Honeysuckle is an unpretentious, plastic early ripe culture, which is an amazing find of modern gardening. Among the huge variety of varieties there are decorative and edible, the brightest representative of which is the Leningrad giant honeysuckle.
Grade description
The Leningrad giant is characterized by early ripening and in one place can grow about 30 years.
The average height of a tall-growing erect bush is 1.5 meters with a diameter of slightly spreading, average crown thickening of 1.6 meters. The bark - brown, with a shade of gray or red - can easily be separated from the trunk by longitudinal narrow strips. Leaves are dull green, rounded, with a slight pubescence.
The root system is fibrous, superficial type.
Honeysuckle The Leningrad giant, the description of the variety of which is of interest to most gardeners, is a winter-hardy plant. Flowers and young ovaries can tolerate spring frosts to -7 ° C, and wood and roots - up to -40 ° C.
The plant is practically not affected by diseases and pests. Therefore, it does not need chemical treatments, which at the output gives environmentally friendly and healthy berries. The variety was bred at the Pavlovskaya experimental station in St. Petersburg (Russia) by seed method. The initial form is Kamchatka wild honeysuckle.
Taste characteristics
Edible honeysuckle The Leningrad giant is characterized by large dark blue berries up to 4 cm long. The average weight of each is from 1.3 to 1.5 grams. The shape is elongated, with a round base, flat top. Blue wax coating - medium.
The skin is thin, dense. The pulp has a fibrous consistency, sweet and sour, delicate, dessert flavor, with a strong aroma. The bitterness inherent in other
varieties of honeysuckle is absent. One bush is able to produce up to 3 kg of selected ripe berries; the maximum figure is about 5 kg. The fruits ripen unevenly from mid-June to late July. On the branches are located in large clusters, which is why they are easy to assemble. Shedding is weak. When harvesting, one should take into account the high coloring ability of honeysuckle juice, which has a dark ruby color and leaves heavily washable stains on clothing. A variety of universal application, used in home preservation (jelly, preserves, jams, compotes), as well as for medicinal purposes. The juice of the plant is often used to tint light compotes from white fruit and berries.
Honeysuckle berries are good in freezing, while fully preserving their healing properties.
The honeysuckle is a Leningrad giant, whose yield is average, compared with other varieties the first few years are growing very slowly, since it spends the main forces on the development of the underground part. The bush enters the phase of full-fledged fruiting after 2-3 years from the moment of planting.
Honeysuckle Leningrad giant: pollinators
This variety is self-fertile and fades without giving ovaries.
Therefore, to ensure fruiting in one area with it, it is recommended to grow 3-5 different pollinating varieties (for example, Morena, Malvina, Blue spindle, Gzhelka).
Growing conditions
Honeysuckle The Leningrad giant, the description of the variety of which indicates the unpretentiousness of the plant in home gardening, grows well in sunny areas. To the soil, the plant is undemanding, can grow on any soil, but prefers light, moist soil. Before planting and after it every 2-3 years, it is recommended that fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers.
It is advisable to plant bushes at a distance of at least 1.5 meters from each other. Their alternation with dogwood, barberry or black currant will be optimal. Thanks to its decorative appearance, honeysuckle looks beautiful as a hedge.
Medicinal properties of honeysuckle
According to gardeners, the honeysuckle Leningrad giant is a convenient and easy-to-care plant. The culture is characterized by healing properties. Its fruits - a source of beneficial trace elements and vitamins - are recommended for a person of any age, as they:
- remove heavy metals and salts from the body;
- normalize the liver and gastrointestinal tract;
- reduce blood pressure;
- are an effective antipyretic.
In addition to fruits, medicinal properties are possessed by flowers and plant branches. So, floral decoction in folk medicine has long been used to treat headaches and dizziness. A strong diuretic effect has a decoction of the leaves and branches of the plant. In Siberian peoples, the juice of honeysuckle berries is used in the treatment of skin diseases, festering wounds, and an inflamed throat is rinsed with a decoction of leaves. Powder from dried leaves, characterized by antiseptic properties, is used to sprinkle wounds.
Landing Recommendations
To plant the honeysuckle, the Leningrad giant needs to be able to choose the right seedlings. It is not recommended to purchase adult specimens above 1.5 meters, as they are poorly adapted and do not bear fruit for a long time. For cross-pollination, in addition to the variety, several other plant varieties are required to be planted.
The honeysuckle is a Leningrad giant, the description of the variety of which encourages to acquire such an unpretentious plant on its own site, it is better to plant it in mid-October; vegetation processes are completed already in the middle of the summer season, from the same period the laying of apical buds begins. Spring planting is recommended to be done before the start of the growing season, because late spring activities adversely affect the survival rate of the bush.
In the planting pit (size 40 x 40 x 40 cm), humus, wood ash, potassium sulfate and double superphosphate must be added . Then build a small mound, establish a plant on it, spread the roots well, and then sprinkle them with loose soil. The young plant should be deepened so that the location of the root neck is 5 cm below the ground. The earth around the seedling should be well tamped and watered abundantly. Then it is recommended to mulch the planted honeysuckle with humus, decayed foliage or peat.
In the first 3 years of planting, the honeysuckle is edible, planting and care, the reproduction of which is not difficult even for beginning gardeners, needs timely irrigation and weeding from weeds. Water is supplied 3-4 times per season at the rate of 10 liters for each bush. For high-quality growth and abundant fruiting, it is recommended to fertilize every year: from a bucket of humus in the spring and in the autumn, from 100 to 150 grams of wood ash per plant. The introduction of nitrogen preparations should be done early, almost in the process of snow melting. The consumption for each bush is a tablespoon of urea, diluted in 10 liters of water.
Honeysuckle pruning
The honeysuckle bush is recommended to be cut off by the Leningrad giant 6-7 years after planting. This event is of a sanitary nature, which reduces to the removal of damaged, dried and diseased branches. The tops of young shoots should not be cut off due to the presence of flower buds on them - the basis for the formation of the next year's crop. In order to constantly stimulate annual growth every 2-3 years, it is advisable to remove 1-2 unproductive branches.
For perennial (from 15-20 years) specimens, cardinal anti-aging pruning performed at a height of half a meter from the soil surface will be effective. Due to the active growth of young shoots, the shrub can be fully rehabilitated within 2-3 years. The most optimal period for pruning is autumn (the period after the leaves fall) or early spring (March).
Pests and diseases
Edible honeysuckle, planting and care, the reproduction of which practically does not require investment of material resources, is characterized by high resistance to pest infection. Sometimes the presence of a leafworm, honeysuckle fingerfly, aphid, scabies, and tick can be observed on the plant. To destroy them, treatment with potent drugs, such as Confidor, Actellic, should be used.
In conditions of high humidity, the Leningrad giant is occasionally affected by powdery mildew. In the fight against this disease, the use of Topaz, Fundazol, Skol and others fungicides is effective.
Honeysuckle The Leningrad giant, the cultivation of which is a rather fascinating process, for many years will delight you with a delicious useful crop, rich flowering in the spring and an attractive decorative look. Honeysuckle berries are the very first vitamins after winter.