We ship to Canada and the USA except for some of the western states. Our customers often live in climate zones 4 to 7.

For bare root trees: All bare root trees are ordered in advance. These pre-orders can be placed from July until we are ready to ship the next spring. All shipping takes place from early-April to mid-May, but is weather dependant. On bare root tree pre-orders (July-December) we defer payments until January. For orders placed from January to mid-May payments are taken soon after the order is confirmed by us, and prior to shipping. Check your spam folder for payment reminders in January. If payment is not received in a timely manner, the order will be cancelled.

A 10% restocking fee will be charged on all cancelled tree orders after March 1.

For seed sales:  We open our seed page with a list of what we will have available for ordering on September 1  Orders are taken from then to October 20 or until seed is sold out. We cannot always provide the cultivar seed you want. Our own seed requirements come first. Payment is taken upon ordering. Seed is shipped when your order is harvested and ready. Some seed like pecan is harvested late October to early November so if ordered with other seed your shipment will be held up until all seed is ready.

We will prepare seed for stratification and send instructions for handling the seed for Canadian customers. In most cases water will need to be added when received to properly begin stratification. We do not prepare seed for stratification for foreign orders. A government inspection and phytosanitary certificate is required at a cost of $15 for each order and the medium (peat moss) we use cannot be included.

Please be reminded that the seedlings grown should not be identified as the parent tree. This avoids confusion with the named parent selection. The parent tree is a clone of an original selection and all clones of that tree have identical genes. A seed grown tree is not the same as the parent and should not be identified by the parent's name. Call it a "seedling of" if you need to use a name.

Seed Prices: Prices for all seed of one species or clonal variety (minimums - some seed are priced higher)  are as follows. Shipping is extra and added after ordering.

20 seeds… $18.00

100 seeds … $80.00

500 seeds … $200.00

Nut Sales, Nut Crackers, Tools, and Plantra Shelters: Orders can be made year round. Payment will be taken on ordering, and shipping will usually take place on the following business day after payment has been made.

Once a superior tree is identified, it can be replicated almost endlessly by asexual means. We call a tree reproduced this way as a “cultivar” or more loosely a “selection” or “variety”. A cultivar can be a tree that is reproduced by grafting, layering, cutting, or tissue culturing. Any tree that is produced by sprouting a seed we call a “seedling” or the child of a tree, and therefore only shares a portion of the characteristics of the female parent.  A “cultivar” has almost all the characteristics of the superior tree.

'Layering' is a method where the plant is produced with its own roots. 'Layering' is an old term used to produce own rooted hazelnut trees. Basal sucker shoots are bent down and pinned to the ground so that the top of the stem is erect. Roots form where the stem is arched upward, making a new plant that is a clone to the suckering mother tree. Since there is almost no difference between trees produced by "layering", "cutting" or "tissue culturing" (all are on their own roots), we will list all of our trees produced these ways as "Layers" no matter which of the three methods were used to produce the trees.

A grafted tree is the only way that is essentially different from the other ways to reproduce trees asexually. A grafted tree uses a root system that is not genetically identical to the tree top. With grafted trees it is important to remove sprouts if they occur below the graft union. Since the rootstock favors its own genetics, any sprouts that are allowed to grow will outgrow the grafted top and possibly lead to graft failure.

Layering is a method of cloning a selection, but unlike grafting, the tree is on its own roots and not dependent on a rootstock. The term “layering” refers to an old method where suckers or branches from the tree are bent down into the ground, pinned and arched upward so the top of the suckers are up out of the ground. The point where the bend in the ground turns upward is where roots form on the stem. Afterwards the rooted stems are cut off and grown into an identical plant of the parent tree. Cuttings are produced in a similar manner except the branch is removed from the tree and rooted. In our catalog, we simply refer to cutting reproduction as layering too. Most of our fig trees are reproduced by cuttings.

Packing potted trees for shipping is time consuming, heavy and expensive to ship. There is greater risk of damage to boxes and trees when shipping in pots.

Please click here to download our planting instructions for a bare root tree.

Key points:

• Keep the roots moist and do not allow them to dry out prior to planting.
• Once planted use mulch or a weed mat to maintain mositure around the tree and to prevent competition with grass or weeds.
• Water 2-3 times per week.
• Prune off suckers below the grafted portion of a grafted tree.

We are excited about helping you to learn about growing hazlenuts commercially. We have created a guide to help new growers learn the basics of growing hazelnuts. Click here for the Guide.

The first place to begin is the Ontario Hazelnut Asociation, OHA, website where there are many resources available for the beginning hazlenut grower. Click here to go to their website.

Also on the OHA website there are OMAFRA  Fact Sheets that provide a valuable amount of information. Click here for the Fact Sheets.

Ernie Grimo wrote a book as a guide for farmers who are new to growing nut trees. It can be purchased through our website OR you can receive it for free when you purchase a 3 year membership to the Society of Ontario Nut Growers. Click here for more info.

Once you have had a chance to learn the basics from the information cited above we woule be pleased to speak with you in more detail.

979 Lakeshore Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Canada L0S 1J0. GPS will direct you.

We have a potted tree area for July through fall for drop-in customers. It is an informal area of potted trees and our hours are not always consistent. Our potted tree selection varies each year based on availability. A list of what is available is found on the 'Potted Tree' page.

Summer off-season hours are generally 10-5 pm, Tuesday - Saturday. If you are coming from a distance, it would be best to call or email a day ahead.

We do not ship trees or grafting wood to Europe due to the heavy regulations for Europeans to import from North America. The restrictions became impossible by fall 2019. 

Walnut trees are usually partially self-pollinating if pollen shedding is at an overlap period when the female flowers are receptive. Receptivity lasts a few days to a week. Some trees shed pollen before the females on the same trees are receptive. Other trees have female flowers that are receptive before the male pollen is shed. By matching the two opposites we get a longer period of pollination and so a bigger potential crop.

These spacing suggestions vary as some people have limited space while others have plenty.

• Hazelnuts, Pawpaw and Quince: 3m -7m
• Mulberry, Pines, Ginkgo and American Persimmon: 5m -7m
• Chestnuts, Pecan, Hickory and Beech: 6m-12m
• Heartnuts, Buartnuts, Persian Walnuts, Black Walnuts and Oaks: 9m-12m

European hazels and their hybrids will grow to 6m (19 feet) tall and spread 5-7m (16-23 feet). We recommend spacing these trees at 6m x 5m (19 feet x 16 feet).  Click here to see more about spacing standard size hazelnut trees.

We do not recommend pruning most trees for the first 2 years. Pruning a young tree reduces the ultimate growth for the year and should only be done as a last resort. On the other hand you want to remove undesirable branches before they get over 2 inches in diameter. Pruning is done to open the tree to allow sunlight to reach lower branches and increase nut production. Most home growers do not need to prune more than to remove low branches that interfere with mowing and yard maintenance. Central leader training would be good in the early years. Often young trees will produce 2-4 leader shoots joined at sharp angles. It is a good idea to annually remove all but one of these branches to maintain one upright leader going as high as you can reach with a pole pruner.

Hazelnuts will send up suckers from the root and it is advisable to remove these suckers 1-2 times during the growing season. Some growers like to leave 3-4 stems to form the permanent top of the tree.

Yes, we provide discounts for tree orders as below. Seed, tools, books and crackers are not discounted. 

Net order before shipping

• over $1000 get 5% discount
• over $2000 get 10% discount
• over $3000 get 11% discount
• over $4000 get 12% discount
• continued 1% increase to a maximum of 20%

Unfortunately extensive consulting, added paperwork, changes to your original order, previous claims, and time consuming emails negate or reduce discounts at our discretion. Orders with discounts are not eligible for our full replacement warranty.

The gypsy moth is found over most of eastern North America now, but it has not reached Manitoba westward to BC. As a result, for us to send trees to these provinces, we need to have a CFIA inspection of all of the trees going there with documentation. CFIA charges us for this work and we simply pass the cost on.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates the movement of trees. To prevent diseases, including insects, viruses and fungi that exist in the east from reaching BC, this ban is imposed.

We guarantee that your tree(s) will leaf out and grow, provided you follow the planting cautions and instructions provided with the trees. When full price is paid on your tree order there is up to 100% replacement allowance on failed trees provided you let us know in writing by email or mail (by September 1 but not before June 20). A phone call is not accepted for replacement. The written claim must explain that procedures were followed, and the trees were not damaged by too much or too little irrigation, a killing frost, insects, animal damage, a zone we do not recommend or planted a low, poorly drained site. 

CLAIM FORM - Please submit this claim form with the photos of your failed tree(s). Photos must be focused on the tree and not on the background.

We require a detailed description of the planting site, planting procedure and photo proof of loss. We may ask for the return of the tree or with clear photos as proof of loss. Instead of asking for the tree to be returned, we may ask you to destroy the tree by cutting in half at the lower trunk and sending us a photo.

We have the right to choose to refund for the value paid, or replace the trees as described below.

Replacement Follow Up

Once approval for a replacement is provided, we require that you re-order the lost tree with all your information. In the comment section, please include a copy of our written replacement approval and we will remove the charges and send you a copy. If other trees are ordered with the replacement(s), only the replacement tree(s) are exempt from charges. The order needs to be received in a timely manner to be sure that your tree(s) are reserved for you.

All replacements will be provided the following spring and are only replaced at the same value paid. 

For Commercial growers, most losses are less than 2%. We reserve the right to limit losses. Growers who receive discounted rates for their tree purchase are limited in the replacement policy to a max of 3% of the total trees purchased. A higher rate of loss is not normal, and we will work with the grower to find a solution to prevent future losses.

Mud packing is a term used to describe a way of killing chestnut blight cankers before they encircle the tree. Small branch cankers can be pruned off and burned to prevent spread but when a major limb or the trunk of a susceptible tree is attacked mud packing will control it. Simply make a slurry of garden soil and water, plaster it around, above and below the canker and cover the slurry with stretch wrap to keep it in place. After a month or so it can be removed. If the callous around the injury is normal healing tissue then it was successful, if not, reapply the mud.

A variety of names have been used to identify hazelnuts. In England they are commonly called ‘cobnuts’. North American native hazels were called hazelnuts and European hazels were called filberts to create a differentiation. Jack Gellatly in BC called his native crosses with European filberts ‘filhazels’ and crosses with Turkish tree hazel as ‘trazels’. Finally Oregon producers decided to call all European, native and the hybrids ‘hazelnuts’, since the other names were often confusing and unknown. We have adopted this simple terminology too.

The chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) was accidentally introduced to Southern USA from Japan on illegally imported grafting wood in 1974. It spread from there northward to Ohio and finally to Southern Ontario. It is a tiny parasite that lays eggs in the chestnut buds in late May and early June, then within 40 days, hatches and remains almost dormant until the following May when the buds become active. The larvae feed on the inside of the bud for 20-30 days causing it to develop swollen distorted growth. It emerges in late May or early June to repeat the cycle. This pest only attacks chestnut. By removing and burning galls in May the spread can be eliminated on young trees. There are no sprays that can be used to control this pest.

Fortunately there are parasitoid wasps both natural and imported that follow the wasp and lay eggs in the gall wasp larvae, hopefully keeping it under control and allowing the chestnut to survive.

We like the ‘Duke’ black walnut cracker the best for cracking black walnut. The rack and lever action multiply the force reducingthe effort to crack black walnut.

The insect you are describing is the walnut husk fly, a fly that resembles the common house fly. In black walnuts and heartnuts it does not seriously affect the nut meat, but in Persian walnut shell is blackened and the meat is dark and possibly bitter. The fly lays its eggs in the husk of the walnut in August but it is in the orchard for some time after emerging from the ground.

To control this pest, mix an attractant (black strap molasses) with an insecticide that is approved for this pest and spray it on the lower branches of the walnut trees in early to mid-August and again about 10 days later. The molasses will attract the flies to feed on the poison and kill them. In this way the whole tree does not need to be sprayed.

Here is a useful map with climate zones and a map of the area. Click  here.

Navigation such as Google maps is quite accurate.

Nut Sales, Nut Crackers, Tools, and Plantra Shelters: Orders can be made year round. Payment will be taken on ordering, and shipping will usually take place on the following business day after payment has been made.

Seedling trees are grown from seed, so each resulting tree grown from seed is an individual having the seed parent and a pollen parent. Each seedling different in genetic makeup, just like every child is different.

• Nut size, shape and shell thickness may be different from one seedling to the next.
• Ripening date will also vary from seedling to seedling.
• Nut production will vary from heavy to very light.
• Nut filling of the shell may vary from well filled to poor fill.
• Number of blank nuts will vary from seedling to seedling.
• Ease of removing the nuts from the husk can vary.
• Tree hardiness may vary from very hardy to tender.
• Resistance to filbert blight will vary from nearly immune to susceptible.
• Resistance to bud mite can vary too.

Hazelnut clones are reproduced by asexual means, that is, the superior selection is reproduced by layering, tissue culturing and sometimes by cuttings. Layering is a method where a sucker or shoot coming from the root or stem of a tree is bent down into the ground and caused to root at the bend.

In tissue culturing, buds from a mother tree are forced into growth. The growth is removed from the mother plant and is grown in a sterile environment into another tree.

To root cuttings, new stems are removed from the forced mother tree and rooted in a mist bed.

These new offspring have the same genetics as the mother tree it came from and therefore the nuts produced and the tree characteristics will be copies of the mother. This also means that we can predict all the above characteristics where we can’t with seedlings.

Bare root trees as the name suggests are trees that are grown in the soil and dug with the soil removed. This allows the trees to grow a well-developed root system. We prune them after digging to prepare them to grow vigorously for you. This also makes them easier to ship.

On arrival the tree(s) may appear lifeless and small. That is because they are dormant. They do not need soil at this time but be aware the roots do need to be always kept moist and cool until they are planted. Care is also needed to protect the roots from freezing while they are waiting to be planted.

Potted trees are heavy. We can prepare 50 potted trees in a plastic bag or shipping box carefully packed together that can be easily carried away by car or be safely shipped right to your door anywhere in Canada and much of the USA. A truck or trailer would be needed for the same potted trees.

Bambora is the processing company and may show up on your credit card statement. It is supposed to say Grimo Nut Nursery, and we apologize if it does not. We are working on this!