Content
- 1 Features of growing honeysuckle in Siberia
- 2 What varieties of honeysuckle are best to plant in Siberia
- 3 Planting and caring for honeysuckle in Siberia
- 4 Honeysuckle propagation
- 5 When does honeysuckle ripen in Siberia?
- 6 Diseases and pests
- 7 Conclusion
- 8 Reviews of the best varieties of honeysuckle for Siberia
Honeysuckle is perhaps one of the best berry bushes that can be grown in Siberia. In this territory, as well as in the Far East and Kamchatka, there are natural areas of distribution of this culture. Based on them, breeders managed to obtain new species that not only have excellent taste, but also are highly resistant to adverse weather conditions. The sweet varieties of honeysuckle developed for Siberia have become a real gift for gardeners in this region, because growing traditional berries in the Siberian climate is very difficult.
Features of growing honeysuckle in Siberia
The Siberian region has always been and remains a zone of risky agriculture.Severe frosts in winter, sharp temperature fluctuations in spring and autumn, early frosts and long droughts are not a complete list of unfavorable factors characteristic of the climate of this territory. In order not only to successfully grow edible honeysuckle in Siberia, but also to obtain a harvest of berries, the crop must meet the following conditions:
- Withstand prolonged temperature drops down to -40 °C.
- Have good resistance to return frosts.
- Be low maintenance.
- Have a short growing season.
Honeysuckle can produce a good harvest even in Siberia
To obtain varieties of honeysuckle with the necessary properties, breeders used Altai and Kamchatka species of edible honeysuckle. On their basis, scientists from different countries have bred and are bred various resistant varieties of this crop, suitable for cultivation not only in Siberia, but also in other regions with an unfavorable climate.
What varieties of honeysuckle are best to plant in Siberia
Quite a few varieties have been zoned for Siberia, since the breeding of edible honeysuckle suitable for cultivation in the conditions of this region was carried out at the state level. The reason for the increased interest in this plant is that traditional gardening in this area faces a lot of problems due to the harsh climate. But honeysuckle, which has good frost resistance and is practically disease-free, was supposed to become a replacement for berry bushes that are more demanding in this regard.
Here are several varieties of sweet edible honeysuckle, zoned for cultivation in Siberia:
- Berel. This is one of the early Siberian varieties of edible honeysuckle; the berries ripen towards the end of June. The average fruit size is 0.4-0.9 g.The berries are barrel-shaped, elongated, dark, blue-violet with a bluish bloom.
Berel honeysuckle bush is low, compact, medium spreading
- Viliga. A mid-early variety of honeysuckle, the berries ripen at the end of June. The bush is compact, compressed, and its height can reach 1.8 m. The shoots are powerful, straight, and pubescent. The berries are dark blue with a bluish waxy coating, oval-elongated, club-shaped, weighing up to 1.2 g. The yield from 1 bush can reach up to 2.5 kg. Shedding is weak. The taste is dessert, sweet with sourness, without bitterness.
The edible honeysuckle variety Viliga has excellent frost resistance and good drought resistance
- Leningrad giant. The variety got its name because of its large, up to 1.7 g, dark blue berries. They are fusiform, with a bumpy surface. The ripening of honeysuckle berries occurs from the beginning of July; it is slightly extended in time. The yield of the Leningrad Giant variety depends on care and is, on average, about 3 kg per bush, but with proper agricultural technology it can reach up to 5 kg. The berries are not prone to shedding. The taste is sweet, dessert, with a subtle sourness. The bushes of this variety of edible honeysuckle are wide-rounded, about 1.5 m high, and can grow higher. The width of the bush reaches 1.6 m. The shoots are powerful, green, and medium pubescent. The variety is partially self-fertile, but without pollinators a full harvest cannot be obtained. For this purpose, it is recommended to use honeysuckle varieties Gzhelka, Morena, and Blue Bird.
Early fruiting is good, the first berries can appear within 2 years after planting
- Moraine. Bushes of this variety of edible honeysuckle can grow up to 1.6-1.8 m. The crown is oval, medium-spreading, dense. The shoots are medium thick, flexible, green.The berries are pitcher-shaped, purple, with a dense bluish-blue waxy coating. Weight 1.5-1.9 g. Berries do not fall off. Each bush can ripen 1.5-2.5 kg of berries. The taste is sweet and sour, without bitterness.
Ripening begins in the second ten days of June and is slightly extended in time
- Nymph. This variety of honeysuckle is distinguished by its significant bush size; its height can reach 2.5 m. The fruits ripen at the end of June. Fruiting is uniform, the berries practically do not fall off. They are purple with a bluish coating, fusiform, lumpy. The taste is sweet, with a slight bitterness. 1-2 kg are harvested from 1 adult bush.
Shoots are straight, medium thickness, green, moderately pubescent
Important! The honeysuckle variety Nymph does not tolerate heat well. - Provincial. A honeysuckle variety of Russian selection, included in the State Register in 2005. The bush is low, slightly spreading, up to 1.2-1.4 m high. The shoots are straight, green, pubescent. The honeysuckle variety Provincialka is distinguished by large-sized fruits, the average weight of berries is 1.9-2.2 g. Ripening is slightly extended, occurring in the last ten days of June.
The yield from 1 bush is not very high and averages 2 kg
Of course, this is not a complete list of edible honeysuckle varieties suitable for cultivation in Siberia. More complete information can be found in specialized literature.
A description of several varieties of honeysuckle can be seen in the video:
Planting and caring for honeysuckle in Siberia
Honeysuckle, perhaps like no other berry bush, is suitable for growing in Siberian conditions. Due to its excellent frost resistance, it can be cultivated in various parts of this region.However, to obtain a good harvest of berries, you must follow certain care recommendations.
When to plant honeysuckle in Siberia
The best time to plant edible honeysuckle seedlings in Siberia is considered to be early spring and early autumn. At the beginning of the year, this can be done immediately after the ground thaws. In autumn you need to focus on local conditions. It is important that after planting the shrub has enough time to take root in its new location.
Seedlings in containers can be planted throughout the season
If the honeysuckle seedling is in a container and its root system is closed, then it can be planted in Siberia not only in spring and autumn, but throughout the entire season.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
In Siberia, when choosing a place to plant edible honeysuckle on a site, you must be guided by the following rules:
- Honeysuckle is a self-fertile plant. To obtain a harvest, it necessarily needs pollinators. Therefore, honeysuckle seedlings are not planted individually. In order for a good harvest to ripen on the bushes, it is necessary to plant at least 4 copies, placing them at a distance of 1.5-2 m from each other. Based on this, you need to plan the area of the land plot.
- The area should be well lit. In the shade, honeysuckle grows slowly and bears fruit much worse.
- It is advisable that the place be located on the south or south-east side of a building, structure or fence that protects the bushes from the north wind.
- The soil on the site should be loose and well-drained.
- Groundwater should not rise close to the surface.
The area on the south side of the building is perfect for honeysuckle
An interval of 1.5-2 m should be left between neighboring honeysuckle seedlings, since many varieties form a fairly extensive crown. It is advisable to prepare planting holes in advance. Their size depends on the root system of the plants. For Siberia, it is better to buy three-year-old seedlings with a closed root system; in this case, the size of the hole should be no less than the size of the container.
Rules for planting honeysuckle
Before planting honeysuckle seedlings, it is necessary to prepare a nutrient substrate with which the root system will be covered. To do this, the soil removed from the planting holes is mixed with humus, and phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizers are also added. It is advisable to add another 1-2 cups of wood ash under each bush. The easiest way is to transplant seedlings from containers into open ground. They need to be carefully removed along with a lump of earth and installed vertically in the planting hole. The resulting voids are filled with nutritious soil, compacting it.
If the root system of the seedling is open, then you must first pour a small earthen mound onto the bottom of the planting hole, and spread the roots along the sides. Then the hole is gradually filled with soil, periodically compacting it. It is necessary to ensure that the root collar, after filling the hole, is level with the surface of the earth. At the end of the excavation work, intensive watering of the root zone is carried out, after which it is advisable to mulch the surface with peat or humus. This will prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.
Watering and fertilizing
Many varieties of edible honeysuckle are sensitive to lack of moisture.The deficiency of atmospheric precipitation, which occurs in some areas of Siberia, negatively affects the harvest, and the issue of watering is especially acute during the period of ripening and filling of berries. However, you should not flood the plants. The average watering rate for each honeysuckle bush is 10 liters once a week; in hot weather this figure should be doubled. If precipitation occurs regularly and in sufficient quantities, then it is better to refuse additional soil moisture so as not to provoke root rot.
In summer, it is better to use organic matter to feed honeysuckle.
If fertilizers were applied when planting a honeysuckle seedling in the recommended amount, then the first year after planting no additional fertilizing is required. From the age of 2, the bushes begin to be fed annually according to the following scheme:
Time | Type of feeding and fertilizers used |
Early spring, before the growing season begins | Foliar, urea (35 g/10l of water) or root, ammonium nitrate (25g/10l of water) |
July, at the end of berry picking | Root, rotted manure or humus 10 kg for each adult bush |
September | Root, 25-30 g of superphosphate, 15-20 g of potassium salt for each bush |
Trimming
Honeysuckle grows quite quickly, and without pruning the bush will soon turn into a real jungle of intertwined shoots. To avoid this, it is recommended to periodically remove some branches. Here are the main types of pruning of edible honeysuckle:
- Sanitary. Conducted in early spring and autumn, before wintering. During this process, broken, damaged and dry shoots are cut out.
- Formative. This is done if the bushes also serve a decorative function.Shoots are pruned to maintain the plant in the required dimensions and to give it a certain shape.
- Thinning. Usually in Siberia it is performed in the fall. When carrying out this procedure, incorrectly growing, deep-growing crowns and thickening branches and shoots lying on the ground are removed. Weak, unpromising growth is also removed.
- Rejuvenating. Produced starting from 7-8 years of plant life. Old shoots begin to produce small growth, from which there is almost no harvest. Such branches are cut out, gradually replacing them with younger ones.
Pruning is one of the mandatory procedures for caring for honeysuckle.
How to prepare honeysuckle for winter in Siberia
As a rule, no special measures are taken to prepare honeysuckle bushes for wintering in Siberian conditions. This plant can easily withstand temperatures dropping to -35-40°C. The only exceptions are young seedlings and newly planted bushes; it is still recommended to cover them with fallen leaves or spruce branches for the winter.
Honeysuckle propagation
Like most shrubs, honeysuckle in Siberia can be propagated both by seeds and vegetatively. If it is necessary to obtain seedlings with the same characteristics as those of the mother plant, then the seed method is not used. Seedlings obtained from seeds, for the most part, do not retain varietal characteristics. Therefore, this method is used only for scientific purposes; mainly, it is used by breeders when breeding new varieties. Gardeners in Siberia use vegetative methods, which include cuttings, propagation by layering (air or root) and dividing the bush.
Honeysuckle cuttings are cut in summer from annual non-lignified shoots. The best time for cuttings is determined experimentally, depending on the maturation of the growth; it should remain green, but at the same time break well. Approximately this time falls on the second half of June. The cutting is a part of a shoot 12-15 cm long with one internode and a pair of leaves, the lower cut is made oblique, the upper cut is straight. The leaves located below the node must be torn off, and those located above must be cut in half to reduce moisture evaporation.
You can root cuttings directly in specially prepared moist soil, which contains peat and sand (1:3). The cuttings are planted at an angle of 45° towards the south, deepening to the middle of the internode. The bed or planting container is covered with glass or film and isolated from direct sunlight. In such conditions and while maintaining constant substrate moisture, the cutting forms its own root system, the formation of which will take from 2 to 3 weeks. Gradually the shelter is removed, first temporarily, and then completely. Cuttings rooted in the garden bed must be covered during the first winter and transplanted to a permanent place after a year.
Honeysuckle cuttings can be rooted in water and then planted in a substrate
Honeysuckle bushes that have reached the age of 8 years can be divided.In this case, the plant is completely dug up and cut into several parts, each of which should contain several healthy shoots with their own roots. In Siberia, this procedure is carried out in the fall, after the end of the growing season. The cuttings need to be rooted immediately.
Dividing a bush is a simple and reliable way to breed the desired variety of honeysuckle.
The same is done with honeysuckle root cuttings. The young shoots are cut off from the mother bush along with part of the root and planted in a new place.
To obtain aerial layering of honeysuckle, one of the side shoots is bent to the ground and covered with soil. Gradually the branch will take root and sprout its own shoots. After a year, the shoot can be cut off from the mother bush and transplanted to the desired location.
When does honeysuckle ripen in Siberia?
The earliest varieties of edible honeysuckle in Siberian conditions begin to ripen in the first half of June. These are varieties such as Caramel, Pushkinskaya, Violet. Medium-ripening varieties (Morena, Nymph, Fire Opal, Provincial) bear fruit from mid-June to the third decade. The latest varieties, for example, Yubileinaya, ripen in Siberia in early July.
Diseases and pests
In the vast majority of cases, edible honeysuckle in Siberia is not susceptible to diseases and pest attacks. Diseases most often appear in cases of serious violations in care, as well as due to poor-quality planting material. To avoid infection with fungal diseases, edible honeysuckle bushes are treated with Bordeaux mixture in early spring.Affected shoots are cut off and burned.
Treating bushes with Bordeaux mixture in early spring will perfectly protect against fungal diseases
Of the insect pests, honeysuckle in Siberia is most often attacked by aphids. These microscopic sucking insects feed on the juices of young shoots, literally clinging to them. Large colonies of aphids greatly oppress the plants; they begin to turn yellow, wither prematurely and drop their leaves.
Aphids are the most common garden pest
Honeysuckle bushes should be treated for aphids only after harvesting. To do this, you can use various insecticides, for example, Fufanon, Iskra or Inta-Vir. Infusions of various herbs, such as tansy or celandine, have proven themselves well as a means of treating honeysuckle against aphids.
Conclusion
The sweet varieties of honeysuckle developed for Siberia have become a real salvation for many gardeners, because traditional gardening in this region is fraught with significant difficulties. Every year the culture becomes more and more popular, not only in the Siberian region, but also in many others. Foreign countries have also become interested in growing edible honeysuckle, as evidenced by all the new varieties of foreign selection that appear on the market every year.
