shrubIts flowers have an intoxicating aroma, and the berries have an unusual taste. The popularity of the plant grows every year and increasingly low bushes with small bluish-blue fruits appear in the gardens of the Moscow region. Honeysuckle valued for easy care, the ability to easily endure harsh winters and consistently yield. The shrub is very hardy and resistant to return frost during flowering. At a temperature of -5 ° C inflorescences remain on the bush, bear fruit well. This bush is a champion! Just imagine that the plant is able to bear fruit up to the "solid" age. Small berries can be plucked from the bush, whose age has long passed for 30 years. Impressive? There are cases of honeysuckle fruiting at the age of 150 years.
How to choose a place, prepare the ground for planting
Plant preferably plant in a bright, well-warmed place the sun. Although, according to some gardeners, it is well developed and slightly shaded places, for example, among the tall fruit trees. Suitable loamy, sandy loam soil. The main requirement is that there should not be an excess of moisture or, conversely, too dry ground. Honeysuckle will develop poorly on acidic soils, poorly drained and heavy in texture. The close occurrence of groundwater( less than 1 m) is also highly undesirable. Pay attention to the openness of the site and exposure to wind. In honeysuckle bushes young leaves suffer from it, developing and already ripe fruits come off.
The soil must be prepared carefully. All weeds are harvested, especially perennials. They are able to greatly weaken planted honeysuckle. Fertilize the site by making organic. In the autumn, 10 kg of manure, humus or prepared compost are dug up with the soil. Add 30 g of double superphosphate and potassium sulfate to 1 m² of land. Liming will require from 200 to 400 g of lime per m².
When planting in spring or summer, the lack of organic substances is permissible to carry them directly into the pit or prepared trench. The dimensions of the deepening under one bush honeysuckle make a width of about 60 cm, and the depth will be 50 cm. When planting in a trench, they are dug out the same width and depth as the pit. Introduce organic and mineral substances in the same proportions as when digging the ground in the fall( per pit or linear meter of trench).
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Time to plant is better to choose early autumn( September).If planted in the spring, it must be done before the first buds on the bush begin to open. Replace in the summer should be only after the end of growth.
Planting Honeysuckle
To obtain a high-quality shrub and high yields of honeysuckle, several required conditions will be required.
The preferred landing time is autumn. Honeysuckle manages to take root well, “get used” to the place, so that we can sleep well. Spring planting is fraught with disruption of the growing season, damage to the kidneys and the weakening of the bush.
How to plant honeysuckle:
- Saplings of 2–3 years are most preferable. They are strong enough and with a well-branched root.
- The distance between honeysuckle bushes is maintained at a planting of about 1.5 m.
- 3-4 plantings will be required to ensure pollination.
- Carefully inspect the bush. You must cut the damaged and broken branches, remove the dry roots. Then you need to immerse the lower part of the honeysuckle in the earthen mash.
- Lower the shrub into the hole and straighten the roots, while watching the location of the root collar. It should be at the level of the ground or 2 cm below.
- Ground root is added to the ground and watered at the rate of 10 liters of water per honeysuckle bush.
- The surface layer around the bush is covered with mulch( peat, humus).
Proper care of the bush
Growing honeysuckle can be fun. This is a “grateful” plant that always bears fruit and rarely suffers from diseases. You need to monitor the oxygen enrichment of the root system. To do this, carry out surface loosening, no deeper than 10 cm, otherwise you risk damaging the root system. Remove weeds and sprinkle mulch on the bite area, this will ensure that the roots close to the surface provide enough moisture. The minimum layer of humus, peat or other organic matter is 4 cm. When using sawdust, it is necessary to apply nitrogen fertilizer( 40 g per 1 m²).During the season, loosening and weeding are carried out 2 times. With the onset of autumn gently dig up the bite area.
Want to get a high yield - take care of soil fertility. A well-prepared landing site will provide honeysuckle for 2 years with nutrients.
For 3 years a 10 kg of rotted manure or compost is brought under the bush during the autumn digging. The introduction of organic matter will need to be done every third year of the plant's life. Mineral supplements are made annually. In the fall, honeysuckle is added to each bush or to 1 m² of soil, 20 g of double superphosphate and potassium salt.
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Spring work on the preparation of honeysuckle for fruiting will require the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers. Usually, 30 g of ammonium nitrate or 20 g of urea per 1 m² of soil is taken. Fertilizers must be applied before and during the budding of honeysuckle buds.
In June, 15 g of double superphosphate and 10 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 m² are added again. At this time, honeysuckle produces a bookmark of fruit buds, reduces the growth rate of new shoots.
Honeysuckle Varieties
You are committed to growing honeysuckle on your plot, which varieties for the Moscow region have undergone special selection and adaptation. Since 1950, purposeful work has been carried out in the Moscow Botanical Garden to remove the honeysuckle variety without bitterness in the berries. Samples for this were brought from the Urals, the Far East and Siberia. Breeders A.K.Skvortsova and A.G.Kuklina managed to bring a new variety of honeysuckle titmouse. Its distinctive feature is the resistance and early ripening of berries.
Variety Titmouse
This is a strong-growing bush, with a round crown, capable of growing under favorable conditions up to 2 m. The places chosen for planting are sunny, but this variety tolerates temporary shading. It should ensure the plant a regular watering, especially during the ovary of fruit buds. Berries with a strong aroma, completely devoid of bitterness, taste sweet and sour. The shape of the fruit is elongated, slightly oval. Rarely the length exceeds 3 cm. The top of the berry resembles a saucer. The skin of the fruit is thin, tender. In varieties of honeysuckle Titmouse has weak shedding.
Honeysuckle Titmouse has one feature. Do not be afraid if the plant age of three years will detach the bark. She slides the ribbon, exposing the brown wood.
Grade Nymph
New medium early variety, which is recognized as the best for growing in the Moscow region. Honeysuckle Nymph has a low bush, with a rounded and fluffy crown. The branches are straight, brown. The berries are bluish-blue, with a thin wax coating. The shape of the fruit is elongated, a bit like a spindle. The berry is quite large, weighing up to 1.16 g. It tastes pleasant, sweet, with a strong aroma.
For the harvest of the Blue Tit varieties, it is better to plant the Honeysuckle variety Amphora next to
. Fruiting up to 25 years near the Honeysuckle Nymph, a description of the variety contains data on high resistance to frost and pests.
All known varieties of honeysuckle are self-fruitless, that is, no fruit ovary is formed without cross-pollination. For the harvest, it is necessary to plant at least 3 different plant varieties on the plot.
Variety Chosen
The bush is low, the crown is thick, squat. Fruits are sweet, fragrant, rather large. The mass of the berry reaches 1.1 g, length 2 cm. The shape of the fruit is oval, slightly elongated and pointed at the top. The skin is thin, blue with bloom. Honeysuckle Chosen - late variety. Productivity is high. From one bush collect up to 3 kg of berries. For the variety Chosen is characterized by the fusion of berries in pairs. On the bush is well preserved, do not crumble for a long time.
Honeysuckle variety Chosen good to use for making desserts, home-made preparations and making wine.
You don’t need to pick up honeysuckle varieties for yourself with a photo; read the available information online or ask the garden center that it will be better to grow in the Moscow region.
The bitterness of the honeysuckle in the jam disappears .
These varieties of honeysuckle for the suburbs are most suitable, but you can plant a few more bushes, which are bred specifically for this region, give a high yield, hardy and unpretentious in the care. Try other varieties: Morena, Amphora, Altair, etc. Plant, care, and you will surely gather a magnificent harvest of berries.
Honeysuckle edible in Russia - video
