This plant is not a novelty for most gardeners, but recently its popularity is increasing every day. The fact is that the berries of the plant are not just edible, they are able to treat stomach upsets, scurvy and even anemia. Planting honeysuckle edible guarantees you your own first aid kit on the site, because the fruits of the plant are recommended for use in hypertension, various heart diseases and vascular system.
Planting honeysuckle
The plant can be propagated by seeds or vegetatively. The seed method is more complex and has several disadvantages:
- fruits will give the plant only 5-6 years after planting;
- Seed reproduction does not guarantee the preservation of varietal properties.
Honeysuckle is a plant that crosses pollinated, so you should plant several varieties at once. The distance between seedlings should be at least one and a half meters. Growing and caring for honeysuckle will require patience and some rules. For example, a plot of land where you are going to plant a seedling should be well protected from the wind. It is better to choose places near fences or houses, the plant feels well if several other bushes are planted nearby.
Planting honeysuckle can be done in early spring or autumn. In the spring, you need to have time to blossom the kidneys, because the plant wakes up and starts growing quite early. Gardeners, who have already mastered the science of planting and care for honeysuckle, are advised to plant in the autumn. Now consider a few rules, how should planting honeysuckle in autumn:
- Planting is only necessary in moistened soil, where there is good lighting;
- If the soil on the plot is clayey, be sure to prepare a good drainage;
- on marshy soil honeysuckle will not grow;
- for the landing should prepare a pit size 50h50h70 cm, at the bottom of which lay broken bricks or coarse gravel (a layer of 10 cm) and granular sand (10 cm layer);
- in a landing pit we pour about 50 g of lime;
- When planting, the root neck of the plant should be at the level of the soil layer;
- before we fill the seedling with earth, we straighten the roots;
- after compaction of the soil, we water the plant thoroughly, we cut off the branches by 50 cm;
- a couple of days the soil near the bush can be mulched with peat or humus.
Honeysuckle: care
Honeysuckle needs a competent fit, but caring for it is equally important. For the harvest to please you, you need to learn how to properly care for honeysuckle.
Especially closely monitor the growth of the bush in the first year after planting. In a dry summer, constantly water the plant, but only superficially. If you mulch the soil with the use of sawdust or humus, you can do without loosening. In the spring period, feed the shrubbery with nitrogen fertilizers. A bush should not just be watered, it must be formed when pruning. After harvesting, wait until the leaves fall off, then be sure to thoroughly
Do not forget about pruning the bush. We cut off all the dry or diseased branches without any regrets, because they will only interfere with the good growth of honeysuckle.
Competent care of honeysuckle in autumn guarantees a good harvest. Necessarily at the very beginning of autumn, introduce additional fertilizing. Potassium salts are introduced at the rate of 20 g per 1 m² of land. You can enter superphosphate 30 g per 1 m ² of land.
When the temperature starts to drop to zero, it's time to shelter the bush. In late November, the honeysuckle is covered with a layer of snow, you can use special ready-made covering materials for the garden.