Today, planting various crops in the garden has become popular. It's no secret that vegetables and fruits from their own garden have a huge amount of vitamins, since they do not contain any artificial additives. And the harvest from your own estate is much cheaper than purchased products.
Many gardeners are very fond of growing berry bushes in their backyard. They are very versatile plants, as they not only look great in the background of the house, but can also be used as a hedge, and also bring a tasty harvest every year. One of these shrubs, gaining great popularity in recent years, is honeysuckle. The berries of this plant are of high value, so every gardener is interested in the question of when is the best time to plant honeysuckle.
General information
As it turned out, only a few domestic gardeners have heard of honeysuckle and have at least some idea about this shrub. The berries of this plant are very rich in various vitamins and minerals, andhoneysuckle is far superior to blueberries and blackberries in its beneficial properties.
However, honeysuckle, how to plant and care for which will be discussed later, is valued not only for its beneficial properties. The shrub has extraordinary beauty, so it perfectly hides all the shortcomings of the garden. In addition, honeysuckle can also be used in landscape design. Summer arbors entwined with bushes will look simply amazing, and during the flowering period, the plant will fill the air with an amazing sweet smell.
However, in order for shrubs to always please you, you must not only know how to plant honeysuckle correctly, but also have an idea about the features of caring for it. After all, not only the beauty of the shrub depends on this, but also the amount of the crop, and the taste of the berries. With proper care, a good harvest is guaranteed.
Perfect landing spot
Honeysuckle is a very unpretentious plant that perfectly adapts to any climatic conditions. However, in order for the bush to take root in a new place and grow strong, it is very important to choose a suitable place for planting it. So, where to plant honeysuckle? The plant thrives best in open areas with plenty of sunlight.
In dark places, honeysuckle will not only grow more slowly and bring less yield, but will also be more susceptible to various diseases. And in places blown by northern winds, the bush will not only look unattractive, but may also stop producing berries. Drafts have a detrimental effect on honeysuckle, so nearbythere must be other plants, a fence or some kind of building. If there are none, then artificial canopies should be created.
Ground requirements
Honeysuckle, how to plant and care for which you will learn a little later, does not have any requirements and preferences for the composition and quality of the soil. The shrub grows well even on poor soil. Best of all, the plant takes root on loose soil, which contains sand or clay.
It is not recommended to plant honeysuckle in wetlands, as high humidity can lead to rotting of the root system and death of the plant. If there is wetland in your area, then it is very important to organize a reliable drainage system that can effectively remove excess moisture from the roots. And if groundwater is very close to the surface, then you need to plant bushes on high ridges.
A few words about productivity
If honeysuckle is planted on favorable soil, it will bring a decent harvest every year. As for the taste of berries, they depend on many factors. In order for the fruits to be tasty and rich in vitamins, it is necessary to take into account the botanical properties of the plant, as well as to know at what distance to plant honeysuckle. The flowers of the shrub are well pollinated, so it is better to plant them near other garden plants.
Methods of planting honeysuckle
There are several ways to grow honeysuckle, however,there is no clear opinion which one is better, since each gardener practices a certain method.
There are the following ways to grow a bush:
- cuttings;
- layering;
- seeds;
- seedlings.
The first two are more preferable, because in this case, honeysuckle takes root faster and begins to produce a crop. However, despite this, most gardeners prefer to plant seeds. This is because the seeds are very easy to find. The negative side of this method is that the taste of the berries in this case is very dependent on the quality of the planting material. Therefore, the best option is to plant seedlings that take root well and quickly begin to grow. Learn more about when to plant honeysuckle.
How to choose the right seedlings: general tips and tricks
If you decide to plant seedlings, then when buying, you should consider their age. Experienced gardeners recommend using two-year-old seedlings that have two to four branches about 35 centimeters long. In addition, it is very important to pay attention to the root system. It must be well developed and he althy. It is equally important to know when to plant honeysuckle. The thing is that the buds of this shrub begin to bloom very early, therefore, in order for the plant to delight you with its fragrance and tasty berries in the spring, it is important to plant seedlings on time. The best time for this is the beginning or middle of autumn.
Experienced gardeners who have been growing honeysuckle for a long time,also fully agree with this opinion. If you plant a bush in late September or early October, then it will be able to adapt normally to the type of soil and climatic features of your region and will winter well. Therefore, the answer is unequivocal: we plant honeysuckle in the fall.
The plant grows very quickly and a magnificent beautiful crown is formed on it, which can reach a diameter of two meters. Therefore, when choosing a landing site, you should take this into account. It is not recommended to plant bushes very close to each other, as this will negatively affect the yield and quality of berries.
How to plant cuttings?
So, we figured out how to plant honeysuckle in the spring with a seedling, so it's time to talk about the correct planting of cuttings. The hole under them should be about half a meter wide and about 4 centimeters deep. In order for the cutting to take root well, the bottom of the hole must be smeared with a substrate rich in nutrients. You can either buy fertilizer or make it yourself.
This will require:
- humus or compost - 2 buckets;
- potassium s alt - 200 grams;
- double superphosphate - 200 gr.
Or:
- any organic fertilizer - 2 cups;
- nitrophoska - 60 grams;
- wood ash - one and a half glasses.
Any of these substrates will need such an amount to fill the hole approximately halfway. When it is prepared, the substrate is poured into the hole, after which it is covered for severaldays, and only then you can start planting cuttings.
How to plant honeysuckle in spring? The cutting should be very carefully placed in the hole, carefully distributing the roots in the substrate. It is very important that there are no air cavities in the fertilizer. Then the hole is covered with ordinary earth. In this case, you should not tamp the soil very hard, because over time it will sit down anyway. When the hole is filled up, the plant should be well watered, and the soil loosened a little to ensure the flow of oxygen to the root system. The soil of the hole is sprinkled with mulch. If you follow these simple recommendations, the stalk will take root well in the garden and will grow quickly.
Tips for planting seeds
Because the seed growing method is one of the most popular and used by most gardeners, it is very important to know how to plant honeysuckle in the spring.
Step-by-step landing instructions are as follows:
- Wide containers are being prepared and filled with sand.
- The soil is thoroughly watered, after which seeds are laid out on its surface, which should be sprinkled with a small layer of moistened sand.
- When the disembarkation is fully completed, the container is covered with a tight lid and sent to the refrigerator on the lowest shelf.
It is important to understand that the seeds germinate for quite a long time, so you can get the first harvest in about five years. In addition, the seeds need proper care. Once every 10 daysthe moisture content of the sand must be checked. If it has become completely dry, then watering should be done. In this case, the seeds should not be poured very heavily. It will be enough just to moisten the sand a little to make it wet.
After about 6 months, when the seeds germinate, the honeysuckle should be transplanted into larger containers. Sand during transplantation is replaced by garden soil, which is sprinkled on top with a small layer of sand. After transplanting, the plant needs more intensive watering, however, do not be too zealous, as this can lead to decay of the root system.
Knowing how to plant honeysuckle in the spring with seeds is only half the battle, as it is very important to provide the plant with proper care. Containers are tightly covered with a film and placed in a summer cottage under the trees. It is best to choose a dark place, protected from direct sunlight. After the honeysuckle sprouts appear, the film is removed and the plant is kept outdoors.
When the sprouts grow a little, they can be planted in the garden. It is recommended to make the bed small in size, as well as fence it with boards. If planting is carried out in the fall, then the soil is sprinkled with branches of coniferous trees or any other mulch that is at your disposal. This will slow down the evaporation of moisture and protect the root system from frost.
Water and fertilize
So, we have already decided when to plant honeysuckle, so it's timetalk about proper watering and fertilizing shrubs. The plant is very unpretentious in care, however, some features still exist. Every spring, it is necessary to hill the hole. In this case, you should be extremely careful not to damage the root system. The honeysuckle is then fed and mulched.
All these procedures are mandatory for the first five years after planting the bush in open ground. This is due to the fact that this is how much the formation of the root system takes. It is with this that the lack of good yields during the first years of the plant's life is connected. But in the sixth year, honeysuckle will gain all its strength and begin to bring a large number of incredibly tasty and he althy berries.
Water the bushes often, but in moderation. The plant needs an abundant amount of moisture only at the beginning of spring, when the flowering period begins. With the onset of fruiting, watering should be done every day, and at least a bucket of water is needed for one bush. In dry and hot months, the amount of water can be increased. With a lack of moisture, the shrub begins to produce significantly less yield, and the taste of the berries deteriorates noticeably.
Answering the question of when to plant honeysuckle, it is impossible to give a definite answer, since the shrub begins to grow well, both in spring and autumn planting. However, regardless of the season, every year the plant is poured with a solution of wood ash, the preparation of which will require a liter of the drug per bucket of water.
As for top dressing, for honeysuckle it ismandatory. Spring top dressing is carried out before the appearance of the first foliage with ammonium nitrate. In autumn, wood ash, superphosphate and compost are used. However, it is very important not to overfeed the plant, as too much fertilizer will negatively affect growth.
Working with soil and rejuvenation of bushes
When answering the question of how to plant honeysuckle in the spring, one cannot ignore the equally important question of working with the soil and rejuvenation. In order for the harvests to be plentiful, and the taste of the berries to be preserved, it is necessary to loosen the soil throughout the entire period of active flowering. This will saturate the roots with oxygen and prevent the soil from drying out. It is also very important to deal with weeds in a timely manner, as they interfere with the normal growth and development of the bush. At the end of autumn, before the first frosts, the holes are sprinkled with mulch, with which honeysuckle can endure even very severe frosts.
For normal growth and high yields, it is very important to prune damaged and diseased branches. In addition, every 10 years, rejuvenation is also mandatory, because without it, the quantity and quality of the crop will decrease significantly. Experienced gardeners recommend pruning shrubs in early spring. If the honeysuckle is very old, then you can cut off all the branches, leaving only the shoots, after which it is recommended to feed the plant.
Honeysuckle is an amazing plant that has a lot of advantages compared to other berriesshrubs. It is very easy to care for and perfectly takes root in any climatic conditions. In addition, the honeysuckle harvest ripens earlier than other crops, and the berries have a unique taste and healing effect.
