a woodland tree or maybee at the bottom of somebodys garden but you will struggle to find it coppiced and in the nice straight poles you are looking for, unless you travel down south where you will find it farmed and a lot more available.

You maybee lucky and find some which has suitable regrowth at the side of the road or railway if you have access without tresspassing, somewhere where regular tree/shrub clearance is common,

If you cant find what you are after use an alternative, Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) would be the favourate and is very common and easy to find as is willow (Salix species mainly) although it tends to be slightly more flexible. Small leaved lime (Tilia cordata) could be used, its very light and is perhaps not as strong as the forementioned but is in abundance and more than suitable for the job.

There is always somethng out there if you look or as the saying goes cant see the wood for the trees

[Guest baldie]

The only place i,ve found hazel that wasn,t suitable is the lake district, where there is plenty, but it grows with doglegs in it, just like hazel in ireland, i,m guessing its something to do with peat, or limestone.

If you can, cut the rubbish out of the bush, and wait for the new growth, this is coppicing yourself. Also look for felled sweet chestnut trees, they spring new shoots up rapidly, and would make good longnet stakes, i would think, as they make excellent sticks when thicker. Also any fruit trees will do the same, apple, pear, crab apple etc, although they are knobbly.

[gnipper 6,508]

I reckon Horn Beam (Carpinus betulus) would be a good tree if you can find straight sticks coz its fecking hard, Tilias are all a bit soft, Aesculus (conker trees) are all a bit snappable too, Salix would probably be a bit too bendy, Fraxinus would be ok seasoned I reckon. Privet i've found to be good and you can near enough always find a straight stem if you root in the middle of a hedge.

I know a bit about trees and what snaps and what doesn't, we have to tie the branches in to fit them on a wagon and its a pisser when you snap a main branch and have to dig another.

[hedgesteeper 2]

The've got hazel nuts on em

Not this time of year

well dont ask such daft questions then , do you know what a rabbit looks like go to B&Q and buy some dowel it'll be much easier chap. If you do go for hazel don get the 1st yr growth get the second yr stuff as its more rigid.

[moxy 617]

I reckon Horn Beam (Carpinus betulus) would be a good tree if you can find straight sticks coz its fecking hard, Tilias are all a bit soft, Aesculus (conker trees) are all a bit snappable too, Salix would probably be a bit too bendy, Fraxinus would be ok seasoned I reckon. Privet i've found to be good and you can near enough always find a straight stem if you root in the middle of a hedge.

I know a bit about trees and what snaps and what doesn't, we have to tie the branches in to fit them on a wagon and its a pisser when you snap a main branch and have to dig another.

I apreciate that you do mate but i think you would be pleasently surprised, ive been climbing trees for some years now and belive me its amazing what you can anchor your rope to and climb. in no way at all would tilias be any good without being seasoned first and you would have to be nuts to try the wood from aesculus hippocastanum. As again willow would be ok when seasoned but it would have to be the correct flovour.

Which nursery are you working for mate??