We had our filberts for 30 years as trees. If not kept pruned they get to be a sizable tree. Once the tree gets any size the suckers aren't really a problem, just more of multiple trunks that will actually grow together. With trees the squirrels and jays will get most of the nuts. The population of critters exploded. There were four squirrel nests in the trees and countless other nests of jays and squirrels in neighboring trees.
We had neighboring filbert trees develop the filbert blight and spread to our trees. Since our trees had gotten so big I couldn't treat them without affecting the veggie and perennial garden. We had the filberts removed last summer. Because the blight is significant in Oregon and Washington if I was doing it again I would keep them as shrubs. Might have been able to save them.
