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Honeysuckle Gerda is a welcome guest in the garden, as the berry has a good taste and medicinal properties. But in order to grow a strong and healthy shrub, you need to know the description of the variety, photos and reviews of Gerda honeysuckle. If agricultural practices are followed, the bush will delight you with beautiful flowering and a large harvest.
Description of honeysuckle Gerda
Honeysuckle Gerda was bred by Siberian scientists in 1987. Thanks to crossing with the Blue Bird variety, which is part of the Kamchatka honeysuckle group, the plant turned out to be cold-resistant and disease-resistant.
Honeysuckle Gerda is a spreading plant, the height of the bush is about 1.5 m. In spring, pointed leaves of a rich olive color appear on flexible, matte shoots.
Barrel-shaped berries of medium size, weighing up to 0.7 g. The delicate skin is colored blue-black; when overripe, the color changes to sky-gray. The pulp is tender, sweet and sour, with a pleasant aroma. An early ripening variety, the first berries appear in early June, in the second year after planting. Thanks to the strong and dense stalk, overripe berries do not fall off the bush.A full harvest is harvested 3-4 years after planting the seedling.
The variety is high-yielding; if agricultural practices are followed, up to 1.6 kg can be removed from the bush
Berries have beneficial properties. They help with anemia, improve cerebral circulation, strengthen the immune system and blood vessels. The harvested crop does not have a long shelf life. Therefore, it is better to use ripe berries fresh as quickly as possible, freeze them, or prepare winter preserves from them.
The shrub is cold-resistant, can withstand frosts down to -45 °C without shelter, and the flower buds do not freeze out during minor spring frosts. The variety also tolerates heat and drought well, but during the period of fruiting, it is recommended to regularly irrigate the bush with settled water.
Honeysuckle Gerda looks very decorative, so it is often used to decorate a personal plot.
Planting and caring for honeysuckle Gerda
To get a generous harvest, you need to know the timing of planting and choose the right place. Experts also recommend planting only high-quality planting material and taking into account the layout of the beds. Before purchasing a seedling, it is important to find out the description of the honeysuckle variety Gerda and view the photo.
Gerda honeysuckle is planted in the fall, a month before the onset of cold weather. The planting site should be sunny and located along a fence or other buildings. This will help protect the plant from gusty winds and drafts.
The variety prefers a sunny, draft-free place.
The soil should be well-drained, loamy or sandy loam, with weak or neutral acidity. The bush does not tolerate waterlogged soil; from an excess of water, the roots rot and the plant dies.
Better survival rate of seedlings with a closed root system. When purchasing, the plant is inspected for diseases and pests. A healthy seedling should have smooth shoots, no mechanical damage, and brightly colored foliage. The ideal option for planting is a seedling measuring 50 cm or 1 m. Lower specimens do not take root well, tall specimens have difficulty getting used to a new place.
Landing rules:
- At the selected location, dig a hole measuring 30x40 cm. The distance between plantings is maintained at least 1.5 m.
- The hole is filled 2/3 with fertile soil.
- The seedling is placed in the center so that the root collar is at ground level or buried 3 cm.
- The voids are filled with a nutrient mixture.
- After planting, the soil is spilled at the rate of a bucket onto the planted plant.
- The top of the soil is covered with peat, straw or fallen leaves.
Caring for Gerda honeysuckle consists of watering, fertilizing and pruning the bush. Fertilizing is applied during the growing season. For this purpose, a mineral complex is used.
Irrigation is carried out with settled water as the top soil dries
Also, rejuvenating pruning is carried out every 3-4 years. In autumn, aging skeletal branches are not cut out to form a stump, but only the tops are shortened, leaving shoots of 30-40 cm. After rejuvenating pruning, you can begin to decorate the bush.
Since the plant is cold-resistant, it does not need shelter for the winter. But it is better to protect young specimens from frost. To do this, the tree trunk circle is mulched with straw, peat or horse manure. This will help keep the soil loose and moderately moist.
Reproduction
Blue honeysuckle Gerda is propagated from May to June. To do this, cuttings, dividing the bush and propagation by seeds are used.
- Cuttings. From a healthy shoot, cuttings 7-10 cm long are cut at an acute angle and placed in nutrient soil. For better rooting, cover the container with a jar and put it in a warm, sunny place. In autumn, rooted cuttings can be transferred to a prepared place.
- Seed propagation - the work is difficult and long. Before planting, you need to stratify the seeds, so this method is not suitable for inexperienced gardeners.
- Dividing the bush - a simple and effective method of propagating Gerda honeysuckle. To do this, the mother plant is dug up in the fall and divided into a certain number of parts. Each division should have well-developed roots and at least 3 healthy shoots.
An adult bush cannot be propagated by divisions.
Pollinators of honeysuckle Gerda
Any Kamchatka honeysuckle is suitable for pollination of the Gerda variety, but the best pollinators are those that have the same ripening period: Assol, Chelyabinka, Kuvshinovidnaya. Experts do not recommend planting inedible varieties next to Gerda honeysuckle. Since during pollination the crop will not be suitable for consumption.
Diseases and pests
Gerda honeysuckle is resistant to many diseases. But if agricultural practices are not followed, the following may appear on the bush:
- Phytoviruses. The infection manifests itself as light green spots on the leaf blade and spots along the veins in the center. When a disease is detected, all affected parts are burned.
The infection appears as light spots on the foliage
- Fungal diseases. Diseases can be recognized by spots on the leaf blade, which grow and dry out without treatment.For prevention in the spring, the bush is sprayed with foundationazole and copper-soap liquid.
A fungal disease without treatment leads to the death of the bush
- Aphid. Appears in large colonies on foliage and shoots. Insects suck out the juice, as a result the plant weakens and stops growing and developing. To control pests, an infusion of garlic, tobacco and hot pepper is used.
The pest settles mainly on the above-ground parts
Conclusion
Description of the variety, photos and reviews of Gerda honeysuckle show how good the shrub is for growing in a personal plot. If you follow agrotechnical rules, it will bring a good harvest of sweet and sour berries. And thanks to its decorative appearance, the plant can be used to decorate a personal plot.
