Useful properties of honeysuckle berries, its planting and care, cultivation

Quite often, gardeners are interested in the beneficial properties of honeysuckle berries, as well as planting and caring for the plant. This is a fairly popular shrub that produces tasty, juicy and aromatic fruits. Today there are many varieties of such culture. However, only edible honeysuckle has beneficial properties. Its berries are characterized by a pleasant taste and have a beneficial effect on the body.

Description of the berry

This plant is considered a representative of the type genus of the Honeysuckle family, which unites almost 200 different species. It includes climbing, creeping and erect shrubs. Today, garden honeysuckle is most often cultivated, which serves as an ornamental shrub. It bears tasty and healthy fruits. At the same time, climbing honeysuckle is considered an excellent choice for vertical gardening.

Currently, the most popular types of crops include blue or blue and edible. The first variety can reach a height of 2-2.5 meters, and the second - does not exceed 1.

Useful and harmful properties

Honeysuckle berries are characterized by a large number of beneficial properties. With their help it is possible to obtain the following results:

• strengthen the immune system;
• stabilize blood pressure;
• reduce stomach acidity;
• accelerate the healing of stomach and intestinal ulcers;
• remove waste and toxins from the body;
• cope with bacterial infections and inflammations;
• strengthen blood vessels;
• improve blood circulation.

At the same time, honeysuckle should be consumed in moderation. It is important to consider that it can cause allergies. Flowering bushes can also trigger an attack. In addition, the berries of the plant are prohibited from being given to children under 5 years of age.

Types of Edible Honeysuckle

Of the 200 species of honeysuckle, approximately 50 grow in Russia. However, most of them are inedible. At the same time, each region grows its own varieties. It is especially important to carefully choose a plant for Siberia and other northern regions. It is worth taking into account frost resistance.

Among edible honeysuckle, separate categories are distinguished - early, mid-season, late.They are also divided into sweet, large-fruited, and resistant to shedding.

When choosing a specific variety of edible honeysuckle, consider the following:

1. Regional characteristics - when choosing, it is worth comparing the lowest temperatures in winter and the frost resistance of a particular variety. It is best to give preference to zoned varieties.
2. Shape – can be oval, round-oval, spindle-shaped, cylindrical. There are also elongated berries and fruits with a truncated tip.
3. Color – Edible fruits are usually blue and purple. Sometimes they are almost black. The top of the berries is covered with a white-gray coating. However, poisonous varieties usually have red, orange or yellow berries.
4. Fruit size - maximum size is 2 centimeters. The weight of small berries is 0.5 grams, and large ones - up to 1.5.
5. Taste qualities vary depending on the variety. Fruits can be sweet, sweet and sour, without bitterness. There are also varieties with unusual taste.
6. Productivity - the minimum yield from 1 bush is 500 grams. In this case, the maximum parameters reach 4 kilograms.

How to choose a variety

Honeysuckle can reach a height of 3 meters. It is characterized by dense bushes, which can be used to create hedges. For this it is worth buying high varieties. However, in some cases it is recommended to give preference to low-growing honeysuckle.

When purchasing seedlings of edible varieties, it is important to focus on the following parameters:

• productivity;
• maturation period.

Popular varieties

Breeders are constantly improving the characteristics of honeysuckle, developing more and more new varieties that meet specific needs. The best achievements of scientists include the following cultures:

1. Vasyuganskaya - from 1 bush you can get up to 5 kilograms of fruit. The plant is characterized by sweet and sour berries that do not contain bitterness. The fruits are dark blue in color and covered with a waxy coating. They are distinguished by their jug-shaped shape and flat top. The plant is a cross between a tree and a bush. It is characterized by high frost resistance parameters and average crumbling properties. The fruits are characterized by rapid ripening and are well transported.
2. Zarnitsa - 1 bush brings about 2 kilograms of berries weighing 1 gram. They are distinguished by a sweet and sour taste, in which a slight tartness is felt. The berries are spindle-shaped and dark blue in color. The bushes have a very decorative appearance and a spreading hemispherical shape. They are resistant to frost and drought. At the same time, the fruits practically do not fall off.
3. Willow - yields up to 3.5 kilograms per bush. The fruits weigh 0.75 grams and have a dark blue hue and a sour taste. They are distinguished by their spindle-shaped shape and bumpy surface. The bushes have a spreading spherical shape. The fruits contain a lot of vitamin C. The variety is characterized by high yield and early fruiting.
4. Pavlovskaya - yields about 2 kilograms per bush. The berries weigh 1.3 grams. They are distinguished by their dark blue color and sweet and sour taste. The fruits are characterized by an elongated shape and pointed tips. The bushes are distinguished by an obverse conical shape and a height of up to 1.7 meters. The plants are also characterized by high winter hardiness.
5. Nymph – brings up to 3 kilograms per bush. The berries weigh 1 gram.They are characterized by a bluish-blue color and a spindle-shaped shape. The fruits are large in size and elongated in shape. They are characterized by a lumpy surface, sweet taste and pleasant aroma. The bushes have a round shape and a height of up to 1.5 meters. They are also highly resistant to frost.
6. Morena - yields up to 2.5 kilograms per bush. The fruits weigh 1.7 grams and are blue-blue in color. The berries are covered with a waxy coating and have a sweet and sour taste and a weak aroma. The fruits are distinguished by their pitcher shape and decorative appearance. The height of the plants reaches 1.7 meters.

Requirements for seedlings

When choosing seedlings, you should consider the following:

• for planting it is worth using seedlings 2 years old;
• plants should have 2-3 branches;
• the optimal plant height is 30-40 centimeters;
• branches should not have damage or dry areas;
• peeling of the bark is completely normal;
• there should be no damaged areas on the root system;
• There should be buds on the branches.

Honeysuckle is a self-sterile crop. To bear fruit, it needs pollinating varieties. Therefore, it is recommended to buy several varieties at once.

How to plant correctly

When planting honeysuckle, you should give preference to high-quality seedlings and properly prepare the hole. In this case, the plant adapts normally.

Honeysuckle should be planted in spring or autumn. The second option is considered more preferable. It is recommended to plant the plant from mid-September to mid-October. In spring, planting work should be carried out early, since honeysuckle is characterized by early awakening of the buds.

Selecting a location

When planting honeysuckle, it is important to choose the right place. It must meet the following criteria:

• wind protection;
• deep groundwater - no closer than 1.5 meters from the surface of the earth;
• neutral, sandy or loamy soil that is well moistened;
• good illumination for the crown and shade for the root system.

Honeysuckle grows well in low places. It gets along well with other trees and shrubs. When planting, it is important to think about comfortable berry picking. It is important to provide access to different parts of the bush. Honeysuckle can also develop in swampy soil. It is important to ensure that it is not too sour.

Preparing the soil and pit

It is recommended to dig up the soil using the bayonet of a shovel. It is important to remove the roots of weeds. If necessary, deoxidize the soil. To do this, you need to use 400 grams of slaked lime per 1 square meter. It is recommended to feed the area well so that the seedlings take root faster and gain strength. When digging beds per 1 square meter, it is worth adding the following:

• 30 grams of superphosphate;
• 30 grams of potassium salt;
• 10 kilograms of humus.

Fresh manure is only required to be applied in the fall. In spring, the soil can be fertilized with humus. It is also permissible to use rotted vegetable compost for this purpose.

When preparing recesses for planting crops, it is worth considering the following:

• It is recommended to prepare the pits 2 weeks before planting;
• the depth of the pit should be 40 centimeters;
• It is recommended to add soil mixture to the dug holes;
• The pit should be covered with non-woven material.

To make a soil mixture, it is recommended to mix the following components:

• fertile layer;
• 3 kilograms of humus;
• 200 milliliters of ash;
• 30-40 grams of nitrophos;
• 250 milliliters of slaked lime - this amount needs to be mixed with a bucket of water.

The minimum period for planting honeysuckle in prepared holes is 4 days from the date of application of fertilizers.

Step-by-step instruction

It is recommended to plant honeysuckle seedlings according to the scheme. An interval of 1.5 meters should be maintained between adjacent bushes, and 2 meters between rows. When using seedlings with bare roots, they should be placed in a clay mash. To prepare it, it is recommended to use 1 liter of clay per 10 liters of water.

To plant honeysuckle you should do the following:

1. Form a mound from the filled soil mixture.
2. Place the roots of the seedling on the top. It is important to ensure that they do not bend.
3. Cover the roots with soil and gently tamp it down to fill the voids.
4. Water the seedling generously with water.
5. Cover the tree trunk circle with a mulch layer. For this, it is permissible to use peat, hay, sawdust, and bark.

Plant care

Caring for honeysuckle is not difficult. It needs to be watered, weeded, fed, and pruned on time. Loosening the soil and treating it against diseases and pests is of no small importance.

Top dressing

Honeysuckle planted in open ground will not need fertilizer for 2 years. After this, the plants begin to be fed at intervals of 2 years. In this case, you need to use organic fertilizers. Fertilizing should be done in late autumn. To do this, it is recommended to add 100 grams of wood ash, 5 kilograms of compost and 40 grams of double superphosphate per 1 square meter to the soil.

When all the fruits have been collected, the honeysuckle should be fed a third time.To do this, you should use a solution of nitrophoska or nitroammophoska. You can also take a solution of slurry with a concentration of 1:4. It needs to be mixed with 1 bucket of water.

Watering

Honeysuckle is considered very unpretentious and does not require special watering. The plant easily withstands drought. It only needs to be watered when there is no rainfall for a long time. At the same time, it is recommended to moisten the soil quite abundantly.

Young bushes should be watered regularly. In this case, it is worth using 1-2 buckets of water. After this, the soil should be sprinkled with humus, peat or sawdust. When weeding tree trunks, you should be careful, since the root system of honeysuckle is close to the surface of the earth.

Formation of bushes

After planting, the plant should not be fed for 2-3 years. Subsequently forming a bush is also not recommended if the shoots are characterized by a normal growth rate, but the plant itself is not thickened. Sometimes honeysuckle begins to be pruned for the first time only at 7-8 years old.

However, some gardeners advise trimming the stems of shrubs immediately after planting them in the ground. They are shortened to 7-8 centimeters. After this, you can wait until the bush acquires the desired density. The plant should be pruned in the fall.

If the bush looks too bushy, it is worth removing a few null shoots growing directly from the soil. It is also recommended to remove all damaged, short and dry branches, as they only take away the strength of the honeysuckle.

In addition, you need to thin out the bush inside. Thanks to this, the sun's rays will be able to get into the very thick of the plant. The main part of the fruits appears on strong annual stems. Therefore, shortening the shoots can have a bad effect on the future harvest.

It is worth cutting off the ends of stems with weak growth. However, this is done only if the shoots have a fairly strong base. Old branches that bear a minimum of berries are best removed. It is also worth removing all low-growing stems, as they interfere with the normal cultivation of the soil near the plants.

If the plant is old, you can do anti-aging pruning. To do this, you should remove almost all the stems and branches, and then wait for the young shoots that begin to grow near the stump.

In spring it is worth carrying out sanitary pruning. To do this, remove branches damaged by frost. You also need to get rid of injured and disease-affected shoots. After fruiting, the bush should also be pruned. This will help maintain its correct shape.

Reproduction methods

Honeysuckle should be propagated by seeds, cuttings, layering or division. The simplest and most effective method is cuttings. Green cuttings should be harvested when shoot growth is complete. It coincides with the appearance of ripe berries.

To do this, it is worth cutting off the upper fragments of shoots 10-12 centimeters long. They should be cut with a sharp knife into cuttings with two pairs of leaves. They should be planted in a greenhouse or nursery.

To prepare the substrate, mix peat and sand in a 1:2 ratio. In this case, you need to follow the 5x10 centimeter pattern. Immediately after planting, the cuttings should be watered using a watering can with a fine sieve. This needs to be done 2-3 times a day. After a couple of weeks, the cuttings begin to sprout roots. At this stage, you can switch to one-time watering.

In the fall, the film should be removed and the rooted shoots should be left for the winter.With the arrival of spring, they need to be transplanted to the site, following the 70x20 centimeter pattern. There the honeysuckle should grow for 2 years. Then it is moved to a permanent site in the garden.

It is important to consider that of the total number of green cuttings, only 70% take root. If you use woody shoots, this figure is reduced to 25%. Therefore, this method is used quite rarely.

Lignified cuttings should be harvested in autumn or early winter. In this case, annual shoots of 20-25 centimeters in size should be cut and stored in the basement, using sand or a snow pile. At the end of April, it is recommended to plant cuttings following a 20x10 centimeter pattern. This is done at an angle of 45 degrees.

Young plants should be propagated by layering. To do this, with the arrival of spring, the bases of the bushes should be covered with damp soil or sprinkled with peat. It is also permissible to use humus for this purpose. To propagate the bush, shoots that grow near the ground must be carefully bent and pinned. In this case, the upper parts should remain free.

During the season, you need to ensure that the soil around the bush remains moist at all times. Rooted cuttings should be separated from the mother bush and planted for 2-3 years for growing.

The culture should be propagated by division at the end of September. To do this, the bushes need to be dug up, shaken off the soil and divided according to the number of stems that have taken root.

Transplanting honeysuckle

Replanting an adult bush is quite difficult. First you need to dig it up. It is important to determine the boundaries of the root system. After this, the bush should be pulled out of the ground and transplanted to a new place.

The procedure should be carried out in the summer - immediately after harvesting.In this case, honeysuckle will have time to adapt to the new place. After transplanting, the crop should be watered abundantly.

Pest Control

Honeysuckle is resistant to various pests. However, sometimes they still attack a given culture. Among the most dangerous parasites are aphids, leaf rollers, moths, and mites.

Such products as Decis, Inta-vir, and Eleksar will help you cope with leaf-eating parasites. Sucking pests are effectively destroyed by "Aktellik", "Confidor", "Rogor".

Honeysuckle is a common plant that many gardeners grow. The culture is unpretentious and produces tasty and healthy fruits. In order for the plant to bring a rich harvest, it is still necessary to follow a number of agricultural rules.