hazelnuts, chestnuts, or??

[mopinko]

looking at next years planting, and want to grow some nuts. don't want a huge tree. i think some of the hybrid chestnuts are a little easier to dwarf, but not sure.
hazel bushes would be fine, and that is where we are leaning. plus i love hazels. but skinning and all is labor, and that will be a factor.
think i might xpost this in cooking, but will get a little feedback first.

[Shagbark Hickory]

1. Almonds immediately come to mind but you can't grow them everywhere

and you don't say where you're located.

I think you'll need to be in CA but what great nuts.

[mopinko]

2. in chicago

so, yeah,

[BlueToTheBone]

3. What about almond? They are SO beautiful

int he spring when they bloom, are self pollinating and so you only need one.

[mopinko]

4. i am zoned 6.5

with a little warm micro-climate. maybe there is one that i can get away with. they have to be dwarf or dwarfable.

[BlueToTheBone]

5. Chestnuts are giant

Hazelnuts are small. Almonds are about 25'...I think Hazelnuts are too. Hazelnut is probably a great choice. I have been toying with beaked hazelnut and decided that I would add that to my woodland tree planting and put the American in the garden. The beaked is gorgeous with its early spring long golden catkins.

[Agony]

6. Butternut?

Juglans cinerea. it's native to the NE including your area. It can get pretty big but I have nuts on one at 20 feet. The fatal flaw might be that it fights with tomatoes (if you plant it near a garden area).

Awesome nutmeat milder than Black Walnut.

Cheerio!

[Denninmi]

7. Chestnuts will give a higher overall yield.

But they get enormous. Filberts would be far more pragmatic for smaller spaces. If you do filberts, you MUST get varieties immune to Eastern Filbert Blight. Non-resistant varieties are about 100% guaranteed to die when they reach a good bearing size.