This winter, we experienced a month of ‘real’ winter – over 60 cm of heavy snow that caused significant damage: a destroyed greenhouse, broken trees and branches, flattened and deformed rosemary shrubs, ornamental plants...
What affected me the most was the damage to the young hazelnut seedlings. They have entered their 4th year, and I’ve been working hard to shape them as trees rather than shrubs. Out of about 40 seedlings, at least half have bent or broken leaders.
Since this is a suitable period for fruit tree pruning, I’m wondering how to repair the damage? Will my hazelnuts be able to recover after pruning (given the damaged leaders)? Will their growth be slowed down, or is it better to start considering removing and replacing them with new seedlings now?
