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By the end of July, even the latest varieties of edible honeysuckle end in fruiting. Despite the fact that this shrub is unpretentious, certain work with it must be continued after harvesting the fruits. Caring for honeysuckle in August and September is not difficult and does not take much time, but you should not neglect it, since it directly depends on how the shrub will survive the winter and whether it will yield a crop next year.
How to care for honeysuckle after harvest
Edible honeysuckle is increasingly found in gardens and home gardens. This culture owes its popularity, first of all, to its unpretentiousness and undemanding care. Honeysuckle has excellent frost resistance, it can be grown without shelter, even in cold regions. Moreover, the berries of this plant are not only tasty, but also nutritious, they contain much more useful substances than many others.
Honeysuckle is a healthy and tasty berry
Fruiting always weakens berry bushes quite strongly, and honeysuckle is no exception. In August, immediately after picking berries, she needs care, rest and recovery, so no radical measures (pruning, transplanting) are carried out with her for the first time. To help honeysuckle recover faster and strengthen it in the pre-winter period, in late August or early September, the bushes are fed with potash and phosphorus fertilizers. They are introduced by the root method in the form of an aqueous solution, so they will be absorbed by the plant faster. The standard rate for each bush of edible honeysuckle is 25-30 g of superphosphate and 15-20 g of potassium sulfate, this amount is diluted in 10 liters of water.
Wood ash will reduce soil acidity and enrich it with potassium
In addition, after harvest, in August and September, the following care activities are carried out:
- Watering. Produced throughout the season with a lack of precipitation. If in August-September the weather is dry, then once a week the bushes are watered at the rate of 10 liters each.
- Caring for the root zone. In August-September, loosening and mulching are carried out, weeds are removed, as well as mowing if the soil around the shrub is sod.Important! The honeysuckle root system is located fairly close to the surface, so care should be taken when excavating in the root zone.
- Autumn pruning. In the northern regions, it is done at the end of September; in regions with a warm climate, it can be done later. Shrubs are cleaned of dry, broken, damaged branches. In adult fruiting bushes, thinning is carried out, thickening and rubbing shoots are removed, as well as side branches if they lie on the ground. In old specimens, a part of perennial wood is cut out, which gives a weak annual growth. A bush over 20 years old can be radically rejuvenated by completely cutting off all old shoots, except for a few annuals.
- Pre-winter spraying with urea. They do such a care event with the onset of frost.
- Care for young seedlings and shelter for the winter.
In the fall, you can plant honeysuckle in open ground.
Autumn is the best time to plant and transplant honeysuckle.In most regions, such care work is performed during this period. Edible honeysuckle, as a rule, ends its growing season very early, and already at the end of September there are practically no leaves on it. Meanwhile, the earth at this time is still quite warm, and the onset of cold weather is still far away. A plant transplanted at this time or a planted seedling is guaranteed to have time to take root and adapt in a new place. In the spring, such shrubs will surely start to grow. If the planting or transplanting is postponed to spring, then there is a great risk of not being able to carry out the work on time, since honeysuckle enters the growing season very early.
Some aspects of honeysuckle care in August-September are highlighted in the video at the link:
How to process honeysuckle after harvest
Edible honeysuckle is rarely affected by diseases and pests even in the absence of care, therefore, with rare exceptions, it is not processed during the growing season. A complete ban on the use of any chemicals exists in the summer, during the period when the fruits are ripening. However, some care activities, such as treating the crown with special products, still need to be carried out both at the beginning and at the end of the season.
Spraying the shrub in early spring will prevent the development of fungal diseases
In early spring, the bush is sprayed with Bordeaux 1% liquid to prevent fungal diseases. But after the end of fruiting, honeysuckle is usually processed only once, and this is done after the first frost. To spray the bushes during this period, a urea (carbamide) solution is used, for the preparation of which you will need to dilute 35 g of the substance in 10 liters of water. Treatment of honeysuckle with urea in late autumn will well strengthen its immunity, and also kill pests that hibernate in the folds and cracks of the bark. Work is carried out during the day, in dry weather, at a temperature of about 0 ° C.
Processing of honeysuckle bushes after harvesting in August may be necessary in case of emergency - in case of a disease or pest invasion, which is extremely rare. When a powdery bloom, dark spots and other signs of fungal damage to the shrub appear on the leaves, you need to cut off the diseased shoots, and spray the bushes themselves with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid. If in August-September caterpillars, aphid colonies or other insects appeared on the leaves and shoots, then the plantings are treated with insecticides of various effects (Aktellik, Fufanon, Iskra, Inta-Vir, etc.).
Honeysuckle can be sprayed from pests only after harvesting the fruits.
How to prepare honeysuckle for winter
All care measures that are carried out after picking berries in August and autumn, one way or another, are aimed at strengthening the immunity of honeysuckle bushes and preparing for winter. Top dressing with superphosphate and potash fertilizers increases winter hardiness, pruning reduces the number of shoots that consume nutrients. In addition, during the summer, honeysuckle lays flower buds next year, they will become the basis of the next season's harvest.
Do I need to cover honeysuckle for the winter
Adult honeysuckle bushes have good winter hardiness. Most varieties of this shrub can easily withstand a drop in temperature even to -40 ° C, so they do not need to be covered. Shelter is needed only for young seedlings obtained from cuttings or cuttings of the current year and wintering for the first time. They have a poorly developed horse system and are quite vulnerable.
For the winter, very young honeysuckle bushes need to be covered with spruce branches
Young honeysuckle bushes are covered for the winter with spruce branches, straw, fallen leaves. In adult plants, it is possible to insulate the root zone with a layer of humus, but this measure is not required.
Conclusion
Caring for honeysuckle in August and September has many functions. All activities carried out at this time are aimed at strengthening the shrub after fruiting, as well as strengthening it before the upcoming wintering. Many gardeners consider taking care of honeysuckle unnecessary during this period, but it is in August and September that the bushes form flower buds, from which the next year's harvest is laid. Therefore, you should not neglect these works, because autumn care for honeysuckle is the basis of the future harvest. Moreover, it will not take a lot of time in August and September.
