Hazel: when and how to prune

Corylus avellana

Prune a hazel in winter, in November–March, ideally after the catkins have flowered: every year, saw a few of the oldest stems off at ground level, or coppice the whole shrub every 7–10 years.

Hazel is a native shrub that keeps renewing itself from the base. That is why it takes pruning so well: you can even cut it down to just above the ground, and within a few years a new clump of straight stems has grown back. That is exactly how it used to be managed, as coppice for bean poles, wattle and firewood.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Key facts
Pruning months	November–March
Nesting season (15 March–15 August)	Take care in March
Flowering	January–March
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees, butterflies and birds
Native to Belgium	Yes

Hazel: when to prune it?

Prune in winter, in November–March, when the shrub is bare and you can see the stems clearly. Ideally wait until the catkins have finished flowering, in late February or early March: by then the first bees have had their pollen.

Finish before mid-March. That is when the nesting season starts, and blackbirds, song thrushes and blackcaps like to nest in a dense hazel.

Don’t prune in hard frost: frozen stems snap more easily. And pruning in summer means cutting off the ripening nuts.

What else to prune in those months? January · February · March · November · December

Hazel: how to prune it?

A hazel grows as a clump of stems coming out of the ground. Keep it that way, and don’t cut the stems back halfway: you would get a broom of thin shoots without nuts.
Every year, saw two or three of the oldest, thickest stems off as low as possible. You can also recognise them by the tangle of thin twigs at the top, which hardly bear any nuts.
Also remove dead, weak and crossing stems, and stems growing inwards: this lets light into the shrub, and light means catkins and nuts.
If you manage it as coppice, cut the whole shrub down every 7–10 years, about 5–10 cm above the ground and at a slight slant so rainwater runs off. It will sprout again in spring.
In winter, dig out any suckers you don’t want with a spade. With a piece of root attached, they make a new shrub for elsewhere in the garden.
Don’t coppice a row of hazels or a hedgerow all at once, but in sections, spread over several winters. That way, birds and squirrels always have shelter and food.

How much to cut, and how often?

A few of the oldest stems every year, so the shrub renews itself gradually: a mature hazel has around ten stems of different ages.
As coppice, everything at once every 7–10 years. For a few years afterwards there are few catkins and nuts, but plenty of long, straight poles.
If you mainly want nuts, keep the shrub open, with six to ten strong stems, and plant a second hazel or another variety nearby: they pollinate each other on the wind.

What does it mean for wildlife?

The catkins flower as early as January–February. The wind does the pollinating, but on mild days honeybees and early bumblebees collect pollen from them: it is their first food of the year. So ideally prune after flowering.
Winter pruning falls outside the nesting season (15 March–15 August), unless you are still at it in the second half of March. In that case look carefully first, as disturbing an active nest is against the law.
In September the hazelnuts ripen: food for squirrels, jays, woodpeckers and wood mice. Squirrels and jays bury many of them, and the forgotten nuts grow into new shrubs.
The leaves feed the caterpillars of dozens of moth species. Put the thin stems on a dead hedge: a shelter for hedgehogs, wrens and insects.

Common mistakes

Cutting all the stems back a bit every year, so the shrub turns into a dense broom with few catkins and nuts.
Sawing old stems off halfway instead of at ground level.
Never removing old stems, so the shrub goes bare at the base and bears fewer and fewer nuts.
Coppicing a whole row or hedgerow in one winter, so birds and squirrels lose their shelter in one go.
Coppicing or pruning hard after mid-March without checking for nests first.

Caution: Don’t prune during the nesting season (mid-March to mid-August) if birds are nesting in the shrub.

Nearby: related pruning guides

Plant profile: Hazel · Pruning calendar and basic rules