Honeysuckle: cultivation and care. Description of edible honeysuckle - varieties, planting and growing, care and reproduction When to plant honeysuckle in the fall

More and more gardeners are growing honeysuckle on their plots. The bush is not only a real decoration of the garden, but also regularly brings a rich harvest of healthy and tasty berries. This is an unpretentious plant, but in order to improve productivity, as well as to avoid infection with diseases and pests, it is necessary to follow the rules for planting and caring for honeysuckle. This will be discussed in our article.

Honeysuckle is a type genus of the Honeysuckle family, represented by 200 species of climbing, erect and creeping shrubs. In the natural environment, it is found everywhere in many countries of the Northern Hemisphere, some varieties grow only in East Asia and the Himalayas.

As an ornamental plant, it is used for landscaping plots and as a horticultural crop for obtaining useful berries.

Among all the species diversity, only two types of plants are used, as well as their numerous varieties:

1. Honeysuckle edible. It is represented by an upright deciduous bush, reaching a height of up to 1 meter. Young shoots have a characteristic green pubescence, as they grow older they are covered with brown bark. The crown is spherical and dense, the leaves are up to 7 cm long, lanceolate. The flowers are funnel-shaped, arranged in pairs, flowering begins in May or early June. The berries are dark blue in color, depending on the variety, they may have a different shape. Fruit length varies from 9 to 12 mm. The pulp is red-violet in color, used for fresh consumption and for the preparation of preserves.
2. Honeysuckle blue (blue). Woody deciduous plant, in favorable conditions reaches a length of up to 2.5 meters. The shoots of all varieties are erect, the crown is compact. The bark of the shoots has a red-gray color, it is separated from the trunk in stripes. The leaves are opposite, elliptical in shape and up to 7 cm long. The bell-shaped flowers are painted in a pale yellow hue. The berries are dark blue in color, have a bittersweet taste, reminiscent of blueberries or blueberries. Blue honeysuckle grows rapidly, in optimal conditions it can bear fruit up to 80 years.

In warm regions, honeysuckle is an important honey plant. All varieties of honeysuckle are self-sterile and require pollinating insects to form fruits. To get a rich harvest, it is recommended to plant several varieties in one area.

When to plant?

Planting honeysuckle begins from spring to the first autumn frosts. Planting should not be carried out in May or June, since the bush at this time begins an active period of shoot growth.

Spring planting of the plant is carried out before the start of bud break, which occurs almost immediately after warming. The most optimal landing is from late September to mid-October. In cold regions, it is advisable to carry out the procedure a little earlier to avoid night frosts - young bushes are very sensitive to temperature changes.

How to choose seedlings?

When choosing a variety and type of honeysuckle, planting tasks must be taken into account. If you plan to use the bush only as an ornamental plant, it is better to purchase seedlings of tall varieties.

To obtain berries and a large harvest, undersized varieties are more suitable. Carefully read the descriptions on the packaging with planting material, not all varieties are edible for humans. It is best to buy seedlings in large nurseries.

To select high-quality planting material, you can use the following tips from experienced gardeners:

1. It is best to buy two-year-old seedlings with 2-3 branches and a height of 30 cm or more.
2. The branches should be flexible and resilient, the shoots should not have a dry peel and mechanical damage.
3. The bark on the shoots may peel off a little, which is a feature of the plants. However, it should not have various spots or inclusions - these are signs of infection with diseases.
4. You should pay attention to the state of the root system. It should be healthy and developed, you should not buy stunted bushes with damaged roots.
5. Even for a small area, it is recommended to buy at least 2 different varieties of the same species, this will help improve the pollination process.

If you plant the plant correctly, and subsequently observe competent care, honeysuckle can be propagated by cuttings, layering or dividing the bush already 2-3 years after planting. Therefore, later you can easily increase the number of plants on the site.

Choosing a place for planting in open ground

Honeysuckle is an unpretentious plant that can produce a crop even in the most unstable climate. To increase productivity, the landing site should be well lit and protected from gusts of wind.

When planting in dark places, the growth of shoots increases, and flowering slows down, the number of fruit-bearing shoots decreases. Ornamental varieties of honeysuckle are best planted next to fences, a fence or a blank wall of a house.

The plant prefers loose and moderately moist soil with medium acidity. Cultivation of honeysuckle is optimal in a site with fertile loamy or sandy loamy soil. To increase fertility before planting, it is desirable to add organic matter - biohumus, humus, a solution of mullein or bird droppings at the rate of 10 liters of the composition per 1 m 2.

How to plant a shrub?

Compliance with planting agrotechnics largely affects the health of honeysuckle, growth rate and yield indicators.

Algorithm for planting seedlings:

1. Prepare planting holes 40x40x40 cm in size, the distance between plants should be at least 1.5-2 meters, depending on the variety.
2. Add 10 kg of mullein or humus, 100 g of superphosphate, 250 g of wood ash and 30 g of potash fertilizer to the prepared pit. The composition must be thoroughly mixed with fertile soil and a small mound should be created at the bottom of the planting hole.
3. Set up a honeysuckle bush, spreading the roots. Cover with earth so that the root neck is at a depth of up to 5 cm.
4. Compact the soil around the bush to create a platform with a diameter of up to 30 cm.
5. Pour warm settled water at the rate of 10 liters per seedling, mulch the soil with a layer of 10-15 cm. It is best to use sawdust, peat, fallen leaves or needles as mulch.

Unlike other fruit and berry crops, it is not necessary to trim the honeysuckle bush after planting. This procedure can result in growth retardation as well as an extended period of time before entering the vegetative phase. However, you need to carefully remove all broken or damaged branches, weakened and stunted shoots in order to grow a strong and healthy bush.

Care after

Even a novice gardener can grow honeysuckle, the plant rarely gets sick and develops quickly. The first harvest can be obtained only in the second year - after planting, shoots and the bush itself are actively formed. The growing season begins in early spring after the end of frost, which is important to consider when growing honeysuckle.

Care features:

1. The plant responds well to abundant watering, especially during the dry season. The procedure should be carried out as the top layer of soil dries. It is advisable to use settled or rain water at the rate of 10-12 liters per bush.
2. Twice a month it is recommended to loosen the soil next to the plant, but the operation should be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the superficial root system. If you used mulch, loosening is not necessary.
3. Top dressing is carried out twice per season, starting from the second year after planting. In the spring, nitrogen compounds are introduced, which are necessary for building green mass, and in autumn, potassium and phosphorus. During the flowering period, you can once water the bush with wood ash at the rate of 500 g per 10 liters of water.
4. The first pruning is carried out 20-30 days after planting, at this stage it is necessary to remove all weakened and damaged shoots and branches, leaving up to 1/3 of the length. Subsequently, pruning should become regular, it is necessary to form a bush and stimulate the growth of fruit-bearing shoots. Prune honeysuckle preferably in the fall.
5. Planting rejuvenation is recommended every 5-7 years. For this purpose, all old shoots are removed or the bush is transplanted to a new place.

After the end of fruiting, the bush begins to actively shed foliage. Before the onset of autumn frosts, you need to carefully prune and remove all fallen leaves. Shelter for the winter is required only for heat-loving varieties.

Diseases and pests

Honeysuckle has a strong immune system and is rarely exposed to disease. When grown in an unfavorable climate or non-compliance with the rules of care, spotting, powdery mildew, tuberculosis or drying of the branches may occur. Viral diseases are extremely difficult to treat, they usually lead to the death of the bush.

Fungal infections can be managed with fungicide treatments (Bordeaux mixture, colloidal sulfur, or copper oxychloride). As a preventive measure, it is advisable to treat the bush once a season in early June or late May.

In some regions, pests can become a real problem for honeysuckle. More than 37 insects are known that feed on the leaves of this crop and 1 pest that destroys the berries is the caterpillar of the honeysuckle fingerwing.

In addition, infection with aphids, sawflies, false scales and honeysuckle mites is possible. When the first signs of infection by insects appear, insecticide treatment should be carried out (Inta-Vir, Eleksar, Decis, Aktellik).

The biggest danger to this crop is posed by birds that love to feast on berries during the harvest period. To protect the fruit, it is advisable to cover the bushes with a special net and install a scarecrow near the landing site.

Fruit honeysuckle is a unique plant that can be used not only to obtain tasty and healthy berries, but also as an ornamental bush. Growing this crop is not difficult if you choose the seedlings correctly, follow the planting technique and regularly care for the planting.

Many amateur gardeners and farmers are concerned about growing honeysuckle, because this crop is not yet so common and well known. The article is devoted to the technology of planting and propagating honeysuckle, which even a beginner can master.

When is the best time to plant honeysuckle?

Honeysuckle is unpretentious in cultivation, does not grow much, does not have thorns, needs little pruning in the early years and quickly begins to bear fruit. These qualities make it attractive to gardeners who want to propagate and plant this shrub in their area. The basic rule for planting honeysuckle is that the plants should be at rest - the growing season begins in spring at an average daily temperature of + 3 ° C and ends in July.

Conditions that can harm a tender young sprout when transplanted:

• temperature below +10°C or above +32°C;
• frosts;
• strong and direct sunlight;
• wind.

These conditions are more common in early spring, but can also be expected in autumn in various regions.

Did you know? Honeysuckle got its name (Lonicera) from the name of a German physician and botanist of the 16th century. Adam Lonitzer, who described this species in his works. Translated from English, honeysuckle means "honey berry".

spring

Spring planting should take place as early as possible - as soon as the snow has melted, the soil has dried out slightly, there is no threat of returning frosts, and the seedlings show no signs of growth and the buds do not swell. The first spring thaws are a good time for pruning honeysuckle bushes and harvesting and rooting with cuttings in order to further propagate the plant. In the spring, you can propagate the bushes with branches, bending down and digging a branch. Mild temperatures and longer sunny days provide good conditions for establishment and successful growth of the shrub.
Newly planted seedlings may flower in late spring or early summer, but it usually takes the plant a season or two to adjust to the new environment. Spring anti-aging pruning can be used to obtain new planting material. The bush is cut 8–10 cm above the soil level. The shoots that have appeared twice a season are spudded and fed with nitrogen fertilizers, maintaining soil moisture throughout the summer.

Important!It is not allowed to plant honeysuckle in open areas in May. This is a period of active growth and development of fruit buds, which can crumble, and the gardener will be left without a crop this season.

In autumn, the bush can be divided into young shoots and planted, leaving 4-5 strong shoots at the base on the bush. The advantage of planting honeysuckle in the spring is the ability to closely observe the development of the seedling during the season and, if necessary, provide proper care, however, the rapid growth of the above-ground part slows down the growth and strengthening of the root system.

autumn

The spring planting period is short because the plant emerges from dormancy early. If you missed the spring deadline, then fall is the next best season for planting a new plant. The growing season ends in July, and honeysuckle enters a dormant state - growth ends, and temperature conditions do not allow the planted buds to bloom.

Although the days are getting shorter, the air and soil temperatures are lower than in summer, but the terms are more extended - from August to November:

• August suitable for the northern regions and Eastern Siberia, where it gets cold very early;
• September October- landing period in the middle lane (central part of Russia, Urals, Western Siberia, Far East);
• In November you can plant in the southern regions with a warm and long autumn.

Honeysuckle is planted with one- and two-year-old seedlings. The winter hardiness of the culture will allow it to successfully winter, and the survival rate of seedlings is 95%. The advantage of planting in the fall is the hardening of the seedling and the ability to grow and strengthen the roots in preparation for the winter cold. A bush planted in autumn will come out of dormancy earlier in spring and provide resistance to external climate influences.

If you are new to gardening and are planting honeysuckle in a new place, then you need to learn the rules of planting, follow the instructions given, and further actions will not cause difficulties.

Location selection

Honeysuckle is a very hardy plant that is resistant not only to temperature conditions (flowers survive at -7°C), but also to soil characteristics. It can be grown anywhere in the garden where there is fertile and moist but well-drained soil, little wind protection for better pollination and to prevent fruit drop, and moderate rainfall. The culture adapts to a wide range of soils, including acidic or alkaline soils, but pH 5–7 is considered optimal.
Honeysuckle grows well in full sun, but can tolerate partial shade. In regions with a cool climate, for successful maturation, it is planted in sunny areas, and in the southern regions midday shading is necessary. Plants can get burned from the hot summer sun, so during such periods they need to be provided with temporary protection from the sun's rays. Try to choose a site at least 2–3 m away from backyard buildings and garden plantings so that the honeysuckle bushes have room to grow and the buildings do not obscure the plantings.

So you can avoid problems with the need to transplant adult plants in the future. Even if your site is not the ideal place to grow honeysuckle, plants can adapt and respond positively to fertilization so they can survive even where the soil is nutrient-poor. The most important thing is to avoid planting in areas with heavy soils and poor drainage.

Soil preparation

Preparation is carried out in order to provide young seedlings with a nutrient basis for their future growth, development and improvement of soil structure. This procedure can be carried out at any time of the year when the soil is suitable for cultivation, i.e., not too wet or frozen. It is better to prepare the soil for planting in advance. To do this, the land on the site is dug up with the introduction of organic substances - humus or compost, weeds are removed.
In sandy soils, organic materials help retain water and nutrients, while clay soils make them looser and more accessible to moisture. To correct the level of soil acidity, garden lime is added for high acidity, sphagnum and high peat for highly alkaline soil.

Scheme

Seedlings are planted at a distance of 1–2 m, depending on the variety, which will ensure optimal and high-quality pollination by wind and insects, facilitate the care and picking of berries, and the bushes will not interfere with each other during growth.

Pit preparation

The planting hole should be deep (3-5 cm deeper than the earthen ball at the roots) and wide enough to accommodate the entire root system, with enough room to grow. With a high occurrence of groundwater and on heavy clay soils, drainage should be taken care of and a drainage layer of small stones or broken bricks should be poured onto the bottom of the pit.

The upper, more fertile layer of soil at the site of the planting holes is removed and mixed with any organic fertilizer (humus, garden compost). Part of this mixture is laid on the bottom of the pit, and the rest is covered with plant roots during planting.
Landing pit with drainage.

Seedling selection

If you do not feel prepared enough to grow honeysuckle from seeds or cuttings, or want to plant new varieties, then you need to contact nurseries to purchase seedlings.

1. Seedling characteristics: age - 1–2 years, height - 40–100 cm, number of branches 2–3. Small seedlings have poorly developed roots, and large ones do not take root well.
2. Roots should be moist and well developed, branches with buds should be flexible. Leaves are not allowed. It is better to buy seedlings in containers where the earth ball protects the root system - this will ensure ease of planting and survival.
3. Check the label and description to make sure you are buying the right variety of edible honeysuckle, as there are ornamental varieties with poisonous berries.
4. Check if the seedlings have been hardened off (greenhouse or shade grown will need acclimatization) and chemically treated.
5. All parts of the plant must be free of signs of harmful lesions.
6. Buy 2-3 seedlings of different varieties that bloom at the same time to ensure cross-pollination, which is a prerequisite for fruiting.

Seedlings with a closed root system

If the purchased seedling has a closed root system, then with proper agricultural practices, it can be planted throughout the season. It is recommended to do this using the transshipment method and cover with soil mixture at the same level as in the container.

Seedlings with an open root system

It is better to plant such seedlings in the fall. When buying, try to keep the roots moist before planting. In the center of the planting hole, pour the soil mixture in a slide, place the plant in the center and carefully spread the roots. Fill the hole with soil and tamp down.

Planting in a pot

If the successful planting dates are missed, then you can save the seedlings in pots, storing them indoors or in a greenhouse until favorable conditions occur. Seedlings dive into pots as ordinary seedlings when propagating honeysuckle with seeds. The pot should be large enough to accommodate the growing root system of the plant. Choose a container that is 2-3 times larger than the root system.

In Siberia

For planting honeysuckle in the cold conditions of the Siberian climate, it is advisable to choose zoned varieties of 3-year-old seedlings - they are more winter-hardy and take root better. Planting pits are prepared in advance in the spring so that the earth warms up and settles, and plants are planted in the fall 3-4 weeks before the onset of winter.

in the Kuban

One of the distinguishing features of honeysuckle is its winter hardiness - a culture that can withstand frosts above -40 ° C (zones 3-4), but for the southern zones there is another growing problem. Early flowering and fruiting indicates that the plants go dormant early (in early August).

The main difficulty in growing honeysuckle in the southern regions, including the Kuban, are:

• warm and protracted autumn, which leads to the repeated flowering of most varieties and a decrease in the yield of the next season by up to 50%;
• winter thaws, causing the plant to come out of dormancy early.

One of the promising areas of breeding is the breeding of varieties that are largely devoid of this disadvantage, examples are the varieties Parabelskaya, Ramenskaya, Zimorodok. Worst of all in the south, including in the Krasnodar Territory, it takes root after planting and Kamchatka (wild) honeysuckle grows. The reason is the difference in the structure and characteristics of the soils, since soils of volcanic origin dominate in the natural habitat of this type of honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle blooms in the Kuban in March-April, but at this time return frosts are possible, which the culture can withstand without difficulty, but snow, alternating cold and warm weather, and humidity create favorable conditions for the development of fungal diseases. Therefore, in the south, spraying the bushes with any copper-containing preparations in the spring (Bordeaux liquid, HOM, Kuprolux) is essential. In early May, the first honeysuckle berries can be harvested in the Kuban.

Plant care after planting

Further care for young plantings consists in optimal watering, fertilizing if necessary, monitoring pests and diseases.

Watering

Young honeysuckle seedlings require constant watering for 2 weeks before the start of intensive growth to keep the soil evenly moistened. A drip irrigation system is better suited, which provides deep and slow moistening, does not erode the top layer, and uses water sparingly. In the future, adult honeysuckle will have enough moisture, which is provided by regular (every 7-10 days) rains.
In the absence of natural precipitation during the summer drought, plants need daily watering. The water consumption rate is 20 liters per 1 m² or 2 liters of water for each bush. This is especially important during the fruiting and growth of young shoots. On clay soils that hold moisture well, the need for watering is less than on sandy soils.

Mulching with compost, peat moss, or decomposed manure about 2 inches around the base of the bush helps keep the soil moist, reduces watering, and reduces weed growth. But the main rule of watering honeysuckle is not to water the plants too much or too often. The plant will tolerate drought more easily than waterlogged and excessively wet roots. And frequent watering with a small amount of water leads to the development of a shallow root system.

top dressing

If the seedlings are planted in fertilized soil, then in the first 3 years, fertilizing is not required. Long term growth in the same place and annual fruiting of the plant will deplete the soil, so fertilizing is a great way to replenish nutrients. Honeysuckle likes a well-balanced fertilizer with the same proportions of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. A good nutritional supplement would be meat and bone or fish meal, wood ash.
Fertilizers are applied from the beginning of the growing season in early spring and nitrogen fertilizing is excluded in the middle of summer for the successful transition of the plant to a dormant state. When fertilizing evenly into the soil of the root zone, avoid getting fertilizer on the leaves, berries and the center of the bush. Immediately after fertilizing, water the honeysuckle well to moisten the soil by 20-30 cm. This allows nutrients to be carried to the roots of the plant, and also minimizes the risk of nitrogen burns.

Important! Do not fertilize your honeysuckle more than once a year, because too much fertilizer can cause growth of green mass at the expense of flowering and ovary formation.

Preparing for the winter

Young plantings of honeysuckle do not require autumn pruning and top dressing. In cold regions, when preparing honeysuckle for winter, it is advisable to cover the roots with an additional layer (10 cm) of mulch. Bushes will not need insulation, but they can be tied and bent to the ground so that they do not break from the wind and under the weight of the snow cover.

Video: preparing honeysuckle for winter

Mistakes when planting honeysuckle

Summer plantings are generally not suitable for honeysuckle, because hot weather negatively affects plants, causing growth stunting, and the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil makes it difficult for roots to form. As a result, weak plants are more susceptible to damage by pests and pathogens.

Honeysuckle breeding methods

Honeysuckle reproduces in several ways:

In the southern regions, including the Krasnodar Territory, the best time for propagation by layering or lignified cuttings will be early spring, when the buds on honeysuckle just swell, and the plants come out of dormancy - this is the end of February - the beginning of March. In the northern regions at this time there is still snow.

Pruning and shaping the bush

Pruning should be done in late autumn or early spring when the plants are dormant. Young bushes up to 3 years old need to remove only dead branches. On older plants, pruning is done annually to encourage fruiting. Proper pruning will help reduce shading in the center of the bush, improve fruit quality and quantity, reduce the risk of fungal diseases, and encourage new growth.

Did you know?In the past, it was believed that honeysuckle planted near houses was able to ward off evil spirits, and a honeysuckle branch under the pillow caused pleasant dreams and improved mood.

Never remove more than 25% of a bush in one season as this can remove fruit bearing wood and reduce yields. Honeysuckle bears fruit on one-year-old wood, and if there is no damage, the tops of the branches should not be cut off, since most fruit and flower buds develop here. Aim to leave 4-6 of the healthiest and most developed old branches and a few strong young shoots.
New shoots will eventually replace the old ones, which will ensure a balanced vegetative and fruiting cycle. Honeysuckle does not give root shoots, so there is no overgrowth at the base of the bush. Rejuvenating pruning is done on old and unproductive plants. The bush can be cut down 30 cm above ground level and allowed to grow back on its own roots.

The regrowth will be the same and uniform, which will rejuvenate the plant. Having mastered the methods and rules for planting honeysuckle, replenish your berry plantation with this useful multivitamin crop - and you will be able to pick berries with the taste of wild blueberries right on the site, and the early spring flowering of the bushes will add decorativeness to the landscape of the garden.

Plant honeysuckle (lat. Lonicera)- the type genus of the Honeysuckle family, represented by about two hundred species of climbing, creeping or erect shrubs. The Latin name was given to honeysuckle in honor of the German scientist Adam Lonitzer, although Carl Linnaeus preferred the name "capricole" - it was honeysuckle honeysuckle (fragrant) that was most often grown in European gardens then. In nature, honeysuckle is common in the Northern Hemisphere, but most of the species of this plant grows in East Asia and the Himalayas.

Today, gardens cultivate both climbing honeysuckle, grown most often for vertical gardening, and garden honeysuckle, which is of interest both as an ornamental plant and as a source of tasty and healthy fruits.

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Planting and caring for honeysuckle

• Landing: from spring to autumn, except May and June.
• Bloom: depending on the species and variety from June to September.
• Lighting: bright sun or partial shade.
• The soil: loose, drained, not too wet and not too poor soils.
• Watering: 2-3 times per season and only in extreme heat, water consumption is from 8 to 10 liters per bush.
• Top dressing: if fertilizers were applied to the pit during planting, the plant will not need top dressing for the first two years. In the future, in early spring and before flowering, solutions of complex mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil. In the summer, foliar top dressing with urea and trace elements is carried out. In autumn, wood ash is brought into the near-trunk circle for digging.
• Pruning: sanitary pruning - in early spring, before the buds swell, or after leaf fall. Bushes that have reached the age of 15 are subject to rejuvenating pruning at the same time.
• Reproduction: seeds, layering, shoots and green cuttings.
• Pests: aphids, honeysuckle mites, scale insects, caterpillars of sawflies, miners and moths, moths, herbivorous bugs, fingerwings.
• Diseases: ramulariasis, cercosporosis, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic viruses and rezuha mosaic.

Read more about growing honeysuckle below.

Berry honeysuckle - description

In our gardens, along with such recognized berry crops as raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries and currants, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries cultivated in the recent past have appeared in recent years. And most recently, we told you about the growing popularity of actinidia plant. As for honeysuckle, two types of garden honeysuckle are mainly grown in the culture - edible honeysuckle and blue honeysuckle, or blue, as well as numerous varieties based on these two types.

Edible honeysuckle (lat. Lonicera edulis)

Upright deciduous shrub about a meter high with young thin pubescent green shoots that have a purple hue in some places. Old shoots are bare, up to three centimeters thick, covered with yellow-brown bark, which peels off in narrow stripes. The crown of edible honeysuckle is spherical, dense, leaves up to 7 cm long, oblong-lanceolate with round stipules. Young leaves, like young shoots, are densely pubescent, old leaves lose their pubescence completely or partially. Yellowish funnel-shaped flowers, located in the axils of the leaves in pairs, bloom in May or early June.

Honeysuckle fruits with an edible length of 9 to 12 mm, dark blue in color with a bluish bloom, depending on the variety, have a different shape - round, elliptical, cylindrical. The pulp of honeysuckle fruits is red-violet in color, the seeds are dark brown, small - about 2 mm in size.

Blue honeysuckle, or blue honeysuckle (lat. Lonicera caerulea)

Woody deciduous plant, reaching a height of two to two and a half meters. The shoots are erect, slightly curved, the crown is compact. The bark is brown with a gray or red tint, as easily as the bark of edible honeysuckle, it is separated from the trunk in stripes. Blue honeysuckle leaves are opposite, elliptical, almost sessile, up to 6 cm long, up to 3 cm wide. Pale yellow regular bell-shaped flowers are collected in inflorescences in the axils of several lower pairs of leaves. The fruit is a fragrant oblong elliptical dark blue berry with a bluish bloom and a bittersweet taste reminiscent of blueberries.

Honeysuckle grows quickly, lives and bears fruit for a long time - up to 80 years. Varieties of garden honeysuckle are self-fertile, therefore, in order to wait for the fruits, several different varieties must be planted in the same area so that honeysuckle pollinating insects can ensure their cross-pollination. In some areas, honeysuckle is the most important honey plant.

Planting honeysuckle

When to plant honeysuckle

You can plant honeysuckle from spring to autumn, but not in May or June - at this time, honeysuckle has the most active growth of shoots. If you want to plant honeysuckle in the spring, then you need to do this before bud break, and keep in mind that honeysuckle wakes up very early. But still, it is better to plant honeysuckle in the fall, from late September to mid-October. Before planting honeysuckle, choose the most comfortable place for growing it, bring the composition of the soil to the desired levels, dig holes and prepare honeysuckle seedlings for planting.

Most suitable for honeysuckle is a light, wind-sheltered, low-lying, swampy area - it can be near a fence or surrounded by other bushes. The soil for honeysuckle is preferably fertile - loamy or sandy loam. Organics are added to poor soil, and if the pH of the soil in the area is shifted to the acid side, add dolomite flour or chalk to the soil.

Before planting, the honeysuckle bush is carefully inspected, broken shoots and roots are removed, too long roots are shortened to 30 cm in length.

How to plant honeysuckle

Planting edible honeysuckle or any other is carried out in pits dug according to the 40x40x40 scheme, the distance between the pits is from a meter to two, depending on the type and variety of honeysuckle. 10-12 kg of well-rotted manure or humus, 100 g of double superphosphate, 300 g of wood ash, 30 g of potassium sulfate are brought into the pit - all this is thoroughly mixed with fertile soil from the top layer and formed at the bottom of the pit with a mound, on which a honeysuckle bush is installed . Having straightened the roots of the plant, they are covered with loose soil. The root neck after planting should be at a depth of 3-5 cm.

Compact the soil around the seedling, make a side around it at a distance of 30 cm and pour a bucket of water onto the formed area, and after the water has been absorbed, mulch the soil around the bush with humus, peat or dry earth.

Honeysuckle Care

Cultivation of honeysuckle

How to grow honeysuckle in your garden and get a rich harvest of fruits? We hope that planting honeysuckle and caring for it will not seem difficult to you, because honeysuckle needs the same things that all other plants need - watering, weeding, loosening the soil around the bush, timely fertilization, proper pruning and protection from pests and diseases. But keep in mind that the better the honeysuckle care is, the more elegant its bushes will be and the richer the harvest of berries will be.

It facilitates the care of honeysuckle by the fact that for the first three years after planting, the bush will only need to be hilled high in the spring, watered, loosened the soil and removed weeds around it, and if mulch is used, this will have to be done infrequently. You do not need to prune young plants. Honeysuckle is watered moderately, but in dry weather, especially in late spring and early summer, abundant watering is necessary, since honeysuckle is bitter from a lack of moisture, and the quality of the crop may be in jeopardy. If the weather is mild, without extreme heat and with regular moderate rains, honeysuckle is watered 3-4 times per season, the amount of water poured under each bush at a time is 10 liters.

After watering and rains, gently loosen the soil around the bush while removing weeds. The root system of honeysuckle does not lie very deep, therefore, loosening should be superficial - no deeper than 7-8 cm. If the site is mulched, this can be done through the mulch, and much less often.

What to feed honeysuckle

The first two years after planting, honeysuckle is not fed. Then fertilizers are applied a year later, and preference is given to organic matter. In late autumn, honeysuckle is fed with five kilograms of compost, 100 grams of ash and 40 grams of double superphosphate per m² of land. Every year in the spring, before opening the buds, ammonium nitrate is added to the soil in the amount of 15 g per m² or poured under each bush in a bucket of water with a tablespoon of urea dissolved in it.

For the third time in a season, it is necessary to feed the honeysuckle after the harvest, in early July, and this summer top dressing consists of a solution of nitrophoska or nitroammophoska in a proportion of 25-30 g per 10 liters of water or from a solution of slurry (1: 4) diluted in 10 liters of water .

fruiting honeysuckle

When does honeysuckle ripen? Honeysuckle blooms and bears fruit early - the berries ripen annually in late June or early July. Ripe fruits of many varieties fall off very quickly, so you need to collect honeysuckle on time, otherwise you can lose most of the crop. As soon as the berries have acquired a dark blue color, it is time to collect them. If you are growing a non-falling variety, then you can wait another week, and if your honeysuckle berries fall off quickly, then harvesting is best done by shaking the fruit from the branches onto a cloth or film laid under the bush - this way you will only remove ripe berries.

Honeysuckle fruits are very tender, easily damaged, so they are placed in a small container in a thin layer. For a long time, the berries are not stored even in the refrigerator, so you need to freeze them and store them later in the freezer. You can make jam from the berries or chop them in a blender and then mix with sugar in a ratio of 1: 1 to store in the refrigerator or 1: 1.25 to store at room temperature. This sugared honeysuckle is a great multivitamin elixir for treating colds, especially if you add raspberries or strawberries to the honeysuckle. Homemade liqueurs and wines are also prepared from honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle transplant

Transplanting an adult honeysuckle bush is not an easy task - you need to dig a bush, determining where the root system ends, then dig a bush, move it to a new place and plant it. The process is laborious, but you should not worry about honeysuckle - it will do just fine. When to transplant honeysuckle so that the process goes as painlessly as possible for the plant, and it manages to take root before the onset of winter? This is best done in the summer, after the honeysuckle berries have been harvested, but there will still be enough time before winter for the honeysuckle to take root and adapt in a new place.

How to care for honeysuckle after transplantation? After such stress, every plant needs increased watering, and honeysuckle in this case is no exception.

Honeysuckle after fruiting

After harvesting, summer feeding of honeysuckle should be carried out. Do not forget to water the plant and cut off the shoots that violate the shape of the bush, and also, if necessary, treat it from pests. Honeysuckle is an amazing plant, and if it did not generously bear fruit with tasty and healthy berries, it would still be worth growing because of its high decorative qualities. But the health, and, consequently, the beauty of the plant depends on how you care for it. Observe agricultural practices, monitor changes in the appearance of the plant so that you can quickly eliminate any problem that has arisen.

Pruning honeysuckle

When to prune honeysuckle

The first two or three years after planting, honeysuckle is unlikely to need pruning, and even then, if the growth of the shoots is normal and the bush is not too thick, you can take your time with pruning. That is, there are times when they start pruning a bush after they reach the age of seven or eight. But some experts suggest cutting the shoots of seedlings immediately after planting to 7-8 cm, and only then wait until the bush grows green mass. It is best to prune honeysuckle in the fall.

How to prune honeysuckle

If it seemed to you that the bush began to thicken, cut out some zero branches growing from the ground. Remove dry, broken, short branches - they still will not bear fruit well. Thin out the inside of the bush so that the light penetrates through the branches and foliage into its very thick. The fruits are formed mainly on strong annual shoots, therefore, in view of the future harvest, the shoots of the current year should not be shortened, it is better to cut off the ends of the shoots with a weak growth, if the middle and base of the shoot are strong enough. Old branches that do not bear fruit can be cut.

Also remove low-growing shoots that prevent you from working the soil around the bushes. An old bush can be rejuvenated by cutting off almost all the shoots and branches, but leaving the young growth around the stump. In the spring, carry out sanitary pruning of the bush - slightly trim the frostbitten ends of the shoots, remove diseased, broken branches. Pruning of honeysuckle after fruiting is carried out to maintain the shape given to the bush.

Reproduction of honeysuckle

How to propagate honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is propagated by seeds, dividing the bush, green, lignified and combined cuttings, as well as layering. Each of these methods has its pros and cons. For example, it is not difficult to reproduce edible honeysuckle by seeds, but due to the fact that honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated plant, the properties of the parents in the offspring are not preserved and, as a rule, new plants are inferior in quality to the parent ones. Therefore, the seed method of reproduction is used mainly for breeding experiments.

By dividing the bush you can propagate plants that are already 6 years old, and when the honeysuckle bush is 15 years old, it will be too difficult to do even with an ax and a saw. Therefore, cuttings of honeysuckle and propagation by layering can be considered the most effective methods of reproduction. Nevertheless, we are ready to give you information about each of these methods, so that you yourself can determine which one suits you best.

Honeysuckle from seeds

Spread a couple of ripe berries on toilet paper, trying to spread the honeysuckle seeds so that they are 1 cm apart. Let them dry, then put a year on the paper and roll it into a roll - at room temperature, the germination of honeysuckle seeds lasts about two years. If you want to start germinating seeds this year, then the planting material obtained in June should be immediately sown in moist soil, planting them only one millimeter. Place the box or container with sowing immediately in the greenhouse or cover with glass. Make sure that the top layer of soil does not dry out. After about three weeks, shoots will begin to appear.

In late autumn, take the box out into the garden, and if you have sown a winter-hardy variety, then seedlings covered with snow will survive the winter normally. If you sowed honeysuckle seeds in the fall, in October-November, then, bypassing the germination stage in the greenhouse, immediately take the box with the sowing into the yard under the snow so that the seeds undergo natural stratification during the winter months and start growing together in early spring. To speed up the germination of already scarified seeds, bring them into the greenhouse in spring, and when the height of the seedlings reaches 2-3 cm and they acquire two or three pairs of true leaves, pick the seedlings according to the 5x5 pattern on the prepared bed in the garden.

Water the seedlings regularly, free the bed from weeds and loosen the soil after watering. After a year, plant the seedlings according to the 20x20 scheme. After 3-4 years, the seedlings will begin to bear fruit, and you will have the opportunity to determine which of them have the most delicious berries. It is these seedlings that should be left as a berry crop, transplanted to a permanent place, and in 7-8 years they will bear fruit abundantly, and their berries will acquire good taste. The remaining seedlings can be used as a green fence.

Propagation of honeysuckle by cuttings

It is believed that from one mature bush you can get about two hundred cuttings. How to propagate honeysuckle cuttings? Lignified cuttings of honeysuckle are harvested in early spring, before bud break, from the strongest annual branches with a diameter of at least 7-8 mm. The length of the cutting is 15-18 cm. They are planted in a greenhouse or directly on the garden when the ground thaws after winter. The cuttings are buried in the ground by ten centimeters, provided that the two upper buds remain above the surface. From above, the cuttings are covered with lutrasil or a film so that root formation is more successful. Rooting occurs within a month.

Reproduction of honeysuckle combined cuttings

After flowering, in May or June, cut off the annual shoot from the plant with the shoots of the current year growing on it. Cuttings are cut just from the shoots of the current year, but in such a way that they have a "heel" of the one-year-old shoot from which they grow. Plant the cuttings in the garden, deepening 3-5 cm into the soil, and place a film cover over them. Care for honeysuckle after propagation consists in moderate watering of the cuttings 2-3 times a day so that their tops begin to grow faster - a sure sign that the cuttings have already formed roots.

Reproduction of honeysuckle by green cuttings

There is another way - the reproduction of honeysuckle in the summer with green cuttings. The best cuttings are obtained from the green shoots of the current year at the end of their active growth. This happens at the time when the honeysuckle fruits turn dark blue - around the beginning of June. The size of the cuttings to be cut should be the size of a pencil. They are rooted in the soil in the same way as lignified cuttings, but they are more in need of both the soil and the air under the film being moist. Treatment of the lower sections of the cuttings with heteroauxin will accelerate their survival.

The following autumn, the grown seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Propagation of honeysuckle by layering

This is the easiest way to propagate: in June, the soil around the bushes is loosened and slightly “lifted”. Several strong annual shoots are selected from growing in the lower part of the bush, bent them to the surface of the soil, pinned with wire in several places, and then sprinkled with a three-five-centimeter layer of soil and do not forget to water them during the season. Next spring, separate the rooted cuttings from the mother plant with secateurs and transplant them to a permanent place - in two years a full-fledged honeysuckle bush will develop from each cutting.

Reproduction of honeysuckle by dividing the bush

In early autumn or spring, before the buds begin to swell, the honeysuckle that has reached six years of age is dug up and with the help of a pruner or, if necessary, saws divide the bush into several parts. After carefully disinfecting the sections, the bushes are planted in new places. If you undertake to divide a bush that is too mature, this can lead to a disastrous result - the plant will die.

As you can see, planting and propagating honeysuckle, as well as caring for it, are not complicated or particularly time-consuming procedures. Apparently, this is why the popularity of this crop is growing so rapidly among gardeners.

Honeysuckle diseases and their treatment

Disease-resistant honeysuckle, however, is sometimes affected by diseases, among which are reddish-olive spotting, powdery mildew, tuberculosis, or drying of branches, blackening of branches - these diseases are caused by a fungal infection. Each fungal disease has its own symptoms: from some fungi, honeysuckle dries up, its shoots turn brown or black, from others, honeysuckle turns yellow and crumbles ahead of time. In rare cases, honeysuckle affects cancer, as well as viral diseases - leaf mottling and mosaic-rezuha.

There is no cure for viruses yet. but fungal diseases are treated with fungicides such as Bordeaux mixture, colloidal sulfur, Skor, copper oxychloride and others. Do not wait for any illness to appear on the honeysuckle bush, take preventive measures to prevent this in principle - carry out preventive treatment of the bushes with fungicides in early spring, before the start of active growth, and in late autumn, before wintering, and then you will not have to desperation to state that the honeysuckle has withered or turned black from an unknown disease.

Honeysuckle pests and their control

In general, honeysuckle is resistant to pests and diseases, but sometimes it has to suffer from the invasion of certain pests. Scientists have discovered 37 pests that feed on honeysuckle leaves, and one that feeds on its berries - the caterpillar of the honeysuckle finger-wing damages the fruit at the time of its ripening, which is why it turns blue ahead of time, then dries and falls off.

The rest of the pests - honeysuckle, apical honeysuckle and honeysuckle spruce aphids, honeysuckle miners, honeysuckle striped sawfly, acacia, apple comma-shaped and willow false scales, rose leafworm, honeysuckle moth-moth and honeysuckle mite - damage the foliage of honeysuckle, entangling it with cobwebs. Against leaf-eating pests, Inta-Vir, Eleksar or Decis preparations are used, and against sucking insects, honeysuckle is treated with Rogor, Actellik, Confidor and other preparations of a similar action.

Honeysuckle varieties

Edible honeysuckle differs from inedible in the color of the berries - in edible species, the berries are dark blue with a bluish bloom. Of the edible types of honeysuckle, Altai, blue, Kamchatka and edible, or Turchaninov's honeysuckle, are grown in culture. Each of these species has been used to some extent to breed new varieties. Edible varieties of honeysuckle are divided by ripening time into:

• early ripe, ripening by mid-June (Blue Spindle, Princess Diana, Roxanne, Gzhelskaya Early);
• mid-season, beginning to bear fruit from the third decade of June (Omega, Cinderella, Souvenir, Shahinya);
• late-ripening, whose berries ripen in the last week of June (Kingfisher, Lakomka, Nymph, Ramenskaya).

Depending on the size of the bush, honeysuckle is divided into:

• undersized - those that do not exceed one and a half meters - these include varieties Souvenir, Lakomka, Omega, Kamchadalka;
• medium-sized, reaching two meters in height, are represented by varieties Kingfisher, Cinderella, Shakhinya, Kuminovka;
• high - above two meters, among which are the Blue Spindle, Nymfa and Fortuna varieties.

But most gardeners prefer to divide honeysuckle varieties into sweet, productive and large-fruited. If you are interested in varieties that give high yields, Princess Diana, Nymph, Masha, Souvenir and Canning will suit you. For lovers of large berries, in the taste of which sweetness prevails over acidity, Three Friends, Rapture, the Giant's Daughter, Nymph, Dolphin, Memory of Kuminov, Yugan are of interest.

Those who prefer berries with sourness and strawberry flavor can grow Kamchadalka, Cinderella, Titmouse and Roxana. Blueberry has a taste of Siberian. And varieties such as Nymph, Omega and the same Siberian have proven themselves well because they do not crumble from the bush when ripe.

We bring to your attention a description of the honeysuckle varieties most often mentioned in the section:

• Princess Diana- a bush up to 2 m tall, an oval crown, shoots are bare, elongated leaves with a rounded top of a bright green color. The fruits are large, cylindrical, up to 4 cm long and up to 1 cm in diameter. The surface of the fruit is slightly bumpy, the taste is dessert, sweet-sour, pleasant;
• Shahinya- a bush up to 180 cm high, a crown of a conical shape, leaves are thin, dark green in color - it is good to use for decorative gardening. The fruits are elongated-cylindrical with a "chopped off" top with a wide "saucer". The skin is tender, the taste is sweet-sour;
• Nymph- a vigorous bush with an oval spreading crown. The shoots are pubescent, large oval leaves with a sharp top of a dark green color. The fruit has the shape of a wide spindle, some berries are curved, the skin is thin, the taste is sweet and sour, slightly tart;
• Souvenir- a bush up to one and a half meters high with an oval dense crown, straight shoots are slightly pubescent, oval leaves, dark green, elongated cylindrical fruits with an oval base and a slightly pointed top, sweet and sour taste.

Honeysuckle properties - benefits and harms

Useful properties of honeysuckle

Why is honeysuckle useful? Honeysuckle fruits contain sugars (galactose, sucrose, glucose and fructose), organic acids (oxalic, succinic, citric and malic), provitamin A, vitamin C, vitamins B1, B2, B9, trace elements (potassium, magnesium, iron, silicon, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, iodine, zinc and copper), as well as pectins and tannins. In this regard, honeysuckle berries are able to increase gastric secretion and enhance the digestive properties of gastric juice. They have choleretic, diuretic, antiscorbutic, tonic, astringent, laxative, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant and antibacterial action.

Traditional healers use them in the treatment of stomach diseases, diarrhea and constipation, hypertension, anemia, as well as for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes, as an antipyretic, vasoconstrictor and multivitamin remedy for cardiovascular diseases. The juice of honeysuckle berries removes lichen, a decoction of berries cleanses the eyes, relieves pain in the mouth and throat. The benefits of honeysuckle are not only in its edible berries - inedible plant species, such as honeysuckle honeysuckle, are also useful.

• For example, a decoction of its branches is used to treat kidneys, increase appetite in people weakened by a protracted illness, and wash their hair to strengthen hair roots.
• Tibetan healers use preparations from honeysuckle bark as an analgesic for headaches and articular rheumatism.
• Dropsy is treated with a decoction of the bark and branches of honeysuckle.
• Honeysuckle extract, which has an exfoliating effect, is used in the treatment of eczema.

Honeysuckle - contraindications

Edible types of honeysuckle have no contraindications, however, if you overeat its fruits, indigestion and muscle cramps, as well as a skin rash, can occur. Any healthy product can become dangerous if consumed in excess, and honeysuckle is no exception in this matter. That's all the harm of honeysuckle, which is to be feared.

Inedible types of honeysuckle are also healing, but if you do not know how to make a decoction or extract from them, it is better not to try it. And remember: you can only eat blue or black honeysuckle berries, and species with red and orange fruits are poisonous!

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After this article, they usually read

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.

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 prices

honeysuckle

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 the 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 a shrub that will delight in the first flowering in 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 - reproduction of honeysuckle

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

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. Sections of the roots 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, they are 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. The 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.

Planting honeysuckle in autumn carried out in all regions of Russia, if the desire has matured to acquire a fruit-bearing bush. In addition to honeysuckle, which bears fruit, there are also ornamental shrubs. Experts advise planting seedlings in the first month of autumn and until mid-October.

It belongs to the genus of shrubs, among which there are climbing species. The plant is able to survive in severe frosts and at the same time produce a large crop of berries. In addition, in one place it can grow for many years.

Valuable properties of honeysuckle

The main advantage of this plant is that it begins to bear fruit already in early summer. In June, you can already enjoy delicious berries and replenish your body with vitamins and microelements. Honeysuckle in its composition contains a lot of useful substances, thanks to which it is used for the preparation of medicines.

The medicinal properties of fruits are used for cardiovascular diseases, beriberi, to normalize pressure. Honeysuckle is recommended for people who live in places with radiation contamination. There is a huge list of medicinal berry characteristics.

• This plant is able to survive in temperatures around -50°C.
• The root and flower buds can withstand frost down to -40°C.
• When the plant releases its first sprouts, the air temperature of -8°C will not interfere with their development. Therefore, honeysuckle began to boldly grow not only in outskirts of Moscow and in middle lane Russia, but also in the gardens Siberia.

Important! Climbing bushes prefer warmer climates.

If the plant is given the right care, it can bear fruit for almost 20 years. At the same time, honeysuckle is resistant to various harmful insects.

How to choose seedlings

Experienced gardeners recommend choosing seedlings autumn. At this time of the year, you can pick up honeysuckle of various varieties in the markets. It is important that there are still leaves on the branches, thanks to which one can judge the state of the bush. In addition, the root of an excavated plant practically does not spend energy on rooting.

Rules for purchasing a seedling:

In the regions of Russia, you can grow the following varieties of honeysuckle:

• Altair;
• Cinderella;
• Moraine;
• Blue bird;
• Bakchar giant.
• Leningrad giant;
• Blue spindle;
• Long-fruited;
• Nymph;
• Tomichka.

Landing area

This plant thrives well in an open area with plenty of sunlight. It also flowers and bears fruit in slightly shaded areas. Prefers loose soils with good drainage and pH 5.5-6.5. But it does well on any other type of soil.

Soil preparation

Before planting seedlings, you should properly prepare the soil, as the plant will grow in this place for more than 25 years:

• Previously, 5 days before planting, a hole is prepared. Its dimensions will be as follows: diameter - 40 cm, depth 25 - 40 cm.
• Compost or humus is poured into the hole - about 12 kg, double superphosphate and potassium salt - 150-200 g each. Instead of the last two minerals, fertilizers can be applied: nitrophoska about 400 g or Ammophos - 350 g.

Advice! If top dressing is introduced, which does not contain potassium, then wood ash can be added: 0.5 kg per bush.

• Mix all the fertilizers in the pit with the soil and water well.
• Cover the well with the mixture and let it brew for 4 days.

Landing

It's important to know, when and how to plant honeysuckle, as the proper development of the plant depends on it. Before planting, the bush should be checked so that there are no bad branches on it. They need to be cut, and long root shoots are cut to 30 cm.

Landing sequence:

• The best age of seedlings is 3 years. During this period, their root system develops well.
• You need to plant up to 4 types of honeysuckle at the same time in order to achieve full pollination.
• Seedlings are distributed at a distance of 1.5 m from each other.
• We put the root of the plant in the hole so that its root collar is at the same level with the site. Also, you can lower it 2 cm below the ground.
• We fill the hole with the seedling with soil and pour in a bucket of water.
• The upper part of the soil must be mulched. To do this, use humus or peat.

Important! When planting a large number of seedlings, it is necessary to observe a distance of approximately 1 m between them, and 2.5 m between rows.

Care after landing

If the plant is planted and cared for, observing all the rules, fruits may appear as early as next year. After planting honeysuckle, weeds must be collected in a timely manner, which deprive weak seedlings of moisture and nutrition. Also, it is necessary to ensure that the earth does not dry out.

In order for the plant to take root, it is necessary know the timing of planting honeysuckle in the fall. Seedlings should be planted before frost, then they will take root and endure the winter well. Under the tree, you can add mulch or coniferous needles with a layer of 10-15 cm. If the winter is snowy, then it is good to heat more snow under the bush. In the spring, when the sun dries the earth, it is necessary to loosen it around the seedling.

If mulch was not used, the plant must be hilled high for 3 years in a row with the advent of spring. In hot summer, the bush requires abundant watering. If watering is not sufficient, the berries will be bitter.

Watch the video! Honeysuckle. Landing and care

If the summer is not hot, honeysuckle can be watered about 4 times per season. Under each bush it will be enough to pour 10 liters of water.

At the same time, do not forget to remove weeds and loosen the ground around the flower. Due to the shallow location of the root system, it is possible to loosen the soil only 8 cm deep.

Honeysuckle, according to the rules outdoor care, do not feed for two years. In the third year, they begin to introduce organic fertilizers and repeat this procedure annually. Every autumn, the soil is fertilized per 1 sq.m with the following composition:

• compost - 5 kg;
• ash - 0.1 kg;
• double superphosphate - 40 g.

With the advent of spring, the plant is fed with saltpeter: 15 g per 1 sq. m.

In a container with a volume of 10 liters, urea is diluted (1 tbsp. L) and the ground under the bush is impregnated with this solution.

After harvesting the fruits, the plant should be fertilized again with a solution of manure. To prepare it, you need to take water - 4 parts and manure - 1 part.

pruning in autumn

After planting, honeysuckle branches do not need to be cut for 2 years. Next, you need to act according to the circumstances. There are times when a plant undergoes cultivation in the 8th year of life. The best time for pruning is autumn.

All dry and damaged branches are removed from the bush. For better air circulation, it is recommended to prune inside the bush. It is important to remember that berries mainly grow on annual branches. They should not be cut, but the tips of new shoots should be cut.

Important! The old bush must be cleared of perennial branches, and it is better to leave the young shoots.

Any variety of honeysuckle for the first time 3-4 years develops slowly. In the 4th year of life, many bushes can reach about 70-80 cm in height with a crown span of 1 meter. If the planting of honeysuckle was carried out in accordance with all the rules, then from 4-5 years old it begins to bear fruit in full force.

Watch the video! Pruning honeysuckle

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