Edible honeysuckle is an upright deciduous shrub and is common in the temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere. In wild species, the fruits are small, sour, often with a pronounced bitterness. They are prone to shedding, they ripen unevenly. Despite the unique healing properties, the development of new varieties was seriously taken up only in the 50s of the last century.
Description of the variety
One of the best varieties that has appeared in recent years is Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya. This is an interspecific hybrid of Kamchatka and Turchaninov honeysuckles. The variety was bred by the Bakcharsky stronghold of northern gardening named after I. MA Lisavenko at NIISS, in 2005 was accepted for testing by the State Sort Commission.
Specifications
The honeysuckle variety Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya has a rounded crown with straight sparse branches. An adult bush reaches a height of 1.6-1.8 m, a width of 1.2 m. The shoots are lignified completely, like other varieties of honeysuckle.
The fruits of the Bakcharskaya Yubileynaya variety have an elongated or oval shape, a dark purple color with a waxy coating. Their length can reach 3.3 cm, diameter - 1.2 cm.The size, weight and ripening time of honeysuckle berries strongly depend on external conditions and the intensity of cultivation:
- In a carefully tended private garden, fruits weighing 1.4-1.8 g each grow, the yield is 2.5-3.0 kg per bush.
- With industrial cultivation, the berries reach 0.9-1.0 g (this is a very good result for honeysuckle), up to 2 kg are harvested from the plant.
- The best results shown by the Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya variety are fruits weighing 2.1 g with a yield of 4.6 kg per bush.
Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya is a medium late, poorly shattered variety, that is, only up to 20% of the fruits fall to the ground after ripening. The berries of this honeysuckle are located in a heap, it is convenient to carry out both mechanized and manual harvesting.
Pollinators
Honeysuckle is self-fertile and has bisexual flowers. It is pollinated by bees and bumblebees. The plant is an excellent honey plant and not only does not need to attract beneficial insects, but itself can serve as bait for them.
To get a decent harvest, at least 2-3 varieties of honeysuckle should be planted nearby, otherwise even an adult bush will give several berries at best, although it will bloom profusely. For Bakcharskaya Jubilee, Silginka is considered the best pollinator.
Advantages and disadvantages
The honeysuckle variety Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya is one of the most promising. Its advantages include:
- Excellent taste - 4.8 points.
- High content of nutrients.
- High productivity.
- Stability of fruiting.
- Large berries.
- Winter hardiness. Honeysuckle can withstand temperatures up to 48-56 degrees, flowers do not fall off at -7.
- Ease of harvesting due to the accuracy of the arrangement of berries and the looseness of the crown.
- Early maturity. In 2-3 years after planting Bakcharskaya Jubilee, a decent harvest can be harvested (for most varieties, this period begins after 6 years).
- Dry separation of berries. This makes it possible not only to process or dry the fruit, but also to freeze the honeysuckle.
- Most of the crop does not crumble and stays on the bush for a long time, without losing its taste and marketability.
- Undemanding and ease of maintenance.
- With a good location in one place, honeysuckle grows for 20-30 years.
The disadvantages of the variety include:
- Self-infertility.
- A certain number of berries still crumble, ripening unevenly.
- In the southern regions, it is difficult to grow a healthy, consistently fruiting honeysuckle that meets varietal characteristics.
Accommodation on the site
Honeysuckle is a plant of a temperate climate, it feels great in the Central region, Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
The choice of planting material
Take planting material from nurseries. There the honeysuckle is of the best quality, and the varieties sell the ones that are stated on the label. It is best to buy 2-3 year old plants in late summer or fall, with a closed root system. The root should be firm, not too cut when digging, and the branches should be even, with the same internodes.
Choosing a suitable location and preparing the ground
Honeysuckle is unpretentious to growing conditions, only good illumination of the site is a mandatory requirement. With a lack of light, the harvest will be poor, and the berries will be small. It is impossible to place honeysuckle in lowlands due to the accumulation of cold air and stagnant water.
Any soil will do, but the berry will grow best on fertile, loose soils. Only areas with a high clay or sand content will require dramatic improvement. Before planting, the berry is cleaned of weeds, dig holes 40x40x40 cm and fill with planting mixture. It is prepared from fertile soil, peat, compost or humus, taking them in equal parts. Soil with a high PH level is deoxidized with lime or dolomite flour.
Planting a bush
Honeysuckle is best planted in late summer or early fall. She ends the growing season early, but the growth processes continue. Before winter, the bush will have time to get stronger. In the spring, it is allowed to plant only container plants or emergency transfer of honeysuckle to another place with a large clod of earth.
Bushes are placed at a distance of no closer than 1.5 m from each other or other trees. Over time, honeysuckle will grow, and it should be illuminated from all sides. A space of 2.5 m is left between the rows.
The prepared planting hole is completely filled with water, allowed to soak, then planting is started. 50 g of superphosphate and potassium salt are added under each root, and if the soil is poor, then an additional bucket of organic matter. An earthen mound is poured in the middle of the hole, the plant is set so that the root collar is 3-5 cm below the soil level. The root system is covered with the prepared mixture, lightly tamped, watered abundantly, mulched.
Growing
Careful care is needed only for young plants in the first year after planting. Mature, well-rooted, healthy honeysuckle requires almost no attention from its owners.
Young plant care
In the first months, honeysuckle should be regularly watered, loosened up the soil for better oxygen supply to the roots, and weed out. She does not need regular feeding for the first three years if fertilizers were added during planting.
At first, honeysuckle grows slowly. First of all, it develops the root system, and then the aboveground part. The Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya variety differs from others in its early fruiting, so this period is reduced to 1-2 years.
At the beginning of autumn, sanitary pruning is carried out - all dry, broken and thickening branches are removed.
Adult plant care
Starting from the third year, honeysuckle begins to bear fruit and needs additional feeding. In early spring, literally in the snow, nitrogen fertilizers are applied under each bush. At the end of summer, a liter can of ash and a bucket of organic matter are embedded in the ground.
Further care consists in weeding, loosening the tree-trunk circles to a depth of 5-8 cm and periodic watering during dry periods.
Pruning and wintering
Until the age of 15, honeysuckle is not pruned at all, limited to the removal of broken, dry, growing down and thickening branches. Then the bushes are thinned out, cutting off the oldest branches at the base. At the age of 20, honeysuckle is aging - while maintaining agricultural technology, the yield decreases. You can rejuvenate the bush by cutting it completely at a height of about 15 cm above the ground level, next year it will recover, and it will bear fruit for up to 10 years.
The Bakcharskaya Yubileinaya variety was created at an experimental station located in the Tomsk region. He tolerates a drop in temperature more than minus 50 degrees and does not need shelter.
Reproduction methods
Honeysuckle is not cheap, amateur gardeners can propagate it in one of the following ways:
- seeds;
- green or lignified cuttings;
- layering;
- dividing the bush.
The safest way for non-specialists is to dig in low-lying twigs or to divide a young, well-grown bush.
Growing problems
Honeysuckle practically does not get sick, and parasites usually bypass a healthy bush. Potential pests and control measures are described in the table.
Pest | External signs | Control measures |
Leaf roll | Caterpillars eat leaves and young shoots during berry ripening | Treat with an appropriate insecticide. From biological preparations Fitoverm, Agrovertin or Iskra-bio are suitable |
Aphid | Sucks juice from leaves, which makes them turn yellow | |
Willow shield | Sucks juice from the bark, looks like small dense squiggles |
Of the diseases, only powdery mildew can be named, however, it rarely appears. Treat honeysuckle with Fitosporin.
Among the problems is the re-flowering of honeysuckle, which significantly reduces the next year's harvest. It occurs due to the fact that the growing season begins and ends early - even in the conditions of the Tomsk region, growth processes stop by the end of July. Sometimes honeysuckle blooms again. In small areas, all buds should be torn off by hand.
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