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Honeysuckle is a fairly common plant in temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 190 wild species, but only a few of them are edible. All of them are distinguished by the dark blue or purple color of the fruit, but due to the bluish coating they may appear blue. Red, orange and yellow berries are poisonous.
Recently, there has been an active creation of new honeysuckle crops; the Giant’s Daughter variety is considered one of the most promising.
Description of the variety
The Giant's Daughter is a hybrid of Turchaninov's honeysuckle and the Bakcharsky Velikan variety. The cultivar was accepted for State Variety Testing in 2009, and in 2017 it was included in the Russian State Register.
Specifications
Honeysuckle of the Giant's Daughter variety forms a fairly large bush, reaching 1.7 m by the age of 8-9, with an oval crown of medium density. In the first years it grows slowly, and although it is considered early-bearing, it produces a commercial harvest no earlier than 5-6 years after planting. It differs from other varieties in that at the beginning of the growing season, young shoots have a crimson hue, which is usually called anthocyanin.
The berries of the Giant's Daughter honeysuckle are considered one of the largest today, on average 1.8-2.5 g. This difference is due to the heterogeneity of the fruits, which have a characteristic shape similar to an inverted comma or an elongated pear. Productivity is 3.1-3.5 kg per bush or about 10.2 tons per hectare. Under particularly favorable conditions, up to 17 tons of berries can be collected from 1 hectare.
The fruits of the Giant's Daughter are dark purple, almost black in color, although due to the waxy coating they may appear bluish. The taste is dessert, sweet, with a slight sourness, without bitterness. The berries are suitable for processing or freezing, with average transportability.
The Giant's Daughter is a mid-late honeysuckle variety with extended fruiting. Harvesting is recommended to be done manually, in 2 stages. The berries are tightly attached to the branches and belong to the category of weakly shedding (losses up to 20%), but come off easily and cleanly.
Pollinators
Edible honeysuckles are self-sterile. When only one variety grows on a site, even with the best care and favorable weather conditions, the bush will bloom profusely, but will produce only a few berries. To obtain a bountiful harvest of honeysuckle, you need to plant at least 2-3 varieties nearby.
Flowers are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. There is no need to specially attract them - honeysuckle is an excellent honey plant and itself attracts beneficial insects to the site. The Giant's Daughter variety is best grown next to Bakcharsky Giant, Delight, Strezhevchanka.
Advantages and disadvantages
Honeysuckle berries from the Giant's Daughter are by far one of the sweetest and largest. Their original shape will prevent this variety from being confused with others. The advantages of the variety include:
- Large fruit and good taste – 4.8 points.
- Annual abundant fruiting.
- Honeysuckle berries are healing.
- Winter hardiness. The Giant's Daughter can withstand temperatures below -50 degrees without shelter.
- The variety is weakly shedding, the berries are firmly attached to the branches and are easily torn off without damage.
- Longevity - honeysuckle can bear fruit abundantly for up to 30 years.
The variety has few disadvantages:
- Self-sterility.
- Slow growth of honeysuckle in the first years after planting.
- Uneven ripening of berries.
- Up to 20% of the honeysuckle harvest falls off.
Accommodation on site
Although honeysuckle grows best in its usual conditions - the Middle Zone, with the right approach it will produce a harvest even in the southern regions.
Selection of planting material
The best planting material for honeysuckle is 2-3 year old bushes with a closed root system. You need to buy plants in nurseries - this way there is less chance of getting into trouble with a variety or even buying an inedible variety. Choose honeysuckle with 2-4 even branches and equal internodes.
Site selection and soil preparation
Good lighting of the area is the main condition for cultivating honeysuckle; otherwise, the plant is surprisingly undemanding. Any soil is suitable, but on sandstones fruiting will be weak. Optimal acidity is 5.5-6.6 (slightly acidic soil), acceptable is 4.5-6.5.
Honeysuckle should not be planted in lowlands and ravines - stagnation of water and accumulation of cold air will prevent it from developing normally.For the Giant's Daughter variety, manual harvesting is preferable; if mechanized harvesting is planned, choose a flat area. In regions with strong winds, plantings need protection during flowering and ovary formation.
Planting holes measuring 40x40x40 cm are prepared in advance, 1-2 buckets of organic matter are added to each (depending on soil fertility), 50 g of potash and phosphate fertilizers. If necessary, deoxidize the soil with lime.
Planting a bush
Honeysuckle is not pruned before planting, but only broken branches are removed. They are very fragile, this must be taken into account. The standard planting pattern for the variety is 1.5 m between plants, 2.0-2.5 m between rows. In industrial plantings, plants are placed closer to each other, and row spacing is made larger. But you still need to take into account the habit - the Giant’s Daughter variety has a tall and spreading bush.
It is better to start planting in late summer or early autumn, as soon as the heat subsides. Then the honeysuckle will have time to take root, and in the spring it will immediately begin to grow. The planting hole is filled with water, when the moisture is absorbed, a mound is poured in the middle, around which the roots are spread. The neck is deepened to 3-5 cm, soil is filled in, it is compressed, watered and the hole is mulched with peat or humus.
Growing
Only young plants need attention. Adults need minimal care - honeysuckle is quite unpretentious.
Caring for a young plant
After planting, honeysuckle needs frequent and abundant watering. The next day, the tree trunk circle is loosened - this prevents weeds from developing and provides the roots with oxygen.
If during planting the soil was well filled with fertilizers and organic matter, honeysuckle is not fed in summer and autumn.In the spring, growth processes should be stimulated by pouring 30 g of urea dissolved in 10 liters of water under each bush.
Caring for an adult plant
In the third year, in addition to spring fertilizer, after fruiting on poor soils, honeysuckle is fed with a full mineral complex, and in the fall a bucket of organic matter is added under the roots. It is useful to add ash to the soil at the end of summer - 1 liter for an adult plant, 0.5 liter for a young one.
Further care consists of weeding, loosening and periodic heavy watering in the absence of precipitation.
Pruning and wintering
Honeysuckle The Giant's Daughter was created in the Tomsk region and tolerates temperatures below 50 degrees below zero. She does not need shelter for the winter.
The plant is not pruned until it is 15 years old, only dry and broken branches are removed. The Giant's Daughter has a sparse crown, but if the shoots sink to the ground or are directed into the bush, they are cut off as early as possible. Without access to light, they still won’t produce a harvest, but they consume nutrients.
After 15 years, the old branches of the honeysuckle are cut out at the base, and at 20, if the harvest has fallen, the bush is rejuvenated. To do this, remove all shoots, leaving 15-20 cm. The branches will grow next spring and honeysuckle will be able to fully bear fruit for another 5-10 years.
Reproduction methods
Honeysuckle is expensive, so the question often arises whether it can be propagated on its own. There are several ways to get young plants, but not all of them are suitable for amateur gardeners. This is shown in the table.
Reproduction method | Complexity | Problems for amateurs | Final result |
Seminal | Low | The seeds germinate very well | Due to cross-pollination, 80-90% of plants have no consumer value, since they do not inherit varietal characteristics |
Green or woody cuttings | Average | They require a greenhouse or greenhouse and constant care; with self-breeding, no more than 30% take root. | Inherits all varietal characteristics |
Horizontal or vertical layers | Low | When harvesting or loosening the soil, layering is often damaged | Inherits all maternal characteristics |
Dividing the bush | Low | Only a young, well-grown bush can be divided | It takes root well and quickly begins to bear fruit. |
Problems during cultivation
Honeysuckle rarely gets sick and suffers from pests. It can be attacked by aphids, leaf rollers or willow scale insects, which are controlled with appropriate insecticides. Spraying should be carried out after harvesting or biological protection agents should be used.
Among the diseases, it is necessary to highlight powdery mildew, which appears due to the close proximity of infected plants, in rainy summers or during evening watering in cold weather. The bush is treated with Fitosporin or an appropriate fungicide.
Honeysuckle may re-bloom, which reduces the harvest of the next season. On private farms, the buds should be picked off by hand, and as early as possible.
The Giant's daughter is growing up beautifully in the Novgorod region. It is better to plant in sun or partial shade. In the shade, the berries will be more sour. The berries correspond to the varietal characteristics.