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Honeysuckle is a fairly common plant in the temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 190 wild-growing species, but only a few of them are edible. All of them are distinguished by a dark blue or purple color of the fruit, but due to a bluish bloom, they may appear blue. Red, orange and yellow berries are poisonous.
Recently, there has been an active creation of new honeysuckle crops, one of the most promising is the Daughter of the Giant variety.
Description of the variety
The daughter of the Giant is a hybrid of Turchaninov's honeysuckle and the Bakcharsky Giant variety. The cultivar was accepted in 2009 for the State Variety Test, and in 2017 it was included in the Russian State Register.
Specifications
Honeysuckle of the Daughter of the Giant variety forms a rather large bush, reaching 1.7 m by the age of 8-9, with an oval crown of medium density. In the first years it grows slowly, and although it is considered early-growing, it gives a marketable crop not earlier than 5-6 years after planting. It differs from other varieties in that at the beginning of the growing season, young shoots have a raspberry hue, which is commonly called anthocyanin.
The berries of the Honeysuckle Daughter of the Giant are considered one of the largest today, on average 1.8-2.5 g. This difference is due to the unevenness of the fruits, which have a characteristic shape similar to an inverted comma or an elongated pear. Productivity - 3.1-3.5 kg per bush or about 10.2 tons per hectare. Under particularly favorable conditions, up to 17 tons of berries can be harvested from 1 hectare.
The fruits of the Giant's Daughter are dark purple, almost black in color, although due to the wax bloom they may appear gray. Dessert taste, sweet, with a slight sourness, without bitterness. Berries are suitable for processing or freezing, with medium transportability.
The Giant's daughter is a medium late variety of honeysuckle with extended fruiting. Harvesting is recommended to be carried out manually, in 2 stages. The berries are tightly attached to the branches and belong to the category of poorly crumbled (losses up to 20%), but they come off easily and cleanly.
Pollinators
Edible honeysuckle is self-fertile. When only one variety grows on the site, even with the best care and favorable weather conditions, the bush will bloom profusely, but it will give only a few berries. To get a bountiful harvest of honeysuckle, you need to plant at least 2-3 varieties nearby.
Flowers are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. There is no need to lure them specially - honeysuckle is an excellent honey plant and itself attracts beneficial insects to the site. The Daughter of the Giant variety is best grown next to the Bakcharsky Giant, Rapture, Strezhevchanka.
Advantages and disadvantages
The berries of the Giant's Daughter honeysuckle are by far one of the sweetest and largest. Their original shape will not confuse this variety with others. The advantages of the variety include:
- Large-fruited and good taste - 4.8 points.
- Abundant annual fruiting.
- Honeysuckle berries are healing.
- Winter hardiness. The daughter of the Giant can withstand temperatures below -50 degrees without shelter.
- The variety is poorly shattered, the berries are firmly attached to the branches, easily break off without damage.
- Longevity - Honeysuckle can bear fruit abundantly for up to 30 years.
The variety has few disadvantages:
- Self-infertility.
- Slow growth of honeysuckle in the first years after planting.
- Uneven ripening of berries.
- Up to 20% of the honeysuckle harvest is crumbled.
Accommodation on the site
Although honeysuckle grows best in its usual conditions - the Middle Lane, with the right approach, it will yield crops even in the southern regions.
The choice of planting material
The best planting material for honeysuckle is 2-3-year-old bushes with a closed root system. You need to buy plants in nurseries - so there is less chance of getting into a mess with a variety or even buying an inedible variety. Choose a honeysuckle with 2-4 even branches and identical internodes.
Site selection and soil preparation
Good lighting of the site is the main condition for the cultivation of honeysuckle, otherwise the plant is surprisingly undemanding. Any soil will do, but on sandstones, fruiting will be weak. The optimum acidity is 5.5-6.6 (slightly acidic soil), the permissible value is 4.5-6.5.
You should not plant honeysuckle in lowlands and ravines - stagnant water and the accumulation of cold air will prevent it from developing normally. For the Daughter of the Giant variety, manual harvesting is preferable; if mechanized harvesting is supposed, choose a flat area. In regions with strong winds, planting protection is needed during flowering and ovary formation.
Planting pits measuring 40x40x40 cm are prepared in advance, 1-2 buckets of organic matter are introduced into each (depending on the fertility of the soil), 50 g of potash and phosphorus fertilizers. If necessary, the soil is deoxidized with lime.
Planting a bush
Before planting, honeysuckle is not pruned, but only broken branches are removed. They are very fragile, this must be taken into account. The standard planting scheme of the variety is 1.5 m between plants, 2.0-2.5 m between rows. In industrial plantings, plants are placed closer to each other, and the aisles are made large. But you still need to take into account the habit - the variety Daughter of the Giant has a tall and spreading bush.
It is better to start planting in late summer or early autumn, as soon as the heat subsides. Then the honeysuckle will have time to take root, and in the spring it will immediately start growing. The planting hole is filled with water, when the moisture is absorbed, a mound is poured in the middle, around which the roots are straightened. The neck is deepened by 3-5 cm, the soil is poured, squeezed, watered and mulched with peat or humus.
Growing
Only young plants need attention. Adults need minimal care - honeysuckle is quite unpretentious.
Young plant care
After planting, honeysuckle needs frequent and abundant watering. The next day, the trunk circle is loosened - this prevents weeds from developing and provides the roots with oxygen.
If during planting the soil was well filled with fertilizers and organic matter, honeysuckle is not fed in summer and autumn. In the spring, growth processes should be stimulated by pouring 30 g of urea dissolved in 10 liters of water under each bush.
Adult plant care
In the third year, in addition to spring fertilization, after fruiting on poor soils, honeysuckle is fed with a full mineral complex, and in the fall, a bucket of organic matter is introduced at the root. It is useful at the end of summer to embed ash in the soil - 1 liter for an adult plant, 0.5 liters for a young one.
Further care consists in weeding, loosening and periodic abundant watering in the absence of precipitation.
Pruning and wintering
Honeysuckle The Giant's Daughter was created in the Tomsk region and tolerates temperatures below 50 degrees below zero. She does not need shelter for the winter.
The plant is not pruned until the age of 15, only dry and broken branches are removed. The daughter of the Giant has a sparse crown, but if the shoots fall to the ground or are directed into the bush, they are cut off as early as possible.Without access to the light of the crop, they still will not give, but the nutrients are consumed.
After 15 years old branches are cut out from the honeysuckle at the base, and at 20, if the harvest has fallen, the rejuvenation of the shrub is carried out. To do this, remove all the shoots, leaving 15-20 cm. The branches will grow next spring and the honeysuckle will be able to fully bear fruit for another 5-10 years.
Reproduction methods
Honeysuckle is expensive, so the question often arises whether it can be propagated on its own. There are several ways to get young plants, but not all are suitable for hobby gardeners. This is shown in the table.
Breeding method | Complexity | Problems for amateurs | Final result |
Seminal | Low | Seeds sprout very well | Due to cross-pollination, 80-90% of plants have no consumer value, since they do not inherit varietal traits |
Green or lignified cuttings | Average | They require a greenhouse or a greenhouse and constant care, with self-breeding no more than 30% take root. | Inherits all varietal characteristics |
Horizontal or vertical layering | Low | When harvesting or loosening the soil, the layers often damage | Inherits all maternal traits |
By dividing the bush | Low | You can only divide a young, well-grown bush. | It takes root well and quickly enters fruiting |
Growing problems
Honeysuckle rarely gets sick and suffers from pests. It can be attacked by aphids, leafworms or willow scale insects, which are fought with appropriate insecticides. Spraying should be done after harvest or biological protection should be used.
From diseases, it is necessary to isolate powdery mildew, which appears due to the close location of infected plants, in rainy summer or during evening watering in cold weather. The shrub is treated with Fitosporin or an appropriate fungicide.
Re-flowering of honeysuckle is possible, which reduces the harvest of the next season. In private households, the buds should be torn off by hand, and as early as possible.
The Giant's daughter grows well in the Novgorod region. It is better to plant in the sun or in partial shade. In the shade, the berries will be more sour. Berries correspond to varietal characteristics.