Wild edible honeysuckle is small, tasteless, and, when ripe, crumbles to the ground. True, it has a lot of useful properties and almost never gets sick. Back in 1935, Michurin recommended introducing honeysuckle into cultivation, but only in the second half of the 20th century did the first varieties appear.
They were neither impressive in size nor outstanding in taste. But as time goes on, the cultivars created in our century produce berries that can satisfy the most fastidious gourmets.
Description of the variety
Yugana is considered one of the newest varieties of edible honeysuckle. It was created in 2010 by the Bakcharsky Federal State Unitary Enterprise from the Kamchatka and Turchaninova species, and is now under state variety testing.
Specifications
An adult bush has a semicircular crown up to 1.5 m high and 1.9 m wide. Unlike most varieties, young shoots of Yugana are often covered with bristly hairs and are completely devoid of anthocyanin coloring.
The berries are dark purple, almost black, with a waxy coating. Their weight on average is 1.4 g, under especially favorable conditions - up to 1.8 g. The shape of the fruit resembles a jug with a thickening at the top, sometimes oval with a rounded nose.The taste of honeysuckle of the Yugana variety is dessert, sweet with a slight sourness, tasting score - 4.9 points.
The yield of an adult bush is 3.5 kg, maximum 6 kg. Yugana's berries are of medium ripening, can stay on the branches for up to one and a half months, and do not fall off. Only hand picking twice per season is recommended. The fruits withstand transportation well; after freezing, their taste remains almost unchanged.
Pollinators
Like other edible honeysuckles, Yugana is self-sterile. This means that to produce a harvest, it needs pollinators - other varieties planted in close proximity. Any cultivar can play this role, but the best suited are the Giant’s Daughter, Strezhevchanka, Bakcharsky Giant and Delight.
Advantages and disadvantages
Yugana is the newest variety, and one of the best today. Its advantages include:
- Good taste – 4.9 points.
- High winter hardiness - Yugana easily withstands frosts of 50 degrees, flowers - minus 7.
- Stable fruiting and high yield.
- Yugana resistance to diseases and pests.
- Large-fruited variety.
- The shape of the bush makes harvesting easier.
- Honeysuckle berries contain a large amount of useful substances.
- When harvesting, the fruits are not injured.
- The berries hold tightly to the branches and do not fall off for more than a month.
- Easy to care for.
- When frozen, the taste of the berries remains virtually unchanged.
- Yugana can bear fruit for 30 years.
The only disadvantage of the variety is the self-sterility characteristic of all edible honeysuckles.
Accommodation on site
In regions with a cool climate, honeysuckle feels great, takes root easily, and does not require special care. To do this, just choose the right place for it and plant it.
Selection of planting material
It is best to buy honeysuckle in late summer or early autumn from a trusted manufacturer. Choose a 2-3 year old seedling, with several straight branches and identical internodes. The roots should be flexible, not too cut, without signs of rot or black spots. Do not buy honeysuckle with cut shoots. Detachment of the bark is a species feature, and not a sign of disease.
Choosing a suitable location and landing
The main thing for successfully growing honeysuckle is to choose a sunny area, protected from strong winds. Any soil is suitable except sandstone - there the harvest will be poor. Due to possible stagnation of water and accumulation of cold air, you should not choose ravines or other lowlands for planting.
There are several different points of view regarding honeysuckle placement schemes. Planting is considered standard when a distance of 1.5 m is maintained between plants, and the rows are spaced 2 m apart. Obviously, such a scheme is not suitable for the Yugana variety. The bush, when it grows, will spread almost 2 m wide and will overlap the neighboring one, due to which:
- Inconvenient to harvest.
- Plants will interfere with each other, compete for nutrients and water.
- Crossing branches will not receive enough light and the harvest will decrease.
The Yugan variety will require more space - the distance between honeysuckle bushes should be at least 2 m, between rows - at least 2.5 m.
Planting holes are prepared with dimensions of 40x40x40 cm, a bucket of organic matter (humus or compost) and 50 g of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added to the soil. Too acidic soil is neutralized with dolomite flour or lime.
Unlike other shrubs, honeysuckle shoots are not shortened before planting - this can delay the entry into fruiting for at least a year. The plant is planted so that the root collar is buried 3-5 cm. The bush is watered abundantly and the trunk circle is mulched.
Growing honeysuckle
In northern regions and temperate climates, honeysuckle is a problem-free plant. It grows poorly in the south - it is uncomfortable in high temperatures, long summers and warm autumns.
Caring for a young plant
If fertilizers have been added to the planting hole, there is no need to feed the honeysuckle for the next two years. Only in early spring should you pour a bucket of water with dissolved ammonium nitrate or urea under each bush.
Throughout the season, the tree trunk circle is freed from weeds and loosened. Immediately after planting and in dry weather, water abundantly.
Caring for an adult plant
Properly planted honeysuckle in a suitable location does not require careful care. Starting from the third year, it should be fed three times per season. The schedule is shown in the table.
Top dressing | Deadlines | Active ingredients | Target |
First | Early spring, directly on the snow or immediately after it melts | Nitrogen | Help honeysuckle begin the growing season, provide it with the necessary substances for growing green mass and flowering |
Second | After fruiting | Complete mineral complex | Restoring the balance of nutrients after fruiting |
Third | End of summer, in the south – beginning of autumn | Phosphorus, potassium | Strengthening the plant before winter, laying down the nutrients necessary for next year's harvest |
Some gardeners fertilize honeysuckle with nitrogen in the spring, and in the fall pour a bucket of humus and a can of ash under the root.
Throughout the season, the bush needs regular weeding and loosening of the soil. In dry weather, honeysuckle is watered occasionally, using at least 2 buckets of water for each plant.
Pruning and wintering
Until the age of 15, honeysuckle does not need to be pruned; only broken or dry shoots are removed, as well as those lying on the ground or growing inside the bush. The oldest skeletal branches are then removed annually. If after 20 years the honeysuckle begins to yield poorly, it is cut off completely at a level of 15-20 cm from the soil surface - this can extend fruiting for another 10 years.
The plant does not need shelter for the winter. Honeysuckle tolerates frosts below 50 degrees.
Reproduction methods
For hobbyists, the best method for propagating honeysuckle is horizontal or vertical layering. A well-grown young bush can be dug up in the fall and divided into parts - if the root is not severely injured, new plants will quickly begin to bear fruit.
Fresh honeysuckle seeds germinate well, but the seedlings do not inherit maternal characteristics due to cross-pollination. This method of reproduction is of interest only to breeders.
You can root green or woody honeysuckle cuttings, but their survival rate in amateur farms is low. Even with the use of greenhouses and growth stimulants, about 20% of seedlings survive.
Problems during cultivation
Honeysuckle is disease resistant, but sometimes powdery mildew appears in cold, rainy summers.It can be easily controlled using appropriate fungicides. If the disease manifests itself during the ripening of berries, it is better to use biological products, for example, Fitosporin.
Pests prefer other plants to honeysuckle, but occasionally it is attacked by leafrollers, aphids or willow scale insects. To get rid of insects, the bush is treated with insecticides or biological products, such as Agrovertin, Fitoverm.
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