Almond Trees
As the cobnut is really a type of filbert-which has the husk shorter than the nut-I am dealing with them both under one heading. These nuts grow well on almost any soil, though they probably do best on light land because under such conditions they make less strong growth, with the result that they crop better.
Because they flower early, they appreciate protection against the north and northeast winds, plus an open sunny situation. They are usually propagated by the layering of the two-year-old wood in the autumn and the trees grow well on their own roots.
At the moment of writing I have no knowledge of the grassing down of the soil underneath the nut trees. I have always grown my nuts on land that is very lightly cultivated in the summer for the purpose of keeping down weeds.
The trees are grown as cup-shaped bushes on stems 15 inches high. These trees are usually bought as two-year-olds and are planted 15 feet apart, preferably in November. The young trees are pruned very much in the same way as apples, only perhaps they are more basin- shaped. They should have about seven branches and in the first few years the leaders are cut back by about half to just above an outward pointing bud.
The dropping of the nuts, which is attributable to the brown rot disease, is also bound up with the punctures made by the nut weevil. When the weevil is controlled so is the brown rot disease, for the spores of the latter cannot get into the nut unless it is punctured by the weevil. Hundreds of acres of cobnuts have been grubbed in the past because until 1947 no one knew how this weevil could be controlled.
The laterals, or one-year-old side growths, are then cut back by half and the leaders by about a quarter. All the spindly short laterals should be retained because it is on these that the bulk of the fruits are borne.
Because they flower early, they appreciate protection against the north and northeast winds, plus an open sunny situation. They are usually propagated by the layering of the two-year-old wood in the autumn and the trees grow well on their own roots.
At the moment of writing I have no knowledge of the grassing down of the soil underneath the nut trees. I have always grown my nuts on land that is very lightly cultivated in the summer for the purpose of keeping down weeds.
The trees are grown as cup-shaped bushes on stems 15 inches high. These trees are usually bought as two-year-olds and are planted 15 feet apart, preferably in November. The young trees are pruned very much in the same way as apples, only perhaps they are more basin- shaped. They should have about seven branches and in the first few years the leaders are cut back by about half to just above an outward pointing bud.
The dropping of the nuts, which is attributable to the brown rot disease, is also bound up with the punctures made by the nut weevil. When the weevil is controlled so is the brown rot disease, for the spores of the latter cannot get into the nut unless it is punctured by the weevil. Hundreds of acres of cobnuts have been grubbed in the past because until 1947 no one knew how this weevil could be controlled.
The laterals, or one-year-old side growths, are then cut back by half and the leaders by about a quarter. All the spindly short laterals should be retained because it is on these that the bulk of the fruits are borne.
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