Content
Planting honeysuckle in autumn is often more profitable than in spring; with the onset of a new season, the plant does not spend energy on rooting, but can immediately begin active growth. But the gardener needs to know the rules for autumn planting so that it goes safely and without complications.
Is it possible to plant honeysuckle in autumn
For many fruit trees and shrubs, spring planting is preferable, in which the plant is guaranteed to have time to properly root in the soil before the end of the season. However, honeysuckle remains an exception; it can be planted both in spring and autumn.
In this case, the type of root system of the seedling does not really matter. If honeysuckle is sold in a container, then planting in the fall does not pose any threat to it - the roots of the plant are completely healthy and not damaged, they can quickly take root in the ground. If the system is open, then autumn planting in September and even October will also not turn out to be harmful. The main thing is to root the shrub before the onset of frost. But as long as positive temperatures remain, honeysuckle can be planted even after the first snow.
Autumn planting has many advantages.
The main advantage of the autumn planting of honeysuckle is that with the onset of spring the next year, the shrub immediately begins to actively develop. He does not need to spend time on the development of the root system, respectively, he can freely build up green mass, form a silhouette and bloom.
When to plant honeysuckle in autumn
On average, it is recommended to plant a plant in the fall 3 weeks before the onset of real cold weather, this time is enough for honeysuckle to take root on the site. But the specific dates for planting honeysuckle in the fall are determined by the growing region and may differ for different areas:
- In the southern regions of Russia, winter comes late and usually remains fairly mild. Therefore, planting can be carried out from mid-October to the 20th of November, even during this period the weather will still be favorable for gardening work.
- In the Moscow region, the optimal time for planting honeysuckle in autumn is mid-September or early October, up to about 10 numbers. By November, frosts usually come in the middle lane, so it is important not to be late with planting the bush.
- In the Urals and Siberia, the planting of honeysuckle must be completed by early October. Winter comes early in these regions and quickly brings severe cold with it.
In the Leningrad region, it is also better to plant shrubs in September, so that the first frosts do not destroy the young plant.
How to properly plant honeysuckle in the fall
Autumn remains a difficult time to plant, even when it comes to cold-resistant plants. Therefore, it is especially important to choose the right place for honeysuckle in the fall and fully comply with the disembarkation procedure.
The landing dates differ for the regions, but in general it can be carried out until frost
Where is it better to plant honeysuckle in autumn
The fruit shrub is considered quite unpretentious for growing, but certain requirements still need to be met:
- Honeysuckle needs sufficient sunlight to develop healthy. Therefore, it is necessary to plant shrubs in an open area of the garden, where good natural light is maintained at any time of the year.
- It should be borne in mind that the plant does not like drafts and strong gusts of wind. It is desirable that the honeysuckle grows close to natural cover, for example, near a high fence, a wall of a house, or near taller trees.
- Honeysuckle loves moisture, but does not tolerate an excess of it. Planting edible honeysuckle in the fall should be carried out in an area located at a distance from groundwater, they should lie no closer than 1.5 m to the surface of the earth.
Soils for shrubs are best suited to sandy loam or loamy, with good drainage and oxygen access. Honeysuckle prefers to grow on neutral or low-acid soil; soils with high acidity are not suitable for it.
You can plant a plant even in a lowland if you arrange good drainage in the soil.
Landing site preparation
It is necessary to prepare in advance for planting honeysuckle in autumn:
- Approximately 30 days before planting the plant in the ground, the soil in the selected area is carefully dug up and a hole is prepared with a depth of about 30 cm and a width of up to 50 cm.
- If the soil is too wet, sand, expanded clay or pebbles are added to the bottom of the pit, they will provide good drainage for the shrub. Too light soils can be supplemented with peat or loamy soil - up to 5 kg per meter. With increased acidity of the soil, you can also add 200-300 g of fluff lime or chalk to it.
- After creating a planting hole, the soil extracted from the ground is mixed with 2 buckets of compost or humus, and about 500 g of wood ash and 100 g of superphosphate are added. The mixture is poured into the pit and watered properly so that the nutrients are better distributed in the soil.
The rules for planting honeysuckle in the fall state that when planting several shrubs on a site at once, you need to leave a free space of 1.5-2 m between the holes.If you plant the bushes too close, they will block the light with each other when they grow and fight for nutrients and moisture ...
In order for the bushes to start bearing fruit, several different varieties of shrubs with the same flowering time should be planted in close proximity to each other.
To improve the composition of the soil, the bush hole is prepared in advance.
As for the neighborhood with other fruit trees and bushes, honeysuckle gets along best with cherries, plums, apples and pears. But it is better not to plant a shrub next to the apricot - the roots of the apricot tree are too powerful, they will inevitably take away nutrients and moisture from the honeysuckle.
How to plant honeysuckle seedlings in the fall
For the successful planting of honeysuckle in the fall, first of all, you need to choose high-quality planting material. When choosing a seedling, you need to pay attention to several criteria:
- age - in the nursery, you should take a plant no older than 2-3 years;
- appearance - a good seedling should have a strong trunk and several young side shoots;
- healthy buds and leaf plates - you only need to buy a plant with green, clean, fresh leaves and strong buds.
When buying a seedling, it is advisable to evaluate how strong and healthy its roots are. That is why it is recommended to purchase plants with an open root system, in this case it is easier for the gardener to understand the state of the seedling.
The algorithm for planting honeysuckle on the site in the fall is very simple. In the video of planting edible honeysuckle in the fall, on the chosen day, it is suggested to soak the roots of the plant in water for a couple of hours so that they have time to be saturated with moisture. Taking into account the peculiarities of autumn planting, a growth stimulant can be added to the water, this will further speed up the rooting process.
Immediately before planting the seedling in the fall, a small depression is made in the center of the prepared hole. After that, the seedling is carefully lowered into the soil, making sure that its roots lie evenly, do not break or twist. The hole is covered with the remnants of the prepared nutrient soil flush with the ground, lightly tamping the soil so that it does not fall through after the first watering. Immediately after planting, a small earthen roller is made along the edges of the hole and the seedling is abundantly watered with a bucket of water, the roller will not allow moisture to spread.
Immediately after planting, the seedling is properly watered
Then the wet soil is mulched with sawdust, straw or peat - the thickness of the layer should be about 7 cm. The mulching layer will prevent the evaporation of moisture from the soil and will also insulate the plant's root system in autumn.
Caring for honeysuckle after planting in the fall
After the successful planting of the seedling, about a month should remain before the onset of cold weather. During this period, it is important to pay attention to proper plant care in order to speed up the rooting process.
It consists of the following actions:
- If the autumn is dry and warm enough, then the young plant should be watered once a week before the arrival of cold weather. It is especially important for a seedling to get a sufficient amount of moisture before the onset of winter, so it will not only take root faster, but also will not freeze until spring in the frozen soil.
- Before the onset of cold weather after planting, you need to loosen the soil twice or three times in the near-trunk circle for better oxygen access. This must be done carefully - the root system of honeysuckle is superficial, and if loosening is too deep, there is a risk of damaging the roots of a young shrub.
- It is no longer necessary to feed the honeysuckle bush planted in the fall, the nutrients introduced during planting will be enough for another year.
- Before the onset of winter, you need to take care of cleaning the area where the honeysuckle is planted. Before the arrival of frost, it is recommended to rake all the fallen leaves of other trees and shrubs from the soil, to collect broken dry branches and fruits lying on the ground. Plant debris is best burned in the back of the garden; under a layer of foliage and branches, pests and fungal spores like to hibernate, which can damage the honeysuckle seedling.
- Pruning after planting in the fall for honeysuckle is best not done, but postponed for the next season. All the strength of the plant should go not to recover after cutting, but to grow roots. In addition, strong pruning is simply not needed for young seedlings in the first year of life, they do not have time to accumulate a large number of extra shoots.
For the first time, you need to cut the shrub only the next year.
Despite the fact that with proper planting, cold-resistant honeysuckle will have time to take root in the ground before frost, it will still need to be insulated for the winter.
First of all, before the onset of winter, you need to mulch the plant again with a layer of 10 cm, the dense mulch will keep the roots warm and keep the moisture supply in the soil. Despite the fact that honeysuckle can withstand temperatures up to -35 C ° without special shelter, in the first winter after planting it should be carefully insulated with coniferous spruce branches. Young plants are more susceptible to frost than mature shrubs.
If the planting in the fall was carried out according to all the rules and without violations, then already in the second year from the honeysuckle one can expect the first juicy fruits. But in the period of maximum fruiting, the shrub will still enter only by the fifth year of life.
Conclusion
Planting honeysuckle in the fall is not only possible, it is often more profitable than planting in the spring. The fruit plant is distinguished by a very high frost resistance and unpretentious cultivation.Therefore, subject to the timing of the autumn planting on the site, honeysuckle takes root without problems.
