Honeysuckle Blue dessert: characteristics and features of cultivation

Honeysuckle is a perennial that belongs to the Honeysuckle family. It can be curly and upright. The plant takes root well in the middle lane. The fruits that appear after flowering are edible in many varieties.

They are often used for the preparation of medicines and cosmetics. With their help, you can compensate for the lack of vitamins, trace elements, organic acids. Planting and caring for honeysuckle outdoors is pretty straightforward.

A total of 190 varieties are distinguished. They differ in the height of the bush, the shade and shape of the inflorescences.

Botanical description

Honeysuckle Blue Dessert is a medium-sized shrub with a relatively slow growth rate. In the State Register, in the description of the plant, it is indicated that the bush does not thicken and is not spreading. Its leaves are large, lanceolate, green. The plant blooms in large flowers. In their place, jug-shaped fruits of a dark blue color are formed. Their ripening falls in the middle of summer.

Did you know? There are only a few edible varieties of honeysuckle. To understand: before you is a berry suitable for consumption or not, look at its color. Blue and black are okay, red and orange are dangerous.

Site preparation and selection of seedlings

Before planting a shrub, you need to choose the right site:

1. The soil must be nutritious, which must be prepared in advance before boarding.
2. Before digging up the area, it should be fertilized rotted manure with the addition of wood ash.
3. Digging holes at a distance of at least two meters from each other, to a depth of no more than half a meter.
4. If the groundwater is shallow from the soil surface, drainage needed, in other cases it is optional.
5. Before boarding you need to apply mineral fertilizers, depending on the composition of the soil, which are mixed with the ground and laid on the bottom of the prepared hole.

When digging up a site, it is necessary to add manure and wood ash
When buying seedlings, you should carefully examine the root system, they should not be broken off or cut off. It is best to choose strong, low seedlings, with a small number of shoots, they have good survival rate, and there is a guarantee that they will not die. For better pollination, and a good harvest, it is recommended to plant several different varieties of honeysuckle, but subject to simultaneous flowering.

Honeysuckle seedlings

Characteristic

The plant is characterized by the following parameters:

1. The bush is medium-sized, medium-spreading, oval in shape, formed by erect shoots with a slight drooping.
2. Shoots are covered with lanceolate green leaves.
3. Fruits are tied large, pitcher-shaped, weighing 0.8 g. Their skin is thin.
4. The fruit contains 29.6–32.6 mg of vitamin C, 6.7–10.7% of sugars, 1.7–2.3% of organic acids.
5. Tasting score - 4.6-4.9 points.
6. Berries for universal use.

Fruiting, productivity

The bush enters fruiting in the third year of life with the condition that cross-pollination between several varieties will be carried out. If all the conditions for normal fruiting are met, 2-3 kg of edible berries can be obtained from one bush.

Frost and drought resistance

Honeysuckle Blue dessert bred frost-resistant, therefore, in the middle lane it is able to winter without shelter. In regions where the thermometer drops below –30 ° C, it is necessary to cover the culture. Drought tolerates if it is not prolonged.

Advantages and disadvantages

• The advantages of the plant include:
• very early ripening periods;
• stable annual harvest;
• dietary fruits;
• the life span of the bush is about 50 years;
• resistance of buds to spring frosts;
• do not need much warmth during the ripening period.

• Negative qualities:
• does not bear fruit without cross-pollination between varieties;
• likes the soil to be always moist, but not flooded;
• the root system is superficial, so it is easy to damage it when loosening.

Useful properties of honeysuckle for women

The benefits of honeysuckle for the health and beauty of the fair sex:

1. The antiseptic properties of berry pulp are used in the fight against skin problems - they help in getting rid of acne, rashes, blackheads, relieve redness, tighten pores, while not drying the skin.
2. On the basis of ripe fruits, they make natural face masks saturated with natural strength. They tone, soothe, moisturize and vitaminize the skin.
3. The extract of edible honeysuckle flowers is included in anti-wrinkle creams.
4. To preserve the youthfulness of the skin, cosmetologists and beauty experts recommend washing with a decoction of honeysuckle flowers.

Landing features

Planting honeysuckle in general does not differ from planting other fruit bushes, but still there are features.

Timing

The optimal planting period is autumn (September-October) or early spring (April), until the buds bloom.

Choosing a place, preparing holes

Honeysuckle is a sun- and moisture-loving plant. It should be planted in well-lit areas, in places where the snow lies the longest, in order to provide the root system with sufficient moisture. Such places on plots are usually areas near the fence, buildings, but not where the shadow falls. Can be planted on any slope.

It is desirable that the place is still windless. A strong wind easily knocks down buds, flowers, ovary. The type, like the fertility of the soil, honeysuckle Blue dessert is calm, but if organic fertilizers are applied, it will delight you with a bountiful harvest.

Selection and preparation of planting material

When selecting seedlings for planting, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. Two-year-old bushes with 2-3 branches and a height of 30-40 cm take root better.
2. The plant should have flexible, not dry, flawless branches.
3. Flaky bark is normal.
4. The seedling should have several buds and a well-developed fresh root system.

It is better to immediately purchase seedlings of different varieties in pairs, so as not to think about pollinators later.

Landing scheme

It is optimal to plant young honeysuckle bushes with an interval of 200-300 cm between them, and between the rows - 150 cm. A hole is dug with a depth of at least 0.4 m, and a diameter of 0.6 m. The seedling in the hole should be located vertically, and the root collar should be underground at a depth of 3-5 cm.

You may be interested in information on what to do if young honeysuckle does not take root well.

The landing takes place like this:

1. The holes are prepared 3-5 days before the planned planting works.
2. The bottom of the planting pit is covered with a drainage layer.
3. Fertile soil with 2 buckets of compost, 50 g of superphosphate, 1 kg of ash is poured over it. When planting compost in sandy soil, you need 3 buckets. You can add more clay (4–5 kg / m²).
4. The soil is watered abundantly.
5. A hill is formed in the center of the pit, on which a seedling with straightened roots is placed.
6. Sprinkle the root system with soil and water the bush abundantly. When the soil settles, add more soil.
7. The trunk circle is mulched so that the moisture goes away longer.

Where to plant honeysuckle: in the shade or in the sun?

Honeysuckle is a shade-tolerant plant.Even in conditions of 40% darkening of the territory, the shrub continues to bear fruit, but the shoots are strongly stretched, and the fruits and inflorescences become smaller. A fruit-bearing crop planted in the shade needs regular pruning of branches up to 1.5-2 m. Otherwise, the shoots that have grown 4-5 m in length will begin to slow down the vegetative processes.

Fruit and berry crops are recommended to be planted on flat sunny areas.

Recommendations:

1. Ornamental varieties can be placed anywhere.
2. Fruit bushes need enough light for the early ripening of the crop.
3. Winter-hardy species tolerate partial shade well.

   
   Mulched bush

Edible and decorative honeysuckle is unpretentious to the soil. It takes root equally well on fertile lands and on sand. Planting apple trees is also possible in such areas. The plant reacts to any bait with an increase in yield. However, gardeners should not abuse nitrogen fertilizers, as some of them, accumulating, acidify the soil. For example, experienced agronomists recommend using urea solution no more than 1 time per season, alternating with neutralizing calcium supplements.

Honeysuckle branches are flexible and strong, so the seedlings are not afraid of wind gusts up to 15-20 m / s. A stronger flurry can harm inflorescences and fruit ovaries. If it is difficult to decide where to plant honeysuckle on the site, you need to pay attention to the distribution of sunlight in the garden during the day. The southeast side will be the best place for planting bushes.

Care rules

For the first year or two, the plant actively forms the underground part, while the growth of the aboveground one is practically invisible. If you dig up a biennial plant, then its roots will be twice the diameter of the bush. Shoot growth begins after flowering. They grow for about a month and immediately begin to form flower buds. It is during this period that attention should be paid to watering and feeding the plant.

The shrub is irrigated as soon as the soil begins to dry out a little. You need to pour in so much liquid that the soil is wet by half a meter. A young plant needs 1–2 buckets of water, an adult needs 4–6 buckets. It is advisable not to water the plant often and little by little.

From fertilizers, honeysuckle prefers organic matter. It is brought in 3-4 years after planting by mulching the soil in autumn or spring. One plant needs 0.5–1 bucket of organic matter (peat with humus, compost) and 0.5–1 l of wood ash every year or two. The frequency of application depends on the state of the crop. If you manage to keep the soil moisture at a sufficient level, you can add mineral complexes.

Since the root system of honeysuckle is located close to the surface, it is necessary to loosen the ground near the bush with extreme caution. The same goes for weeding. You can only fluff a layer of 5-10 cm.

Pruning will not be superfluous for the shrub. It is held annually. For the first 7–8 years of life, plants cut only dry, damaged, diseased or weakened branches, as well as those that grow downward. At 8-10 years of age, the bush needs to be thinned out in order to ensure uniform refreshment of all its shoots.

Remove some of the old skeletal branches. At the age of 20-25, the rejuvenation of the bush is carried out. All skeletal branches are removed. In their place, 15–20 cm stumps should remain. The bush thinned in this way will recover the next year and will delight with the harvest for another 5-10 years.

Honeysuckle varieties

All varieties can be divided into two types: with edible and inedible berries.

Honeysuckle begins to bear fruit about 7-8 years after planting.

Honeysuckle varieties for the Moscow region

Moderate continental seasonality is clearly expressed in this area. Winter is cold and summer is warm. In similar climatic conditions, the following varieties are planted:

Harvesting and storage

Honeysuckle fruits ripen in mid-July. Ripe berries stick well to the bushes and do not crumble, so you can not rush to pick them. Usually, in order to collect the fruits, a film or cloth is spread under the bush and the berries are shaken off on it.

Fresh blue berries are stored for 2-3 days, so it must be processed. From the fruits of honeysuckle, excellent jelly, jam, sorbet, compote, fruit drink are obtained. You can dry or freeze the fruits.

Care for edible honeysuckle in the spring in the country

Despite the simplicity in cultivation, honeysuckle expects full care. To prevent problems, in the fall, cut off all diseased, dry and weakened branches, as well as crowns growing inward.

Rules for watering, loosening and weeding

The plant gratefully responds to regular watering, but it is wary of loosening - there is a possibility of damage to the roots, therefore weeding is carried out manually, and loosening is replaced by mulching. During the summer, it is useful to add dry plant residues under the bush.

Preparing for winter

The variety is frost-resistant, but it must be prepared for winter. First of all, they carry out pruning of the bush, and also remove plant debris from the site. Then you need to water and feed the culture. After that, if the region has severe winters, then young shoots need to be tied up, bent to the ground and covered with any covering material.

In places where there are many forest birds nearby, it is advisable to use nets or synthetic bags as a covering material. You need to hide the whole plant under them, since bullfinches and waxwings love to feast on the fruit buds of honeysuckle.

Video: How to prepare honeysuckle for winter.

How to choose a place to plant honeysuckle

The main criterion for choosing a planting site for honeysuckle is the availability of good lighting. Of course, the bush is able to survive in the shade, but then the yield will be minimal, and the decorative varieties will bloom poorly. More light is needed for a bountiful harvest and lush flowering of honeysuckle.

Avoid elevated areas where there is a threat of drafts. Honeysuckle's shoots are tender and brittle and can break easily in strong winds.

Curly decorative varieties of honeysuckle are recommended to be planted around arbors or near an arch, so that the shoots have support for further growth. Lower edible varieties can be planted either in a group in one corner of the plot, or as a hedge in one row along the fence or border of the plot.

Reproduction methods

The culture is propagated by seeds or vegetatively. To propagate honeysuckle with seeds, the seed must be prepared in the summer so that it can dry out before autumn. During this period, seeds are planted for germination. To do this, take a wide and shallow container, fill it with wet sand with a layer of 50-60 mm and spread dry seeds on top of it.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the information on why honeysuckle does not bear fruit.
Sprinkle them on top with wet sand. The container is covered with a plastic lid and placed in a cold place. The sand is moistened as necessary. In the spring, a higher container is selected, into which 10-12 cm of soil is poured. Sand with seeds is poured over it and sprinkled with more earth (10–20 mm). This whole mixture is compacted and moisturized. The container is covered with foil and placed in the garden under a tree. Crops should be exposed to the sun for at least 6 hours a day. It is imperative to monitor soil moisture. With the appearance of the first shoots, the film is removed. The hardened seedlings are transplanted to the garden bed. The soil around is necessarily mulched, and the territory of the garden is fenced with boards.

Unfortunately, the bushes grown in the described way begin to bear fruit in the fifth year of life. In addition, there is a loss of varietal qualities. Because of this, many people prefer a vegetative method of growing, for which they use green cuttings cut from non-lignified shoots of this year.

Did you know? In Latin, honeysuckle is lonicera. The name was given to the plant in honor of the German mathematician, botanist and physician Adam Lonitzer, author of the Book of Herbs.

They are cut early in the morning after flowering on a cool, cloudy day. The stalk should have 2-3 buds. Ready cuttings are placed in water for 24 hours, and then planted in the soil (in a previously prepared mini-greenhouse filled with earth mixed with sand and peat). There must be a drainage layer. After rooting, it can be planted in a permanent place.

Diseases and pests

Honeysuckle is a culture with strong immunity. She is rarely attacked by diseases, she can only bother honeysuckle and apical aphid... It is possible to deal with them, as well as with other misfortunes, only with folk remedies, since all chemical preparations scare off pollinators and have a bad effect on the state of the plant as a whole.

If you want to grow an unusual culture on your site without much effort, Blue Dessert Honeysuckle is what you need. In terms of the complexity of growing, it does not differ from the usual bush plants, but its tiny sweet fruits contain many useful substances for our body.