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The wild-growing edible honeysuckle is small, tasteless, besides, when ripe, it crumbles to the ground. True, it has a lot of useful properties and almost does not get sick. Back in 1935, Michurin recommended introducing honeysuckle into culture, 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 time goes on, cultivars created in our century produce berries that can satisfy the most fastidious gourmets.
Description of the variety
One of the newest varieties of edible honeysuckle is Yugana. It was created in 2010 by the Bakcharsky Federal State Unitary Enterprise from the Kamchatskaya and Turchaninov species, and is now undergoing 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 Yugan are often covered with bristly hairs and are completely devoid of anthocyanin coloration.
The berries are dark purple, almost black, with a waxy coating. Their average weight 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 spout. The taste of the Yugan honeysuckle variety is dessert, sweet with a slight sourness, the tasting score is 4.9 points.
The yield of an adult bush is 3.5 kg, maximum - 6 kg. The berries of Yugana have an average ripening period, they can stay on the branches for up to one and a half months, they do not crumble. Only hand picking twice a season is recommended. The fruits withstand transportation well; after freezing, their taste remains almost unchanged.
Pollinators
Like other edible honeysuckle, Yugana is self-fertile. This means that it needs pollinators to harvest - other varieties planted in the immediate vicinity. Any cultivars can play this role, but the Daughter of the Giant, Strezhevchanka, Bakcharsky Giant and Rapture are the best.
Advantages and disadvantages
Yugana is the newest variety, and today it is one of the best. Its advantages include:
- Good taste - 4.9 points.
- High winter hardiness - Yugan easily withstands frosts of 50 degrees, flowers - minus 7.
- Stable fruiting and high yield.
- Resistance of Yugan to diseases and pests.
- Large-fruited variety.
- The shape of the bush makes harvesting easier.
- Honeysuckle berries contain a large amount of nutrients.
- When harvesting, the fruits are not injured.
- The berries stick tightly to the branches and do not fall off for more than a month.
- Ease of maintenance.
- When frozen, the taste of the berries practically does not change.
- Yugana can bear fruit for 30 years.
The disadvantages of the variety include only self-infertility characteristic of all edible honeysuckles.
Accommodation on the site
In regions with a cool climate, honeysuckle feels great, takes root easily, does not require special care. To do this, it is enough to choose the right place for it and plant it.
The choice of planting material
It is best to buy honeysuckle in late summer or early fall from a trusted manufacturer. Choose a seedling 2-3 years old, with several straight branches and the same internodes. The roots should be flexible, not too cut, and free from rot or black spots. Don't buy pruned honeysuckle. Exfoliation of the bark is a specific feature, not a symptom of disease.
Choosing a suitable seat and landing
The main thing for successful cultivation of honeysuckle is to choose a sunny area, protected from strong winds. Any soil is suitable, except for sandstone - there the harvest will be poor. Due to the possible stagnation of water and the accumulation of cold air, you should not choose gullies or other lowlands for planting.
There are several different points of view regarding honeysuckle placement schemes. The planting is considered standard when a distance of 1.5 m is observed between the plants, and the rows are placed every 2 m.Obviously, such a scheme is not suitable for the Yugan variety. The bush, when it grows, will spread out in width by almost 2 m and will overlap the neighboring one, which is why:
- Harvesting is inconvenient.
- Plants will interfere with each other, competing for nutrients and water.
- Crossed branches will not receive enough light and the yield will decrease.
The Yugan variety will require more space - the distance between the honeysuckle bushes should be at least 2 m, in the row spacing - at least 2.5 m.
Planting pits are prepared with a size of 40x40x40 cm, a bucket of organic matter (humus or compost), 50 g each 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 by 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 with high temperatures, long summers and warm autumn.
Young plant care
If fertilizers have been added to the planting hole, you do not need to feed the honeysuckle for the next two years. Only in early spring should a bucket of water with dissolved ammonium nitrate or urea be poured under each bush.
Throughout the season, the trunk circle is freed from weeds and loosened. Water abundantly immediately after planting and in dry weather.
Adult plant care
Honeysuckle, planted correctly in the right place, does not need careful maintenance. Starting from the third year, it should be fed three times per season. The schedule is shown in the table.
Top dressing | Timing | Active ingredients | purpose |
The first | Early spring, directly in the snow or immediately after it has melted | Nitrogen | Help honeysuckle to start vegetation, provide it with the necessary substances for the growth of green mass and flowering |
The second | After fruiting | Complete mineral complex | Restoring the balance of nutrients after fruiting |
Third | The end of summer, in the south - the beginning of autumn | Phosphorus, potassium | Strengthening the plant before winter, laying the nutrients necessary for next year's harvest |
Some gardeners fertilize honeysuckle with nitrogen in the spring, and in the fall they 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 occasionally watered, spending at least 2 buckets of water for each plant.
Pruning and wintering
Until the age of 15, honeysuckle does not need to be cut, 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 honeysuckle begins to yield poorly, it is cut off completely at the 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 breeding method for honeysuckle is horizontal or vertical layering. A well-grown young bush in the fall can be dug up and divided into parts - if the root is not severely injured, new plants quickly begin to bear fruit.
Fresh honeysuckle seeds germinate well, but seedlings do not inherit maternal traits due to cross-pollination. This breeding method is interesting only to breeders.
Green or woody cuttings of honeysuckle can be rooted, but their survival rate in amateur farms is low. Even with the use of greenhouses and growth promoters, about 20% of the seedlings survive.
Growing problems
Honeysuckle is disease resistant, but powdery mildew sometimes appears in cold, rainy summers. It is easy to deal with it using the 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 affected by leaf rollers, aphids or willow scutes. To get rid of insects, the bush is treated with insecticides or biological products, such as Agrovertin, Fitoverm.
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