What do we know about honeysuckle varieties?
Honeysuckle - sweet varieties
Sweet varieties of honeysuckle are often used by gardeners to grow this amazing and extremely useful plant in their plots.
The fruits of honeysuckle are eaten both fresh and processed. High taste characteristics allow the berries to be successfully used in cooking and homemade preparations.
The taste of berries depends on proper care of the plant. The shrub must be planted on a sunny, windless side away from buildings shading it. Swampy areas or close proximity to groundwater will reduce the yield and quality of the fruit. The plant does not like hills, so it is advisable to choose a flat area with light, fertile soil for it.
It is necessary to carry out weeding and hilling regularly, which will allow honeysuckle to grow freely without weeds and pests.
Important: The taste characteristics of berries are affected by watering and a sufficient amount of light.Water should be done regularly, otherwise the berries will be small and sour. To prevent the bush from becoming overgrown, it is necessary to cut off old and weak branches in the autumn, which take away excess strength from the plant.
If you follow all the rules of agricultural technology, honeysuckle will delight you with its tasty and sweet fruits. In order for the efforts spent to be justified, the choice of honeysuckle must be stopped at sweet varieties: Altair, Nymph, Roxana, Omega, Souvenir, Sibiryachka. Their fruits are considered dessert and have excellent taste characteristics. Before making your final choice, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with all the best varieties of honeysuckle to obtain the maximum berry harvest in your region.
Honeysuckle bitter varieties
Bitter varieties of honeysuckle grow mainly in northern regions, where there is much less heat and sunlight. This does not mean that the berry becomes less healthy, its composition simply changes. The content of vitamins, organic acids and other useful elements in fruits may vary depending on the variety and place of growth.
The sufficient presence of ascorbic acid in berries gives them acidity. Bitterness indicates that the berries contain tannins and glycosides.
Bitterness can be affected by weather conditions and the amount of moisture consumed by the plant. More bitterness will occur in dry conditions and lack of moisture.The following varieties have partial bitterness of berries: Izyuminka, Blue Spindle, Golubinka, Sirius, Nizhny Novgorod Rannyaya, Sinilga.
The taste of berries of these varieties depends on high-quality and timely watering. If there is a lack of water, the berries will have a pronounced bitterness. To avoid this — it is necessary to water the plant every two weeks, at least 3 buckets per bush.
There are also varieties of honeysuckle that always remain bitter. They are not affected by weather conditions or the frequency of watering. These include: Selena, Fire Opal.
The bitterness of such berries has healing properties and is used for metabolic disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Far Eastern honeysuckle - description
The description of Far Eastern honeysuckle will be useful to those who decide to plant ornamental plants. Far Eastern honeysuckle is distinguished by good winter hardiness and unpretentiousness. It can grow even on infertile soil and does not require special care.
Far Eastern honeysuckle has several varieties:
- Maksimovich. A medium-sized shrub rarely reaching more than 2 meters. Blooms with large purple-red flowers. At the end of summer, the bush is covered with red berries.
- Ruprecht. Spreading shrub about 3 meters. It has pale yellow flowers and, in autumn, orange-red berries. The variety is suitable for group planting as a hedge.
- Maaka. A tall shrub up to 6 m, blooming in early summer with fragrant large flowers. The flowers are initially snow-white, but later turn yellow. At the end of summer, bright red berries appear, which remain on the plant even after the leaves fall.
- Chamisso. Low-growing ornamental shrub about 1 meter in height. Honeysuckle is spherical in shape with small, neat leaves and pink-violet flowers. At the end of summer, red berries appear.
- Golden. Shrub up to 4 meters in height. It is distinguished by fragrant golden-yellow flowers, which are good honey plants. In autumn the bush is covered with red berries.
Long-fruited honeysuckle - cultivation
Growing long-fruited honeysuckle will bring a lot of pleasure, since the shrub is unpretentious. The shrub is low-growing, spreading with thin shoots. Fruiting occurs early - at the end of May. The berries ripen evenly and stay well on the branches until harvest.
The berries are blue, elongated with a slight tuberosity. The taste of the berries is sweet and refreshing.
The variety has good frost resistance, which allows it to be grown throughout central Russia. The variety is rarely affected by diseases and pests.
Light fertile soils with low acidity are suitable for growth. The quality of the fruit is practically not affected by the amount of sunlight, so a little shade is allowed.
Honeysuckle seedlings are best planted in the fall so that the plant has time to get stronger. For better growth in the spring, you can feed the honeysuckle with nitrogen fertilizers.
In order to be sure of the quality of planting material, you need to purchase seedlings from a nursery. The best growing conditions guarantee a healthy seedling without acquired diseases. Such planting material will definitely take root on the site and will delight you with high productivity.
Honeysuckle is a moisture-loving plant, so it is necessary to water the bush regularly. In order for moisture to be retained in the soil in sufficient quantities, it is necessary to mulch with dry grass or sawdust.
In autumn, preventive measures against diseases are carried out. To do this, the bush is treated with boiling water, urea solution or wood ash. Damaged branches are cut off.Long-fruited honeysuckle needs a pollinator plant. Chelyabinka honeysuckle is best suited for her, which needs to be planted for every 10 bushes.
Japanese yellow-variegated honeysuckle
Yellow-variegated Japanese honeysuckle is a climbing ornamental shrub up to 5 m. This variety of honeysuckle is evergreen with beautiful golden veins on green leaves. The number and clarity of veins will depend on how much time the plant spends in the sun. Honeysuckle blooms for a long time in the form of small white-yellow flowers.
Honeysuckle needs periodic pruning so as not to lose its shape.
At the end of summer, dark-colored berries appear, but even with good care, fruiting may not occur every year.
Due to the unusual color of the leaves, honeysuckle can be used as a hedge and when creating flower arrangements.
Tip: This variety is well suited for growing at home.When caring for a plant, you need to remember that its upper part should be under lighting and the lower part should be in the shade. Honeysuckle does not tolerate severe frosts, so it must be covered for the winter. At home, covering honeysuckle is not necessary. The main thing is that the ambient temperature is above 0°C.
Honeysuckle is a universal plant that can delight with its appearance, excellent taste of the fruit and beneficial properties that strengthen the body.