Honeysuckle is a plant that has been cultivated by Russian scientists in just a few decades. Today, in garden plots, it is not yet considered a familiar culture. But many summer residents are already seriously interested in planting, caring for, and propagating edible honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle varieties
There are ornamental and edible varieties of honeysuckle. Among them there are early and late varieties. Unlike other crops, the ripening time of berries differs only by 7-14 days. Exact dates depend on weather conditions.
Edible varieties - photo
Interesting. The variety with the largest blue berries is the Bakchar Giant.
Decorative varieties with photos
Decorative honeysuckle is used only for landscaping the site: decorating arbors, fences. Grows in the form of a climbing vine. Flowers are large and fragrant. The berries are orange, not edible. The plant is unpretentious. Easy to take root. Can be planted in autumn and spring. Closer to winter, the vine must be removed from the trellis.
In addition to honeysuckle, there are other varieties of decorative curly honeysuckles. But not all varieties are able to safely winter in the climatic conditions of Russia.
Planting a plant
Planting honeysuckle does not require much effort.
Site selection, soil preparation
The soil is better to choose with the following characteristics:
- rich in organic
- loose
- moisture-intensive,
- with neutral acidity - loam, sandstone.
How to plant honeysuckle so that the berries are sweet? The bush must be planted in a bright, sunny place.
Seedling selection
It is better to buy seedlings in garden centers. Necessarily with a closed root system. It is recommended to choose 2-3-year-old specimens. The branches should bend well. The bark may be slightly cracked. It is necessary to plant at least 3 varieties at the same time - honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated crop.
Scheme and stages of landing
Honeysuckle planting scheme - 2.5-3 × 1.5 m.
A hole for planting bushes is dug out depending on the branching of the roots. For a 3-year-old seedling, a 40 × 40 cm pit is enough.
- put small branches in the pit (preferably dried);
- cover the branches with earth;
- put organic residues on top of the ground - food waste, plant residues, paper;
- to activate the decomposition process, add bokashi;
- fill organic matter with fertile soil.
This layer should be half of the dug hole. By the time the roots of the bush have reached this depth, the organic matter has had time to decompose.
Then it is recommended to pour the pits with 2 buckets of water with the addition of phytosporin. Plant the plant without deepening the trunk. Water. Cover the surface of the earth with a small amount of bakashi, mulch. The first 5 years, honeysuckle grows slowly.
Important. The reason for the poor survival of the bushes may be damage to the roots during planting.
Cultivation and care
Growing honeysuckle does not require reverent care. However, you need to know the main points on how to care for the honeysuckle bush correctly. One bush can bear fruit up to 25 years. In the middle part of Russia, flowering begins in early May. Plants are not afraid of frost, they can stand up to -7 0 С.
Care for honeysuckle in the Moscow region and other regions of the country is no different and includes:
- pruning;
- weed removal;
- top dressing;
- watering.
Watering
During the formation of berries, the plant needs watering. In loams, watering is needed 1 time in 7 days. The liquid should not fall on the leaves, flowers. Insufficient moisture during this period makes the berries bitter.
Trimming, shaping
There is an opinion that honeysuckle does not need pruning. But this is not true. Bushes need pruning:
- sanitary (removal of dried, broken branches);
- shaping pruning (clarification of the crown).
If the branches do not grow densely, pruning can be omitted until 5 years from the date of planting.
In the first year of growth, for better rooting, all flowers of the plant must be removed completely, in the second - partially.
3-5 years after planting, dried, damaged branches should be removed. You should try to form such an arrangement of branches to ensure good ventilation, lighting, and the convenience of picking berries.
Important. For a 4-year-old bush, it is enough to leave 5-7 strong branches.
The plant is mainly sheared in autumn. But spring pruning is also possible. Care in the fall includes pruning after shedding foliage.
In spring, honeysuckle wakes up early. The first buds may appear in the last days of March. The plant needs pruning in the first place, along with currants, gooseberries. Later pruning may affect growth, fruiting.
- Remove broken branches.
- Remove dry branches (no swollen buds, bark).
- Cut branches that shade the crown (go inside the bush).
- Remove weak parts (thin, old).
The drying of honeysuckle branches is a natural process.
Weed removal, mulching
Care for honeysuckle in open ground, weed removal is carried out taking into account that the roots of the shrub lie close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is impossible to dig, deeply loosen the soil under the bush.
The roots of the plant can be mulched with straw, hay, fallen leaves, peat, coconut substrate. Such a “pillow” will nourish the bushes, retain moisture, resist the growth of weeds.
Harvesting
When growing a crop, caring for it includes picking berries. Fruiting of honeysuckle begins a month earlier than the earliest varieties of raspberries. An adult bush bears fruit annually. One bush gives 1.5-2.5 kg of berries. Honeysuckle is not considered a highly productive crop.
In the middle part of Russia, the first harvest of honeysuckle is harvested in late spring and early summer. In the Urals, fruiting ends towards the end of June. Some varieties are harvested by shaking.
What to feed honeysuckle?
Growing honeysuckle in the country, it must be fed with complex mineral or organic fertilizers. Experienced summer residents recommend using organic matter. Fertilizers are mainly applied at the beginning of the season. Like other crops, the plant needs nitrogen in spring.
How to grow a honeysuckle seedling so that there is a big harvest of berries in the country?
Hello, my dear.
Today we will talk about honeysuckle, a beautiful plant. I love honeysuckle and enjoy its berry every year.
From this article you will learn how to grow honeysuckle in your garden plot, how to choose the right seedling for planting, planting a bush in the country.
What you need to harvest a big crop, all the rules of care and preparing the bush for winter. How to grow honeysuckle from cuttings, how to harvest and why cut shrub branches.
And many more helpful tips.
Honeysuckle is a plant from the Honeysuckle family, in total there are about 200 different species of erect, climbing and creeping shrubs in the world. Several centuries ago, they were cultivated in the gardens of Europe, people used them as a natural decoration for parks and home gardens.
It is far from possible to meet a neat bush with bluish fruits in every area, since summer residents grow such a crop less often than strawberries and raspberries.
But peculiar berries are very useful for the cardiovascular system and stomach, and gardeners will like the appearance of honeysuckle.
Shrub Acquisition
Before you grow honeysuckle in the garden, take care to purchase high-quality planting material. Of course, you can get a plant from seeds, but this process is too troublesome and time consuming, which is why summer residents prefer to look for a seedling.
It is important to know that not all varieties of culture will please you with edible berries, some shrubs in the garden act as decoration and are used to create compositions. Choose the type of honeysuckle that suits your requirements.
How to choose a seedling
In order to get a good berry, consider the tips for choosing planting material and purchase a seedling that meets the following requirements:
- age from 2 to 3 years;
- overgrown root system;
- flexible twigs and young buds.
There should be no mechanical damage and suspicious spots on the plant, but peeling of the trunk bark is a normal phenomenon for honeysuckle and in this case you should not refuse to buy.
Not all beginners know how to grow edible honeysuckle. The first varieties of this berry appeared at the end of the last century, and today the most popular are the groups of varieties selected by Siberian specialists who were breeding an amazing shrub.
Such varieties are rich in useful components and are ideal for preparing blanks, fresh consumption.
There are also varieties in the world:
- Ural,
- Petersburg selection,
- but seaside plants ripen early and quickly crumble, they are not suitable for central Russia.
In order to get a harvest, plant at least 2 different varieties of honeysuckle in the country that will bloom at the same time.
This is due to the fact that many varieties of culture are unable to pollinate themselves with their own pollen.
Planting a seedling
Before planting honeysuckle, walk around your site and look for a good spot for the plant. It loves sunlight, but strong gusts of wind can spoil the bush, so it is best to arrange a landing along the fence or near other shrubs.
Honeysuckle grows on fertile soil, which is why the fruits in the photo are so large and appetizing. Acidic garden soil is improved with lime, and organic matter is added to the pit.
- In the country, dig a hole about 50 cm deep, its width will be slightly less than this indicator.
- It is important to observe the distance between shrubs, it should be at least 1.5 meters for low specimens and more than 2 meters for tall plants, so keep this in mind.
- Experienced gardeners who know how to plant honeysuckle advise adding 2 buckets of compost, 800 g of wood ash and water to moisten the soil in the pit.
- In the center of the hole, make a mound and place a seedling there, its root system should be straightened.
- At the end of the work, mulch the ground around the bush with sawdust.
culture care
Bush care is very important and includes several important activities: watering, fertilizing, pruning old branches, preparing for wintering.
Watering
Honeysuckle is a moisture-loving plant, in dry summers it suffers without water, so it is impossible to do without abundant watering.
After irrigation, the ground around the bush should be loosened and cleaned of weeds, but very carefully - the root system is superficially developed and can be easily damaged.
top dressing
Since it is right to grow honeysuckle in fertile soil, we must not forget about fertilizing.
The following year after landing:
- feed the bush with nitrogen in the spring,
- and in the fall, use potassium and phosphorus.
During the flowering period, pour the honeysuckle with infusion of ash (500 g of funds per 5 liters of water).
pruning
Do not forget about how to care for honeysuckle. Good pruning will make the bush attractive and productive.
Start this procedure as early as 2 weeks after planting the seedling, removing weak shoots and leaving 4 to 5 developed branches. So, the bush forms side shoots and becomes more magnificent.
And after 7 years, all the old processes are cut off.
Harvesting
If you know how to grow honeysuckle with health benefits, then the shrub will give the harvest several times a season. The berry harvest can be large, and if you have several bushes, then just huge.
But while harvesting the berries, lay a piece of cloth under the plant, otherwise overripe berries will fall to the ground.
autumn care
Because every summer resident can grow a seedling, you should also know about protecting the bush from adverse environmental conditions.
- In autumn, cut off diseased and dry branches.
- Move garden debris and mulch away from plants.
- And bend the branches themselves to the ground and secure.
In winter, the enemies of honeysuckle are wild birds that eat fruit buds, so it is recommended to cover the shrub with burlap or a special net.
Reproduction of honeysuckle in spring
In May, when the flowering time is over, and the berries begin to appear, proceed to the preparation of material for propagation.
Growing by cuttings
Strong and healthy growths that have appeared this year are suitable for this purpose - they have a delicate and light bark.
- Cut the twig obliquely with secateurs, a cloudy day is best for work. So that the moisture from the twig does not go away, the leaves are removed.
- Cuttings for a day are placed in settled water or a solution of a growth stimulator.
- And then planted in boxes for rooting.
The soil should be loose and breathable, so it is recommended to use several parts of fertile soil and some river sand, the components are mixed.
Twig care
- Twigs are planted at an angle so that one bud remains on the surface.
- Don't forget to water the plants.
- And cover the box with a film and put it in a cool and darkened room.
When the leaves come out of the cuttings, it will be possible to plant honeysuckle in the garden, usually this happens the next year.
Now you know how to grow honeysuckle in the country, how to plant it, how to propagate it by cuttings, and how to care for and prepare for wintering.
This is an ideal plant for Siberia, like the irga. Follow my tips for caring for this wonderful plant. And good harvest to you.
Honeysuckle: cultivation and care
Plants in the garden should be not only beautiful, but also tasty, and honeysuckle meets these requirements. Being a berry crop, it has become a traditional design element in landscape design, delighting with magnificent flowers and fragrant fruits. Not all summer residents have yet managed to cultivate honeysuckle: cultivation and care contain a couple of secrets that are essential for getting a good harvest.
Description of honeysuckle and its types
About 100 species of this plant grow in the natural environment, mainly in Asia. Honeysuckle is a long-lived shrub no higher than 3 m, curly, creeping or with an upright stem. The flowers are large white, yellowish, pinkish, form a capitate inflorescence at the ends of the branches or arranged in pairs along with the leaves. The berries are also arranged in pairs and are colored red, yellow, orange or blue, depending on the species.
Attention! Only blue and purple berries with a whitish coating are considered edible! In terms of chemical composition, they are superior to the berries of other crops.
In Russian gardening, no more than 10 plant species are cultivated, which are conditionally divided into shrubs and climbers.
They are mainly of decorative value, and only two species produce edible fruits. All cultivars are bred from them.
Table 1. Types of honeysuckle with edible fruits.
Honeysuckle Kamchatka (Lonicera caerulea)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera edulis)
Honeysuckle prices
Conditions for good honeysuckle growth
Honeysuckle is considered an unpretentious plant and does not require special care. It tolerates frost well, withstanding temperatures as low as -50°C. Even blooming flowers are not afraid of spring frosts down to -7 ° C, and buds up to -14 ° C. The culture is distinguished by longevity and in favorable conditions gives excellent yields. It is grown in all regions of our country, from the south to the northern latitudes.
In general, the shrub can grow on any, it would seem, the most inappropriate poor soils, such as sandy or rocky. However, to get the most out of edible varieties, it is better to plant a crop on fertile, loose soils with deep groundwater. The acidity of the soil does not really matter, the main thing is that it should not be waterlogged.
The site should be open, with maximum illumination during the day. Protection from the prevailing winds is necessary, as the berries are prone to shedding. Honeysuckle can grow in shaded, blown places, but then its development will be slow, and the taste of the fruit will leave much to be desired.
Video - comparison of honeysuckle varieties
Reference! The taste of berries during their ripening is influenced by air temperature and the degree of soil moisture. It has been observed that in clear weather the berries are juicy and sweet, while in rainy summers they become watery and sour.
Time to plant honeysuckle
The crop is planted at any time except May-June, when shoots are actively growing and fruits are ripening. In the spring, seedlings are planted after the snow melts, but before the start of the growing season of the plant, which begins quite early. This is not always convenient, so it is better to do planting work in the first half of autumn - this is less traumatic for the shrub, which will please the first flowering in the spring.
Fruiting
If the culture was planted with a seedling or a cutting, the first fruits can be expected in a year. In turn, seedlings begin to bear fruit only after 3-4 years, and only for 6-7 years more than 1 kg of berries can be removed from one bush. Yields will rise for another 10 years and then decline. Therefore, 20-year-old bushes are updated, completely cutting off the shoots. Berries ripen by the end of June.
Growing methods
Honeysuckle is propagated in all possible ways:
- cuttings;
- sowing seeds;
- layering;
- dividing the root.
Each method is good in its own way and has pros and cons. Which one to use - each gardener decides for himself.
Video - honeysuckle breeding
Reproduction by cuttings
This method is considered the most successful, as it gives almost 100% rooting and allows you to save the varietal characteristics of the shrub. Green cuttings are harvested after flowering, when the fruits begin to fill with ripeness. At this time, the active process of building green mass is coming to an end.
The branches should be about 0.5 cm thick. They are cut into cuttings 10-15 cm long so that the lower buds are 1 cm higher than the cut. The cut is made oblique, at an angle of 45 °. In addition to the lower buds, two more knots are left on the handle: the leaves are completely removed from the lower ones, and a couple of the upper ones are cut in half.
Green cuttings are not stored, but immediately planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse, preferably under additional shelter. At the same time maintain a humidity of at least 85% and a temperature of about 25°C. Under favorable conditions, the cuttings take root in two weeks, but possibly later. In the spring, after the cessation of frost, they are transplanted into open ground.
Lignified cuttings are harvested in advance in the fall at the end of the growing season. Their diameter should be about 1 cm, and the length should be up to 15 cm. Unlike green ones, lignified ones are not planted immediately in the ground, but tied in bunches and buried in the soil substrate for the winter. Planted cuttings in the spring under the film, when the ground thaws after frost.
Reference. Honeysuckle is also propagated by combined cuttings. To do this, when cutting a young shoot, they capture part of a one-year-old branch - future roots will come from it.
Prices for Kornevin
Reproduction by layering
In this way, honeysuckle is propagated after harvesting:
- Around the bush loosen the earth and pull out the weeds;
- Choose a few strong young shoots that easily bend to the ground;
- The shoots are pinned to the ground with wire and covered with soil;
- In this state, leave until spring, not forgetting to water.
Until spring, the branches will take root, forming small bushes. They are separated by secateurs from the mother plant and transplanted to permanent places. Sometimes one shoot takes root in several places at once, then it is divided into separate segments and seated.
Root division
This is the most common way of propagating berry bushes, during which several strong seedlings are obtained from one bush at once. The division is carried out in the fall, when the growing season of the plant has come to an end.
To do this, they dig up a shrub aged 6-7 years and, using a pruner or saw, cut the rhizome into 2-3 parts so that each part has a pair of shoots. Root sections are treated with garden pitch, after which each separated part is planted in a prepared hole.
Growing from seeds
The seed method of breeding honeysuckle is most often used by breeders in order to develop new crop varieties. Therefore, when growing seeds at home, you need to be prepared for the fact that varietal features will be partially lost, which means that the fruits will change their taste. For sowing, seeds are taken from the best ripe berries.
You can sow directly into the ground, or you can seedlings. In the first case, freshly harvested seeds are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. Then they are washed well, dried and laid out, shallowly closing up, in the prepared area. The landing site is covered with polyethylene, opening it only for watering and ventilation. Humidification is produced from a spray gun to avoid erosion of the earth. Shoots will appear in 2-3 weeks, then the polyethylene is removed, and the seedlings are looked after according to the standard scheme. In autumn, seedlings are culled, insulated for the winter, and a year later they are transplanted to a permanent place.
Video - growing honeysuckle from seeds
Forcing seedlings gives good results. To do this, freshly harvested seeds are sown in containers with soil consisting of sand, garden soil and peat in equal proportions, as well as ash. Containers are covered with polyethylene or glass and cleaned in a closed room, for example, in a greenhouse. When seedlings appear, the shelter is removed, and the seedlings are looked after as usual. By winter, if the variety is winter-hardy, the seedlings are taken out into the open air, where they remain until spring. If not, they are left indoors. In the spring, culling and picking are carried out.
When sowing in winter, the containers are immediately left on the street, where the seeds undergo natural stratification under the snow. In the spring, to accelerate germination, seedlings are brought into a greenhouse or greenhouse. When the first two true leaves bloom at the seedlings, they dive into the ground, and a year later they are planted in a permanent place.
Planting honeysuckle in open ground
When planting honeysuckle in the ground, they adhere to a certain scheme - this applies to both adult bushes and young seedlings. But at the beginning, they prepare a landing pit up to half a meter in diameter and about the same depth. The pit is filled with a nutrient substrate, consisting of 1 bucket of organic fertilizer (for example, humus), 200 g of potassium salt and the same amount of superphosphate (salt can be replaced with ash). Vermiculite improves the moisture capacity of the soil well - it has the ability to absorb and release moisture when the root system of the plant needs it. Therefore, you can add 3 liters of such a component.
The pit is filled with the prepared substrate, forming a mound, on which the seedling is placed and its roots are carefully straightened. From above they fall asleep with garden soil, covering the root neck by 4-5 cm. The seedling is watered from a watering can with a divider, well mulched with sawdust, peat, chopped straw.
Attention! Shrubs are planted in a permanent place in such a way that the distance between them is 2 m, and the row spacing is 2.5 m. With this scheme, the bushes will not be crowded, and it will be convenient for summer residents to take care of them.
Honeysuckle Care
The main culture care is required in the first 2 years from the moment of planting. First of all, watering is needed - the culture does not tolerate drought, especially at the time of active shoot formation. The shoots grow poorly, which affects the future harvest, since the berries are formed on last year's stems. In addition, with a lack of moisture, most of the ovaries fall off, and small bitter fruits ripen from the remaining ones.
In nature, honeysuckle grows on loose soils in the undergrowth, so in culture it needs loosening. Loosen the soil carefully so as not to damage the closely lying roots of the plant. At the same time, a young bush is spudded. If the trunk circle is covered with mulch, then loosening is not required.
In the first year of honeysuckle growth, top dressing is not needed, it is enough for her to use the fertilizers that were applied to the hole during planting. In the spring of the third year, the crop already needs nitrogen fertilizer, for example, urea or ammonium nitrate. In autumn, phosphorus and potassium are added.
pruning
The first pruning is carried out in the process of planting a seedling, when all the shoots are cut out, leaving 2-3 of the strongest and shortening them by a third of the length. In the future, sanitary pruning is performed every year, during which dry and broken branches are cut out. The right time for sanitary pruning is autumn, after the leaves fall, a month before the onset of stable frosts. If, for any reason, pruning has not been carried out, it is postponed until spring, until the buds have blossomed.
Detailed pruning can be done throughout the growing season, as honeysuckle tends to produce many thin dry branches with underdeveloped buds. Their removal promotes the growth of young healthy shoots.
Formative pruning is applied to shrubs older than 3 years and is carried out every 2-3 years. Cut out all creeping shoots, shoots with weak growth or growing inside the bush. Remove old thick branches from the central part of the shrub, cutting off just above the growth point of the young shoot.
In shrubs older than 7-8 years, every 3-4 years a partial anti-aging pruning is carried out, during which several skeletal branches are left after the rest are completely removed. Radical pruning is required for heavily thickened plants at the age of about 20 years - the bush is cut to the ground.
Diseases and pests
Honeysuckle is a fairly young crop in our gardens and it has few pests so far. Its main enemy is the goldfish, a golden-green beetle whose larvae eat the bush from the inside. It is useless to fight the pest with the help of insecticides, since during spraying the bug flies away, and the larvae are not available for the drug. As a result, the branches of the culture dry up. The main method of struggle is cutting out the affected shoots under the root and burning them.
In addition to the goldfish, in some cases, the shrub can infect aphids, caterpillars, mites, fingerwings. Among the diseases there is leaf mottling, rezuha mosaic, as well as fungal infections like powdery mildew. During the fruiting period, it is impossible to use insecticides and fungicides, as the fruits will absorb the poison. It is better to replace them with folk recipes. Use chemistry for prevention in early spring, before the start of the growing season, or after harvesting.
A few secrets of a good harvest
The fruiting of honeysuckle is ensured not only by regular pruning. A few secrets will help ensure a stable quality crop:
- The garden should have a wide variety of crops. Honeysuckle cross-pollinates, and therefore shrubs of one variety will not produce a crop. At least 3-4 varieties should grow in one place, but more is better than less;
Video - choose the best varieties
Honeysuckle is a wonderful plant with very useful tasty berries. Its fruits ripen earlier than other berry crops, giving a person everything they need during the period of spring beriberi. Any gardener who has several acres of land at his disposal can grow a culture.
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Honeysuckle is a very useful berry. How to grow in the garden
Sweetish, with a slight bitterness, honeysuckle berries are becoming more and more popular in our country. The berries are juicy, pleasant to the taste, and most importantly - they contain a large amount of vitamins. And this is very important for the human body in the spring, after a long winter, when it lacks nutrients so much.
In temperate latitudes, honeysuckle berries ripen half a month earlier than garden strawberries. It is with honeysuckle that the berry season opens, and honeysuckle becomes a useful component in the menu of Russians. Honeysuckle berries contain a complex of vitamins and biologically active substances. Just two or three tablespoons of fresh berries in a short time will relieve vitamin deficiency, fill the body with health and energy. In terms of the amount of magnesium and sodium, honeysuckle berries rank first among other berry crops, and in terms of potassium content they are in the leading group, after lingonberries. Berries are used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as a general tonic.
Features of honeysuckle
Honeysuckle has high adaptive properties and can grow both on sandy and clay soils seasoned with organic fertilizers. However, for successful growth, the most important thing is not the amount of nutrients in the soil, but a loose and moisture-intensive structure. The acidity of the soil is preferable at the level of slightly acidic and neutral, but the shrub can also grow on acidic soil with a pH of 4.5-5.5. At rest, honeysuckle is very winter-hardy (can withstand temperatures as low as -45°C). Sunny warm areas with good lighting during the day are most suitable for growing. Under natural conditions, honeysuckle grows along the banks of rivers and lakes and needs a good water supply in culture.
Planting honeysuckle seedlings
Planting is carried out mainly in autumn, which is associated with a very early start of vegetation in this plant, buds open in March and flowering begins in 1.5-2 weeks (flowers endure frosts down to -7). To obtain a crop, it is necessary to provide for the planting of several different varieties. Honeysuckle is a strictly cross-pollinated plant. Even with perfect care, there will be no harvest if there are only one variety of bushes on the plot.
Young plants are recommended to be planted at a sufficient distance - no less than 1.2-1.5 meters from each other. Choose a calm place on the site where you will plant seedlings. It will be best to plant bushes near the fence, or surround them with other shrubs. Just make sure that the seedlings receive enough sunlight. Honeysuckle perfectly takes root and grows on moist soils. But in the elevated areas of the garden, shrubs do not bear fruit very well. Many gardeners talk about this. Before planting, be sure to weed, remove weeds, especially perennial plants. It is very important. If the soil is poor, apply organic fertilizer to it before planting. If the soil is acidic, it will be good to add lime or chalk to it. You can pour dolomite flour. In any case, before planting the cuttings, put the ripe compost in the holes, add mineral fertilizers, and then mix everything well with the ground. Now place the seedling in the hole, deepen the root neck of the seedling on light soils by 3-5 cm, on heavy soils without deepening. Compact the soil well after planting. And around the planted plant, form a semblance of bumpers from the soil. Now water the landing site abundantly. After soaking up water, the soil with the seedling must be mulched.
plant care
Since honeysuckle bushes grow very well and bear fruit on neutral or slightly alkaline soil, experienced gardeners recommend deoxidizing the soil every year, in the summer. To do this, pour 2 cups of wood ash under each honeysuckle bush. Shrubs need to be watered regularly, plentifully. This is especially important in early summer, before fruiting begins. If you need a transplant, then during this period you can do it. Honeysuckle tolerates this procedure relatively calmly. With the onset of the last month of autumn, shrubs need to be fed. For top dressing, a mixture of double superphosphate (40 g), wood ash (100 g) and compost (5 kg) is used. Only such top dressing should be carried out 1 time in 2-3 years. This is quite enough. With the onset of spring, when the buds begin to bloom, the shrub needs to be fed with ammonium nitrate at the rate of 15 g of nitrate per 1 sq. meter. This top dressing should be carried out every year. Feeding is especially important during the period of full fruiting, starting from 7 years. Loosening the trunk circles to a depth of no more than 8 cm has a positive effect on the water-air regime of the soil. In conditions of lack of water, the mass of berries decreases, and bitterness appears in varieties with a dessert taste.
Pruning honeysuckle
Pruning of honeysuckle is carried out in the autumn. Sanitary annually, rejuvenating, starting from the age of 6, while removing the oldest branches before branching, since this is where dormant buds are concentrated. Shortening is not carried out, since it is on annual growths that the generative buds are laid and the crop is formed next year.
Reproduction of honeysuckle
Cuttings (green and lignified cuttings), horizontal and vertical layering, dividing the bush give the greatest effect.
Honeysuckle - planting, care and popular varieties for growing on the site
Usually strawberries, currants, raspberries, gooseberries are considered standard berry plants in garden plots. But recently, honeysuckle has also begun to gain popularity. It is represented by numerous varieties. It has a bright taste, very useful. To get a rich harvest of high-quality berries, you need to understand how honeysuckle is planted: its care and reproduction - the article will tell about this.
Characteristics of the honeysuckle plant
Before the question of how to plant honeysuckle is considered, it makes sense to characterize the plant. It is an upright shrub reaching a meter height. Its shoots are thin, green, slightly pubescent. In some places the branches are purple. Old shoots are characterized by a thickness of up to 3 centimeters. They are naked and covered with yellow-brown bark. The crown is dense and spherical. The foliage is oblong-lanceolate, about 7 centimeters long. Young leaves are pubescent, but partially or completely lose their pubescence with age.
Flowers funnel-shaped, yellowish. They are located in the axils of the leaves in pairs. The buds begin to open in early June. Fruits of a dark blue color with a bluish bloom. Their length varies from 9 to 12 millimeters. The shape is different, depending on the variety of edible honeysuckle, there are cylindrical, rounded and elliptical berries. The flesh is red-violet. Seeds are small, dark brown, their size does not exceed 2 millimeters. We advise you to see the article: Golden currant: features of the cultivation of berry bushes.
Classification of garden honeysuckle
The first type is used more often for landscaping and includes climbing varieties. They bloom at the turn of the vein-summer. It involves the care of curly honeysuckle, timely pruning, shrub shaping. Among summer residents, the varieties Caprifol and Brown are most in demand.
Honeysuckle is able to dissolve its branches up to 6 meters. However, it can only climb up the support to a level of 2.5 meters. Such honeysuckle entwines everything that meets on its way. The foliage forms saucers, in which flowers of a pink-orange hue are formed. The fruits are red in color. This decorative view is ideal for ennobling the gazebo, creating a romantic corner. Allows the planting of Honeysuckle Honeysuckle to create a beautiful hedge. The plant is thermophilic. Therefore, in the northern part of the country it is planted extremely rarely. Usually covered for the winter. Dropmore Scarlet and Fuchsioides are recognized as the brightest varieties.
Shrub honeysuckle is represented by a Tatar variety. Reaches a height of 2.5 meters. It begins to bloom three years after planting. By the end of spring, the bush is completely covered with pink. The berries are colored red, the saturation of which varies depending on the variety. The plant adapts remarkably to the harsh winter climate. Therefore, caring for the Tatar honeysuckle does not involve the creation of shelter for the winter in the southern regions.
If the soil on the site is characterized by poor fertility, it is recommended to plant several bushes of the Zabelli variety in a sunny area. After all, this plant is unpretentious to the conditions of detention. Grows up to 1.5 meters in height. During the flowering period, it is covered with raspberry-colored buds. To dilute the garden palette, experts advise planting an alpine type of honeysuckle. It reaches a meter height, gives red juicy fruits. It blooms with yellow and white-green buds, which turn into blue fruits by mid-summer.
What variety to plant?
There are many varieties of honeysuckle. Some are highly decorative, others are more valued for their edible tasty fruits. Therefore, in order for the planting of honeysuckle to justify all hopes, it makes sense to figure out which varieties in which case should be planted in the backyard.
Below are the varieties that are most in demand among summer residents:
The long-fruited species is recognized as edible. The taste of berries is dessert, sweet and sour, devoid of bitterness. Tasters give a high rating to such a plant. So, when choosing sweet varieties of honeysuckle, you should pay attention to Long-fruited. The fruits have a universal purpose: they are consumed fresh and processed into jams, compotes, jams and juices. The variety is considered to be fast-growing and high-yielding. From one shrub, they usually collect from 1.4 to 3 kilograms. The species is sterile, so it is propagated vegetatively.
- Nymph. Consider honeysuckle Nymph: a description of the variety and its purpose. The berries of this plant are allowed to be eaten. Maturity is average. The shrub has a small crown, it is slightly spreading. Height reaches 2 meters. The fruits are large, their diameter is 3 centimeters. They are painted in blue with a blue tint. The surface is shiny and attractive. The taste is sweet, with pronounced sourness. The variety has good resistance to weather changes. One bush gives about 2 kilograms of berries.
For beginner gardeners, planting edible Nymph honeysuckle is the best solution. After all, the shrub is unpretentious to the conditions of detention, resistant to the invasion of pests and not susceptible to disease, pleases with abundant fruiting for about 50 years. An interesting fact is that the fruits do not ripen simultaneously, but in stages. And this makes it possible to harvest for 2 months.
It is a honeysuckle Morena shrub of medium strength: its height and diameter are 1.7 meters. The crown is neat, oval, not prone to thickening. The foliage is lanceolate, large, its base is wedge-shaped. Painted in bright light green color. The leaf plate is quite dense, slightly folded along the midrib. The branches are slightly curved, thin, brownish-green, hairless. Externally, the plant looks attractive. Therefore, it is often grown not only for tasty fruits, but also for decorative purposes.
It is important to decide where to plant honeysuckle at their summer cottage. This plant prefers sunny or slightly shaded places. Any soil is suitable, but best drained and loose slightly acidic substrates. Closed hollows and too dry areas are not suitable.
Soil preparation for crop
Honeysuckle can grow up to 30 years. Before planting honeysuckle in the spring, you should properly fill the soil. To do this, about 12 kilograms of compost or humus, 200 grams of potassium salt and double superphosphate are brought into the planting pit. It is also allowed to use complex mineral mixtures. For example, Ammophos or nitrophoska. If potassium is not included in the set of nutrients, its absence is compensated by adding wood ash.
Planting a honeysuckle seedling in the ground
The size of the pit for planting a seedling depends on the degree of development of the root zone. Usually, the diameter of the hole is made at least 50 centimeters, and the depth is about 40 centimeters. Honeysuckle is planted in autumn. In the spring, it is also allowed to carry out a similar procedure, however, the survival rate in this case will be lower and will be only 80%. A distance of one meter should be observed between shrubs, and an interval of 2 meters should be maintained between rows. The planting algorithm is as follows: a small embankment is made in the pit, the plant is placed, the root zone is carefully straightened and sprinkled with earth. Then plentifully irrigate and mulch with peat.
Outdoor crop care
It involves caring for honeysuckle in the open field, regular watering, periodic application of nutrient mixtures, and removal of all dried and diseased branches in the fall. In the spring they are fed with nitrogen. And during flowering and the formation of berries, they are irrigated with a solution of ash. It is also useful to weed and loosen the soil.
In order for planting and caring for honeysuckle to bring good results, it is important not only to make every effort, to follow all the rules of cultivation, but also to buy high-quality planting material in specialized nurseries.
You need to purchase varieties that are recommended for a particular zone. It is better to choose young plants. Overgrown options, whose height is more than 1.5 meters, are not suitable. Since they take root poorly, they begin to bear fruit after a while. However, too small plants are also not suitable. If the height is less than 20 centimeters, the cutting will not have time to develop. A 2-year-old seedling is considered optimal.
If it is planned to plant decorative honeysuckle, several varieties are used that differ in color. This makes it possible to create interesting compositions. If the main goal is to obtain a high yield, it is recommended to plant at least 3 different species that have different berry ripening periods. There is planting material with an open and closed root zone. The first option is more preferable.
Conclusions on growing honeysuckle
Thus, honeysuckle can often be found in garden plots. It is planted for ornamental purposes or for harvesting. There are many different varieties that differ in size, timing and volume of fruiting, taste of berries. Knowing how to care for honeysuckle, there is every chance of getting a healthy and productive plant. Also read the article: Care for strawberries in the spring - preparatory work before the start of the berry season.
Honeysuckle is not yet very common, so not all gardeners know how to plant and care for it. However, knowledge about this will be useful to any gardener who decides to grow this plant at home. Consider the features of planting honeysuckle and caring for it in the open field, the sequence of work.
When to plant honeysuckle: optimal timing
Like other shrubs, garden honeysuckle can be planted on plots 2 times a season: in spring or autumn. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.
In the spring, honeysuckle should be planted very early, as soon as the snow melts and the soil warms up a little. It should be borne in mind that this plant wakes up early, so you should not delay planting. It is important to have time to plant a seedling in a hole before the leaves bloom on it, plants with opened buds take root longer and worse.
Approximate time for planting honeysuckle in the spring: in the south - in March-early April, in the Moscow region and other regions of the Middle Strip - in April, to the north - in Siberia, in the Urals and in the Leningrad region - in late April - early next month. This is the time for planting edible honeysuckle, but it is the same for the ornamental variety. It is worth considering that this only applies to seedlings grown in pots or containers.
Planting honeysuckle in autumn is considered more preferable. She ends the growing season early and goes into a dormant state by the end of July. You can start planting after leaf fall from August to October (in some regions until November), but you need to have time before the onset of cold weather. It takes about a month for a seedling to take root.
How to plant honeysuckle
Before you start planting this plant in open ground, you need to choose the right seedlings and prepare planting holes for them. Then get to work.
Honeysuckle bears fruit from 3-4 years old, so the seedlings should be 2 years old. This plant is not self-pollinating, therefore, it should not be kept in a garden in a single copy, at least 2-3 bushes must be purchased. You need to take several seedlings of honeysuckle of different varieties. They should be placed not far from each other so that the wind can carry pollen from one plant to another.
Requirements for a honeysuckle seedling: it must have strong healthy roots and shoots, they should not have dry or rotten areas, traces of pests. The day before planting, the roots must be soaked in a solution of a root stimulator.
Site selection and soil preparation for planting
It is necessary to choose a place for honeysuckle responsibly, because there it will grow up to 30 years. The shrub can be placed in partial shade, for example, next to trees, buildings, high barriers (on the south side). But it is worth considering that fruiting is weaker in partial shade. It is best to plant it in a site well lit by the sun. The shrub can also be placed on the north side of the site, without worrying about protection from the winds.
If we talk about the soil for honeysuckle, then it should be light and loose, fertile, the plant will like sandy loam and loam, black soil. Soil reaction - neutral or slightly acidic (4.5-7.5 pH). Acidic soils should be limed with chalk, dolomite flour, lime. Swampy lowland areas are not suitable for this culture, as well as those that are located on a high hill.
It is better to plant a honeysuckle bush in the area where green manure used to grow or it was completely empty, the land on it is the most fertile. But even if everything is already taken, given the unpretentiousness of the shrub, it will not be difficult for him to find a place in the garden.
Planting hole preparation
The honeysuckle bush is characterized by strong growth of shoots, up to 2.5 m high, so it needs a sufficient feeding area. For each plant, it is necessary to make planting holes with a diameter and a depth of 0.5 m.
Pour 2 buckets of humus or rotted compost, 80-100 g of superphosphate, 30-40 g of potassium salt, a liter jar of ash into the pits. All fertilizers must be mixed with the ground.
Planting scheme for honeysuckle
This is a fairly large plant, so if you need to grow honeysuckle in the country in the amount of several pieces, then you need to properly place it on the site. Each plant must be provided with a certain area of nutrition for normal growth and development, fruiting. To do this, you need to adhere to such a scheme for planting honeysuckle: 1.5-2 m between bushes in rows and 2-2.5 m between rows. You should not save on distance, in thickened plantings the plant feels uncomfortable.
Landing sequence
After preparing the planting material and holes, you can start planting honeysuckle. Step-by-step instruction:
- It is good to shed the landing pit with water so that the earth in it becomes wet throughout the volume.
- After it is absorbed, make a small mound in the middle, place a honeysuckle seedling on it, spread its roots in all directions. They should not bend and stick up.
- The earth must be compacted in layers so that there are no voids near the roots. It is necessary to deepen the honeysuckle seedling 5 cm below the root collar.
- After the planting of honeysuckle seedlings is completed, water again (about 1 bucket per bush). When the water is absorbed, the soil around the plant is mulched with dry earth, peat or humus with a layer of about 3 cm. This will prevent excessive drying of the soil.
How to care for honeysuckle
The complex of works for the care of honeysuckle in the spring includes the same agricultural practices as for other plants in the garden or garden. The shrub needs watering, loosening, if there is no mulch, top dressing.
Watering is done regularly, as honeysuckle loves moisture. The frequency of irrigation depends on where the bush grows - in partial shade or in the sun, as well as on the weather. In the heat, watering is required, in the south they can be daily. Newly planted plants are watered frequently, after rooting - less often. You can water with a hose, watering can or bucket. After watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil, but carefully, especially near the bushes, so as not to touch the roots, which are located superficially.
Fertilize honeysuckle after planting starting from 2 years. Until this time, the bush should have enough of those substances that are in the soil. You can fertilize honeysuckle in the spring with organic matter. It is believed that the best fertilizer for her is rotted horse manure. It can be scattered near the bushes, it is enough to make 1 bucket every 3 years. In addition to humus, you need to use ash - 0.5 kg per bush.
From mineral fertilizers, with the beginning of the growing season, saltpeter (20 g per m 2) or urea (15 g per m 2) is added. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are used in the fall, after its completion.
Every year, especially starting from the age of 4-5 years of honeysuckle, it will be necessary to carry out sanitary pruning of the shoots. You can’t do without it, it thickens quite quickly, and unkempt bushes lose productivity and look sloppy. It is necessary to cut carefully, the plant has rather fragile shoots and they break easily.
Honeysuckle almost does not get sick, and it is not damaged by pests, with the exception of birds. It ripens early, before many other berry bushes in the garden. In most varieties, the fruiting is stretched, it is possible to pick berries for 1-1.5 months. They can quickly crumble after ripening, so the collection should not be delayed.
In the care of honeysuckle in the fall, preparation for winter is also included. This plant is cold-resistant, because of which it can be grown even in the north. It can tolerate severe frosts down to -45°C, flower buds down to -8°C, so it does not threaten freezing, winter thaws, that is, the alternation of cold and heat, are much more dangerous for it. Therefore, it is not necessary to cover adult bushes, although young ones, just planted, should be covered in the first year. Any covering plant material is suitable: straw, hay, autumn leaf, fallen needles, it can be laid in a layer of 10-15 cm around the base of the bush.
Until quite recently, no one could even think that in our latitudes the season for picking berries in summer cottages can be opened at the end of May. Honeysuckle, resistant to cold, ripening at a time when the supply of last year's vitamins runs out, is just a godsend for gardeners.
You can plant such an unpretentious, amazing shrub in any free, preferably sunny, place in the garden. But he still has some peculiarities in cultivation.
In this article, we will highlight issues such as planting and caring for a shrub plant honeysuckle.
What kind of soil do honeysuckle like
The shrub will take root perfectly on any soil, although an excess of moisture will negatively affect its growth. Therefore, seedlings should not be placed in areas with too close occurrence to the groundwater surface.
The best option would be to plant honeysuckle in loam, supplemented with organic fertilizers. In terms of acidity, the soil should be neutral, therefore, before planting, it is necessary to “deacidify” it with lime or chalk.
shrub planting
Honeysuckle bears fruit by cross-pollination, therefore, for a good setting, it is better if several bushes of different varieties are planted on the site.
For full spring flowering and good growth, it is better to plant honeysuckle in the fall, from late September to mid-October. It is also possible to plant it in the spring, if you do not miss the time before the start of sap flow.
Landing is carried out, observing the distance between the bushes of 1.5 - 2 m. The size of the landing pit is about 40 cm. The following components must be added to it:
- 2 buckets of compost;
- 100 grams of double superphosphate;
- 0.5 liters of lime;
- 30 grams of potassium sulfate.
All components are mixed and spilled with water (at least half a bucket).
In the prepared hole, when the water leaves, they put a honeysuckle bush, straightening the roots, and fall asleep with ordinary earth from the site, tightly tamping around the plant.
For the formation of an additional root system on the bush in the future, it is better to deepen the root neck by 5 cm into the soil. The landing site must be shed again with water and mulched with peat.
plant care
Honeysuckle needs infrequent but abundant watering (3-4 times per season), loosening and protection from pests. In the first three years, she needs to be allowed to take root properly, no additional fertilizers need to be applied. Only hilling the soil around the bush in spring and mulching during the summer period is carried out.If necessary, weeding of the root space is performed. Loosen should be very careful, as the root system of the shrub is close to the surface.
Feeding and watering
The plant responds well to manure or compost, which is applied in the spring (one 10-liter bucket for each bush). In autumn, it is enough to add 150 g of ash to the root part.Feeding honeysuckle begins from the third year. In early spring, ammonium nitrate is added at the rate of 15 g per 1 sq. m. After fruiting in the middle of summer, they are fertilized with diluted slurry (1: 4).
pruning
In order to prevent plant diseases, increase its fruiting, it is necessary to produce. If it is carried out correctly, then healthy and beautiful shrubs that give a good harvest will grow on the site.This procedure does not apply to young bushes, which it can harm, since honeysuckle develops slowly in the first years. This applies to plants that have reached the age of 6-7 years, in which there is a clear thickening of the branches.
If there is a need, then you need to thin out the honeysuckle, then the fruit-bearing branches and inside the bush will receive enough sunlight.
Autumn pruning is the elimination under the base of old, diseased and broken branches, as well as those that have stopped growing.
Spring sanitary pruning of frostbitten upper shoots, dry branches, will bring great benefits to the bush. The main rule when pruning is not to shorten the shoots of the current year, because it is on them that the crop of next summer will be formed.
Reproduction of honeysuckle
The most effective ways:- cuttings.
- Withdrawal.
Cuttings from last year's shoots, about 17 cm long, are planted in early spring in a greenhouse, deepening 10 cm into the soil. The main condition for planting is that the two upper buds remain above the surface. If prepared cuttings are planted directly in open ground, then they are protected with a film or covering material. Such cuttings take root in a month.
Propagating a bush by branch is quite simple, this method is similar to propagating currants. In June, the ground under the bush is loosened, the strongest lower annual branches are selected, and they are pinned to the soil with ordinary wire in several places. Then, this branch is sprinkled on top with a layer of earth, and then periodically watered. During the summer months, the branch takes root in several places.
The following spring, it is cut into segments, on each of which a root system has formed. Such branches can be planted in a permanent place and be sure that after 2 years a honeysuckle bush of the same variety as the mother will grow here.
Diseases and pests
Interest in the honeysuckle bush is shown not only by people.Its main enemies are:
- fingerfly caterpillar. She loves to eat fruits. From this pest, the entire crop can fall, without even having time to ripen;
- leafworm caterpillar and aphids are able to destroy leaves in a short time, having sucked out all the juices from them;
- scale insect feeds on the juice of the bark, and this can lead to the death of the bush.
All of these are capable, at worst, of destroying the bushes, and at best, greatly reducing their yield. Treatment of plants with insecticidal preparations "Decis" or "Inta-Vir" will save the plant from pests.
It is absolutely impossible to use pesticides in the spring, because these substances enter the ovary of the fruit. Spraying bushes with chemicals should be carried out only after fruiting in dry weather. If necessary, it can be re-treated every other day.
During the period of fruit ripening against aphids, spraying with a solution containing 100 ml of vodka per 1 liter of water can be applied. This temporary measure will protect the crop until ripe.
For all its disease resistance, honeysuckle is sometimes affected by powdery mildew. Treatment with the microbiological preparation "Fitosporin" will help get rid of this problem.
Honeysuckle berries are a low-calorie dietary product. The fruits are consumed fresh, compotes, preserves, jams are cooked, jelly is made, dried and frozen for the winter.
Planting honeysuckle bushes in a summer cottage will bring not only a storehouse of vitamins, but also complement the landscape with an ornamental shrub. Even the berry varieties of this not too tall plant will be able to carry at the same time the function of a fence in the country, closing the area of \u200b\u200bthe garden plot from prying eyes.
From this video you will learn how to properly prune honeysuckle in the spring:
Honeysuckle is an upright or creeping shrub. Currently, more than 190 species of honeysuckle are known, among which there are shrubs that produce fruits (edible or poisonous), as well as a variety of honeysuckle used as an ornamental plant. Growing honeysuckle has become a favorite pastime for many gardeners. To get a good harvest, you need to select plant varieties based on the region and follow a few simple rules for planting and care.
What is honeysuckle and its features
Most often, blue honeysuckle is grown in gardens and vegetable gardens - it is a deciduous shrub that grows up to 2.5 meters in height, with beautiful elliptical green leaves and spindle-shaped dark blue berries with a bluish bloom. Edible honeysuckle began to be grown in Russia in the 20th century, but even now not all gardeners know about it.
Honeysuckle honeysuckle is used as an ornamental plant
Honeysuckle gives the earliest berries: it ripens in early June, even earlier than garden strawberries. Berries of old varieties resemble blueberries and have a bitter taste, but most modern varieties are devoid of this bitterness and contain a large amount of sugars. The peculiarity of honeysuckle berries is in its ability to clean the capillaries, therefore it is of the greatest value for the older generation, however, it is recommended for everyone to use as food, since it has no contraindications.
A handful of honeysuckle berries eaten for breakfast provides the body with a daily intake of iron and B vitamins.
Honeysuckle fruits contain 8% sugar, from 1 to 5 organic acids, pectins, tannins, P-active compounds (anthacyanins, catechins), provitamins A1, B2, B1, vitamin C, as well as various trace elements: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus , sodium, copper, iron, iodine, aluminum, barium, silicon, strontium, manganese.
Honeysuckle Features:
Video: honeysuckle from the Bachkar nursery
Where and when is it better to plant a plant
Buds on honeysuckle bloom in late April - early May, so these dates should be followed during spring planting. If you got the seedling very early, when the soil on the site is not yet ready, then you can plant it in a large pot and then transfer it to the planting pit. If a seedling with a closed root system (in a pot), then you can plant the whole season.
Honeysuckle seedlings are best bought with a closed root system
Autumn planting of honeysuckle begins in mid-September and, depending on the region of residence, can last until mid-November.
Video: planting honeysuckle variety Giant's Daughter
Location selection
When choosing a landing site, the following features should be considered:
- Honeysuckle is considered an unpretentious shrub, especially for the northern regions of Russia, where it rains frequently and summers are not very hot. In such areas, honeysuckle is best planted in sunny areas without constantly blowing winds.
- In the southern regions, it is better to plant honeysuckle in partial shade or in the sun, but with constant watering. In dry areas without watering, the bush will be low, weak and with a small number of berries.
- Swampy areas with very close occurrence of groundwater or acidic soil will not work either. If it is impossible to find a more favorable place - plant on high ridges.
- The soil under honeysuckle should be light, fertile, neutral acidity.
Planting scheme for honeysuckle
Since honeysuckle is cross-pollinated, the bushes should be located side by side. Three or four bushes can be planted in a row, and more - group planting in several rows.
A small number of honeysuckle bushes can be planted in a row, keeping the distance between plants 1-2 meters
The distance between honeysuckle bushes in planting will depend on the variety, as there are large sprawling bushes and more compact ones. But most often between the bushes they leave from 100 to 120 cm, the same amount is worth stepping back from the fence. With multi-row planting, make up to 2 meters between rows. When using honeysuckle as a hedge, the holes are placed at a distance of 50 cm from each other.
Neighbors for honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is rarely damaged by various pests, so it can be planted next to other shrubs, but it especially likes the neighborhood with blackcurrant. In the near-stem circle, you should also not plant any plants, since the root system of the honeysuckle is superficial.
Seedling selection
On sale you can often find both seedlings from local nurseries and imported ones. However, varieties bred in the Bakcharsky nursery, located near Tomsk, are recognized as new and best. The most suitable seedlings are plants 2-3 years old, with a good root system. Before planting, soak the roots in water for 1-2 hours with diluted Kornevin or HB 101.
We plant honeysuckle correctly
Due to the structure of the root system, honeysuckle is planted a little differently than other shrubs:
Transplanting a bush to a new place
Honeysuckle tolerates transplantation well. The best time for this is from July to October. Young medium-sized bushes can be dug up with a large clod of earth and moved to a new place, and large bushes should first be cut, shortened or cut out old branches, and only then transplanted.
Planting honeysuckle in the regions
Depending on your area of residence, there may be some differences in planting honeysuckle.
Landing in Belarus
The desired time for planting honeysuckle in the Republic of Belarus is the end of summer and autumn. The place of cultivation is the sun, in the shade it will bear fruit poorly. The zoned varieties include Blue Spindle, Lakomka, Nizhny Novgorod early, Morena and Vasilievskaya. Due to the long and warm autumn, honeysuckle in Belarus often blooms in November, and sometimes in winter, so it is recommended to choose varieties with a long dormant period.
The honeysuckle variety Blue Spindle is distinguished by medium-sized berries of a sour-sweet taste with a slight bitterness
Landing in the Moscow region
For planting, a bright and sunny place is chosen, with neutral soil and without blowing winds. The best varieties for the Moscow region are Chosen One, Nymph, Morena, Silginka.
Honeysuckle varieties Silginka - one of the best options for planting in the suburbs
Landing in Siberia
For planting honeysuckle in Siberia, three-year-old seedlings should be chosen - they acclimatize better. The landing pit is prepared in advance, and if there is close groundwater, drainage is made from broken bricks or cobblestones. In this case, the pit itself must be dug at least 50 cm deep. Early autumn is also considered the best time for planting honeysuckle, and in spring it is good to plant in rainy weather or with constant watering.
For a successful wintering in the Siberian region, it is impossible to feed honeysuckle with nitrogen fertilizers after mid-June. They make exclusively potassium-phosphorus top dressing, and it is even better to use ash. Suitable varieties are Berel, Fire Opal, Sirius, Blue Spindle, Cinderella, Blue Bird, Iliad.
Bluebird - a honeysuckle variety with early ripening fruits
Landing in the Urals
In the Urals, honeysuckle also prefers to grow in the sun, with the exception of the Southern Urals, where in summer the soil temperature can reach 50 ° C - in such areas it should be planted in partial shade, but not in full shade from the house or barn. In especially hot years, you can stretch a building net over the plantings, which will reduce the energy of the sun, and the honeysuckle will be good enough. In summer, in dry places, watering is required, especially in early June, when the berries begin to sing. The best varieties include the following: Yugana, Kamchadalka, Bakchar giant, Bakcharskaya, Maria, Nymph, Blue spindle, Blue bird, Titmouse.
Honeysuckle variety Bachkarskaya is resistant to temperature fluctuations in central Russia and the Urals
Honeysuckle does not need shelter for the winter.
Honeysuckle is used not only for decorating plots, but also as a berry crop. In early or mid-May, fragrant yellow inflorescences bloom on the shrub. And in early summer, when there are no fruits in the garden yet, blue sweet and sour berries of honeysuckle ripen. To get good yields, you should plant different varieties of edible honeysuckle. When planting bushes, you need to take into account the characteristics of this culture.
Is it possible to plant honeysuckle in the spring
Planting honeysuckle on the site should be carried out during the dormant period, which begins at the end of July and lasts until the end of March. In central Russia, the optimal time for planting plants with open roots is the end of the season, from August to November. Spring planting is undesirable here, since the vegetation begins early in the honeysuckle and it hardly adapts to a new place.
Planted at the optimal time, honeysuckle bushes will successfully grow and bear fruit.
In the southern regions, where the ground does not freeze, planting can be carried out immediately after the snow melts - in March, before the buds open. A later spring planting is undesirable, since sap flow begins in early April, damage to branches and roots during planting will result in stress for the honeysuckle. Therefore, planting work in the spring should be carried out as early as possible, before the start of the growing season.
How to prepare for boarding
Future yields and longevity of the shrub depend on the quality of planting material, proper placement on the site and further care.
Selection of seedlings
Varietal honeysuckle seedlings can be purchased from nurseries. Usually they offer plants in pots, which are necessarily supplied with a certificate, which indicates the variety, age, and brief recommendations for growing. It is preferable to choose biennial bushes about 40 cm in height, with 2-3 flexible branches. You should not buy undersized weakened plants or too high, more than one and a half meters, which take root painfully and bear fruit later.
It is best to purchase two-year-old honeysuckle seedlings with a closed root system - there is less risk that the plant will not take root due to root damage
How to store seedlings before planting
If seedlings are purchased after the onset of autumn cold weather, they should be properly stored until spring planting. The remaining leaves must be cut off - they accelerate the drying of plants.
- In a garden on an elevated place, where melt water does not accumulate, and snow does not blow off in winter, they make a trench with one inclined side and lay the plants in it with their tops to the south.
- The seedlings are watered, the roots and branches are 1/3 of the length covered with loose earth.
- After the night temperature drops to minus values, the trench is completely covered with soil, compacted so that cold air does not penetrate to the plants. If snow covers seedlings without an earth mound, during the thaw it will turn into an ice crust, which can damage the bark of plants.
- Prickly spruce branches are thrown on top to protect the seedlings from rodents.
Until spring, honeysuckle seedlings can be dug in the garden, covering them from above with prickly spruce branches or juniper twigs.
So that during the thaw the snow on the buried seedlings does not melt, experienced gardeners fill the snowdrift in the pit with sawdust with a layer of at least 10 cm.
Video: autumn digging seedlings
Honeysuckle bushes are well preserved in a cool room at a temperature of 0 to +2 ° C.
If in the middle of winter buds of more than 2 cm appeared on the honeysuckle, it means that she woke up, the vegetation process began. It urgently needs to be planted, but since it is still cold outside, the plant is transferred to a larger pot.
- Remove the packaging and inspect the root system for new white roots.
- If they have not yet sprouted, an earthen ball is lowered for several hours into a solution of Kornevin or Heteroauxin.
- Then the seedling is planted in a container, filling the voids with a new substrate, and watered well.
- A pot of honeysuckle is placed in a cool, bright room, shaded from direct sunlight.
A pot of honeysuckle is placed in a bright room, watered and monitored for temperature.
Transshipment into a new container should be carried out very carefully, trying to keep the earth lump intact so as not to injure the young roots.
It is necessary to regularly moisten the soil, maintain a temperature of + 5-12 ° C - in a hot room, the plant will begin to develop intensively. As soon as the snow melts, honeysuckle can be transplanted into the garden.
Video: storage of seedlings in the basement
Selecting a landing site
Before planting bushes on the site, you should decide on the choice of location. Honeysuckle loves to grow in the sun, in the shade productivity drops significantly, the berries lose their sweetness. Resistance to adverse conditions allows you to grow shrubs in open areas that are not protected from the wind by a fence or outbuildings - there it grows better, blooms more abundantly and bears fruit.
In an open sunny area, honeysuckle will bear fruit more abundantly.
Honeysuckle is an unpretentious crop, but feels most comfortable on fertile sandy or loamy soil with a low level of acidity. In areas with acidic soil, the plants wither, the color of the foliage fades, and there are much fewer berries. Marshy lowlands with a close location of groundwater are also not suitable for the berry plant - water layers should lie no higher than 1.5 m from the surface of the earth.
The best predecessors of honeysuckle are potatoes, cucumbers, radishes. It will get along well next to such berry bushes as dogwood, blackcurrant, barberry.
A cross-pollinated crop needs other varieties of edible honeysuckle to form fruit ovaries, which are planted at a distance of 1.5 m from each other, leaving 2 m between rows. Shrubs that are too close, growing over time, will cast a shadow on each other. In addition, in narrow passages between overgrown bushes, when picking berries, fragile shoots can easily be broken.
Enough space should be left between the bushes so that, when growing, they do not interfere with each other and are evenly illuminated by the sun.
Berry bushes can be planted in a group or arranged in a row along the edge of the site as a hedge. Honeysuckle is also used for zoning the garden in order to delimit and decorate the territory.
Step-by-step instructions for planting honeysuckle in the spring
The site is being prepared since autumn:
- The bed is dug up, the soil is leveled.
- In the spring, after the snow melts, they dig holes 40 × 40 cm wide, pour crushed stone on the bottom.
- The top layer of the earth is mixed with 2 buckets of humus, 30 g of superphosphate and the same amount of fertilizer containing potassium. Potash fertilizer can be replaced with ash (500 g). In sandy areas, another bucket of humus is additionally added, a bucket of sand is added to clay soil.
- Excessively acidic soil is alkalized with dolomite flour or lime - 100 g per pit.
The composition of the soil can be improved by applying AVA fertilizer (15 g / m 2) - a concentrated complex of minerals and trace elements. Top dressing dissolves slowly in the ground, saturating plants with nutrients for 2–3 years. As a result, the seedlings quickly gain strength and adapt more easily to the new environment.
Complex fertilizer AVA slowly dissolves in the soil, saturating plants with nutrients
Instead of mineral fertilizer, biohumus is often used - vermicompost, which improves and improves the soil. 1.5 kg of dry fertilizer or 3 liters of solution are added to the pit and mixed with the ground.
Before planting, the roots of seedlings are immersed in water for several hours with the addition of a growth stimulator.
Honeysuckle bushes, unlike other berry crops, are not shortened after planting, so as not to cause a delay in their growth and development.
In the early days, young bushes need to be shaded from bright sunlight and regularly moisten the soil, bringing at least 10 liters of water under the plant.
Transfer to a new place
The most favorable time for transplanting honeysuckle in the spring is after the snow melts before the buds open.
Site preparation
Since the roots of the dug bush quickly dry out and wither, the planting hole is prepared in advance:
- In order not to damage the root system during transplantation, a new hole is dug a little larger in diameter than before - 70x70 cm.
- In clay areas, the bottom and walls become too dense when digging a hole, the roots hardly penetrate such soil, so they add sand and slightly loosen the surface.
- The fertile layer of the earth is mixed with 15 kg of humus, 160 g of superphosphate and 70 g of potassium salt, and the pits are filled with this mixture.
Pits for transplanting honeysuckle bushes are filled with humus
Do not use fresh manure as a fertilizer when planting honeysuckle - it can cause root burns and cause viral infections.
Bush transfer
Before transplanting, in bushes older than 5 years, the branches are shortened by one third of the length, and the damaged shoots are completely cut off. Young shrubs do not need pruning, they only remove broken or dry branches.
- The bush is carefully dug around the perimeter of the crown. If you dig closer to the trunk, you can damage the roots that extend beyond the crown area, which will worsen the plant's survival.
- Honeysuckle is removed along with a clod of earth.
- A bush with earth is rolled onto a burlap or film spread nearby and transferred to a new place.
A honeysuckle bush with a clod of earth is removed from the pit and transferred to a tarpaulin
Landing
Planting honeysuckle in a new planting hole is carried out in cloudy weather.
A layer of organic mulch is an excellent fertilizer in the spring, good protection against overdrying of the roots in summer and freezing in winter.
Honeysuckle bushes transplanted to a new place before the start of the growing season will take root well
For reproduction of honeysuckle when transplanting a young bush, it can be divided into parts. Strong wood is sawn with a saw or cut with an ax, and each bush with roots and 2-3 branches is planted separately.
If the honeysuckle bush is transplanted correctly and on time, it will quickly and painlessly take root in a new place and will begin to bear fruit in June.
Honeysuckle is the earliest berry in our gardens
Honeysuckle is an unpretentious berry shrub, characterized by early ripening of fruits and high winter hardiness. It can grow in one place up to 20 years, while it quickly takes root after transplantation at almost any age. It should only be remembered that planting and transplanting honeysuckle can only be carried out during the dormant period, before the start of the growing season.
