Filberts
In 1988, we planted an Ennis and Butler Filbert. I thought that they'd be relatively small trees. Silly me. They're larger than even the semi-dwarf apple which has gotten huge.I also foolishly thought that they'd be a great source of nuts. They do produce lots of nuts. However the squirrels and the Stellar Jays get them all before they ripen.
One year I decided to try and foil the critters by harvesting the nuts when they were still green. What I got was a bunch of hollow shells when they dried.
So we've given up and just view the trees as being part of our yearly donation to support the wildlife.
They bloom in February with these drooping yellow catkins.