Who doesn’t know such honeysuckle, surprising in its decorative effect and a large number of useful substances,? Varieties are so diverse that it can become not only your pantry of vitamins, but also a wonderful decoration of the garden. Honeysuckle is in the form of a tree, creeper or a sprawling bush. But no matter what form it takes, one thing remains unchanged - this is the very first berry that ripens on the plots in early summer.
It is the early ripening of berries and the large number of useful vitamins and amino acids that they contain that have become the main reasons for our love for this bush. They help with vitamin deficiency and obesity, diabetes and allergic reactions. And by the ability to remove radiation from the human body, not one medical preparation can be compared with these oblong blue berries.
If you decide to plant honeysuckle on the site, the varieties must be selected taking into account the climatic conditions of your area. To get the most berries, you will need to plant three different species. Honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated plant. Therefore, by arranging the bushes at a distance of 1.5-2.5 meters from each other, you can achieve positive results.
But what to do if the plot is small, and you want to get the maximum number of berries? The solution is quite simple and tested in many household plots. Having prepared a sunny place for honeysuckle, pick varieties with similar external characteristics. Plant two different seedlings in one hole. In this case, you will not have any problems with pollination. Honeysuckle blooms very early and calmly survives spring frosts. Two varieties of honeysuckle growing from one well will prevent the ovaries from falling off and give a 100% yield.
Let's look at the rules of planting and the technology for growing this amazing shrub. Honeysuckle is very fond of sunny hillocks, although it can also grow with success in partial shade. If desired, and the correct selection, the bush can be used in hedges, single or collective plantings, as well as to decorate the walls of the gazebo and various buildings.
After choosing a suitable place, we prepare a special soil mixture. It should consist of three parts of turf land, part of sand and part of peat. After digging a hole of sufficient depth, we fill the bottom with any drainage material. For this, broken brick, large rubble and even construction waste are suitable. The height of the drainage layer should be about 10 centimeters.
Only after all preparations can you plant seedlings of honeysuckle and sprinkle the roots with the prepared mixture. We make sure that the earth fills all the voids. To do this, pour water from a watering can 2-3 times as the pit is filled with soil. It must be remembered that honeysuckle tolerates excess water and drought equally poorly. Therefore, severely arid places on your site and closed basins will become an inappropriate place for planting.
Not every honeysuckle is suitable for a traditional spring planting. Varieties for her choose with late vegetation. Suitable alpine, Tangut, cover and small-leaved honeysuckle. But the blue honeysuckle should be planted in late summer. The growing season of this variety begins in April. By the time the soil is warming up, it is already blooming.
When buying seedlings at fairs and markets, pay particular attention to plant height and root system development. The bush most suitable for planting has a height of 35 to 140 centimeters. All shoots should have a smooth structure and clean green leaves.
Honeysuckle responds well to caring care, although it is very unpretentious. If during the planting of seedlings you fertilized the soil mixture, then for the next two years all care will be watering on especially hot days and a slight loosening of the near-stem circle in the fall. To prevent large evaporation of moisture, it is necessary to mulch the soil around the honeysuckle bush.
Do not forget about the forming cropping. It is carried out in March or after autumn leaf fall. It is necessary to remove all old, diseased, dried and broken branches. The base of the bush should be the 5 most powerful trunks. If your honeysuckle bush was planted 15-20 years ago, then it can be rejuvenated by cutting all branches to a height of 50 centimeters. Two years later, a young and lush bush will grow in its place.