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Breeders have cultivated many wild plants so that gardeners have the opportunity to grow them on their plots. One of these representatives is forest beauty honeysuckle. The berry is rich in microelements and vitamins that are beneficial to humans. Among the many varieties bred, Kamchadalka stands out.
Breeding history
The culture was bred by employees of Siberian horticulture at the Bakchar stronghold. The parent of the variety is wild honeysuckle Kamchatka. The authors of Kamchadalka are considered to be the breeders A. T. Tkacheva and I. K. Gidzyuk. The culture was developed by natural pollination of the wild form of the plant. The variety was sent for testing in 1984, and 9 years later honeysuckle was zoned in Russian regions.
Description and characteristics of the variety
In terms of ripening time, honeysuckle variety Kamchadalka is considered a mid-season crop. The plant form is shrub. Active fruiting usually begins 3 or 4 years after planting the seedling.
The Kamchadalka bush produces large and medium-sized berries. The length of the fruit varies from 2.2 to 2.7 cm. The diameter of the berry reaches 1 cm. The fruits are elongated, oval in shape, tapering towards the apex.The skin is smooth, durable, and blue. A superficial white coating gives the berry a light blue tint.
The pulp of Kamchadalka honeysuckle consists of many fibers, but they are not felt when chewing the fruit. The taste of the berry is sweet and sour with a pronounced forest aroma.
The berries contain:
- dry substances – no more than 14.2%;
- acid – from 2.5 to 2.6%;
- sugar - from 5.4 to 7.9%.
Additionally, 100 g of pulp contains 52 mg of vitamin C, as well as up to 40 mg of vitamin B1. Kamchadalka berries are rich in minerals that help strengthen blood vessels. The fruits are used for medicinal purposes by people with high blood pressure. In folk medicine, honeysuckle is known as a tonic and diuretic.
Kamchadalka inflorescences consist of two small flowers with yellow petals. Flowering time lasts only one day. The Kamchadalka bush is not spreading and of medium height. The dense crown forms a cone shape. The height of an adult bush is about 1.5 m. Young shoots are short and quite powerful green in color. The leaf shape is an elongated oval. The color of the leaf blade is pale green.
The video provides an overview of the Kamchadalka honeysuckle variety:
Pollinators
The cultivated honeysuckle turned out to be self-sterile. In order for the bush to give birth, pollinators of other varieties are planted nearby. Great for:
- Parabelskaya;
- Cinderella;
- In memory of Gidzyuk;
- X.
The Roxana variety is a good pollinator, as is Tomichka.From the reviews of gardeners, good fruiting in Kamchadalka is observed if the Blue Spindle honeysuckle bush grows nearby.
Features of fruiting
The ripening of Kamchadalka berries begins in the third ten days of June. The yield from one adult bush does not exceed 1.2–1.8 kg. Occasionally, a well-developed bush can bear up to 3.5 kg of fruit. The Kamchadalka harvest can be stored for a long time. The berries are universal in purpose. The fruits are eaten fresh, prepared into jam, wine, juice, and frozen.
A feature of the fruiting of the Kamchadalka variety is the uneven ripening of the berries. Harvesting has to be done 2-3 times. Productivity does not depend on weather conditions. The bush consistently produces damage in cold, hot and stormy summers.
Problems with growing the Kamchadalka variety are observed only among residents of the southern regions. The warm climate creates favorable conditions for repeated autumn flowering. Berries often have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather, but the quality of bud formation for the next season is greatly deteriorated. The second problem is winter thaws in the southern regions. Kamchadalka quickly reacts to the appearance of heat by awakening the buds. Severe frosts that hit after a couple of days supercool the established fruit buds, and in the summer the bush may not bear fruit at all.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Kamchadalka honeysuckle variety is appreciated on the positive side more by residents of cold regions, as an unpretentious and disease-resistant plant that bears tasty berries.
The following points stand out from the advantages of Kamchadalka:
- frost resistance;
- large fruits that do not fall off the bush when ripe;
- decorativeness of the bush;
- ripe berries do not fade, remaining juicy and fresh.
The disadvantage of the Kamchadalka variety is considered to be the average yield and uneven ripening of the berries. The fruits come off the stems poorly. Pollination in inclement weather is poor, resulting in lower yields. In the reviews there are tips from gardeners, which talk about the need to plant the Iksa honeysuckle bush almost right next to Kamchadalka.
Secrets of growing
Growing honeysuckle on your own plot is no more difficult than currants, but there are some peculiarities that need to be taken into account.
Landing dates
Honeysuckle seedlings can be planted in spring and autumn. However, Kamchadalka is characterized by early bud break. The optimal time for planting is still considered to be autumn. when the plant is in the dormant stage. In the south, Kamchadalka planting begins in the third ten days of September and ends in October. Gardeners in the northern regions individually determine the timing. It is optimal to plant a Kamchadalka seedling 2–3 weeks before the onset of frost.
Selection of location and soil
The Kamchadalka variety does not tolerate temperature fluctuations. Honeysuckle is best grown in areas where a temperate climate prevails. The bushes are planted in a bright area that receives sunlight during the day. It is advisable to provide protection from the wind by planting the plant near a fence or surrounding it with other berry bushes.
Kamchadalka is not suitable for high ground with dry soil. The bush may not bloom, but will constantly grow side shoots and foliage.Lowlands are optimally suited for the Kamchadalka variety, but the height of groundwater should not exceed 1 m from the ground surface.
The optimal soil acidity indicator is from 5.5 to 6.5. If the soil is very acidic, 30 days before planting a seedling, add 200 g of chalk or lime per 1 m2 plot.
Planting a bush
Planting honeysuckle seedlings of the Kamchadalka variety is carried out in the following order:
- The hole is dug at least 5 days before planting the seedling. Since one bush cannot bear fruit, at least three honeysuckles are placed nearby. A gap of 2 m is made between the holes for each seedling. The depth and width of each hole is 40 cm.
- The bottom of the holes is covered with a drainage layer of small stone or broken brick.
- Part of the hole is covered with black soil mixed with an equal amount of compost. About 1 kg of wood ash is added to the mixture. From mineral fertilizers, 50 g of superphosphate is mixed. If the soil is sandy, then larger holes are dug to accommodate a mixture of two buckets of black soil and three buckets of compost. At 1 m2 While digging the plot, you can add 5 kg of clay.
- The well filled with the mixture is generously filled with water.
- Before planting honeysuckle, a hill is formed from the soil at the bottom of the hole. The seedling is carefully placed on a hill, the root system is straightened along the slopes, and covered with loose soil. The root collar cannot be buried. After backfilling, the honeysuckle seedling is watered with water at room temperature. When the soil settles, top up, water again and fill with mulch.
Immediately after planting, the Kamchadalka honeysuckle seedling is not pruned. The shrub may slow down in growth and throw out inflorescences. Only damaged shoots can be removed.
Care
You can get a good harvest of honeysuckle only by providing the bush with proper care.
Watering
First-year honeysuckle seedlings Kamchadalka are watered regularly as the soil dries. The bush should take root well. Adult honeysuckle is watered a maximum of three times a month. The only exception can be drought.
Top dressing
Honeysuckle has enough organic matter for good development and fruiting. In spring, the bush is fed by adding 1 bucket of humus. In the fall, add 150 g of wood ash. Mineral fertilizers use nitrogen-containing preparations in early spring. During the snow melting, honeysuckle is watered with 1 bucket of water, where 1 tbsp is dissolved. l. urea. Before flowering begins, foliar feeding with Sortvorin or Aquarin is useful.
Trimming
Honeysuckle bushes are trimmed in the fall after the foliage has completely dropped. Adult plants are subject to pruning starting from the sixth year of life. The first step is to remove all root growth. Thick shoots with numerous flower buds are left on the bush. Only thin, damaged and elongated branches are trimmed. A second pruning may be necessary in the summer if diseased shoots with darkened foliage and dry flowers appear.
Protection from diseases and pests
Frost-resistant honeysuckle Kamchadalka is resistant to diseases. The main pests are aphids and honeysuckle flies. Spraying with an insecticide helps fight harmful insects. Rarely, foliage is affected by a fungal infection, as evidenced by dark spots on the foliage. A fungicide will come to the rescue; you just need to choose a drug that will have time to be neutralized before harvesting begins.
The blue berries of honeysuckle often attract birds.They protect the crop from feathered guests with nets. The bush is covered as soon as the fruits begin to turn blue.
Reproduction
Honeysuckle is propagated by seedlings. When purchasing, it is optimal to give preference to bushes of the second year of life. Such a honeysuckle seedling can be identified by its crown height of 30–40 cm and the presence of 2–3 branches.
The branches of a healthy seedling are flexible. The shoots should not be dried out, but the bark may peel off. This is fine. For honeysuckle, peeling of the bark is considered a characteristic of the plant. There should be live buds on the branches. A good honeysuckle seedling always has a developed root system.
Gardeners independently propagate honeysuckle by layering if mature bushes are already growing on the site. It is enough to sprinkle part of the branch with wet soil and make an incision in the bark. When the cutting takes root, it is cut off from the mother bush, and a new seedling is obtained.
Conclusion
Kamchadalka honeysuckle will truly delight you with a bountiful harvest if you follow the growing technology. Residents of the southern regions are better off finding other varieties, since the Siberian beauty may not live up to expectations in a climate unacceptable to it.
