I discovered a small seedling beneath my 20" twisted hazel. When I gently removed it, it was still attached to the hazelnut with a root system approximately 2 1/2" long. I tranferred it to a small container of potting soil. What are my chances of getting another twisted hazel from this?....or will it be whatever the root stock was....I did not see any blossoms or nuts on the tree...however, what are the chances of a hazelnut appearing there any other way?
Very low probability of it inheriting the twisty shoots. It'll almost certainly just be an ordinary Hazel (unless it's some other weed altogether!).
Hazel nut trees always send up suckers. Commercial orchards typically prune them off to allow for easier nut harvesting. Twisted hazels are all clones (from a chance seedling found in a British hedgerow)propogated by cuttings grafted to regular hazel rootstock. Your seedling/sucker will be a standard hazel. I'd plant it anyways for the nuts...
