2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Blue honeysuckle (lat. Lonicera caerulea) - berry culture; a representative of the genus Honeysuckle of the Honeysuckle family. Other names are blue honeysuckle, edible honeysuckle, edible blue honeysuckle, Regel's honeysuckle, Turchaninov's honeysuckle, Kamchatka honeysuckle. Under natural conditions, it grows mainly in forests, blueberry and shikshevy tundra, meadows and riverine zones in regions of the Northern Hemisphere with a temperate climate. Is a frequent visitor to private plots.
Characteristics of culture
Blue honeysuckle is an upright deciduous shrub up to 2-3 m high with a compact rounded crown and shoots covered with brown or yellow-brown cracking longitudinal stripes of bark. Leaves are green, opposite, elliptical or oval-oblong, up to 6-7 cm long. Flowers are regular, pale yellow, bell-shaped, collected in axillary inflorescences. The flowers are equipped with xiphoid or subulate bracts. The fruit is an oblong-elliptical berry of dark blue color with a bluish bloom.
The berries are eaten, they have a sweet-sour taste and a delicate pleasant aroma, somewhat reminiscent of blueberry. Blue honeysuckle blooms in May (until the leaves are fully developed), the fruits ripen in June. Blue honeysuckle is characterized by rapid growth and durability. Under natural conditions, honeysuckle is actively growing and gives good yields up to 100 years. Despite a powerful densely branched system, honeysuckle easily tolerates a transplant (regardless of age). Blue honeysuckle is frost-resistant, withstands frosts down to -50C. Flowers are not damaged by spring frosts.
The considered type of honeysuckle is early-growing, begins to bear fruit in the second year after planting. The peculiarity of the culture is the non-simultaneous ripening of berries and strong shedding, but the collection does not cause difficulties. A piece of polyethylene is spread under the bush and the bush is slightly shaken. The first few years, the harvest of berries is small, then it increases to 2-3 kg from one bush. It is important to remember that edible honeysuckle is self-fertile, and in order to obtain crops on the site, you must have a bush of 2-3 varieties.
The subtleties of growing
The yield of blue honeysuckle largely depends on the growing conditions. The location is preferably sunny, possible light partial shade. Soils are desirable slightly acidic or neutral, loose, with a rich mineral composition. Blue honeysuckle is moisture-loving, but it has a negative attitude to boggy and saline substrates. It also does not tolerate strongly acidic and poor soils; in such areas, large yields should not be expected. On dry soils, the berries become much smaller, and their taste also deteriorates.
Blue honeysuckle does not like thickening, the optimal distance between the bushes is 1.5-2 m. Between the bushes it is not forbidden to plant low-growth annual flower crops and greens. Planting of blue honeysuckle is carried out in the fall (late August - early October, depending on the region). The pits are filled with organic matter and minerals. When planting, the root collar is not buried, this can lead to a slowdown in development and podoprevanie. It is undesirable to shorten or cut off shoots during autumn planting; this procedure is carried out in early spring before the buds swell.
The first three years, young plants develop very slowly, and at this moment they need careful care, namely, frequent watering, top dressing (especially with urea or ammonium nitrate) and removal of weeds in the near-stem zone. Fertilizers are best used in dissolved form, for 10 liters of water - 30-35 g of urea. Fertilizers are applied from early spring to mid-June 1 time in 2 weeks.
Application
The fruits of blue honeysuckle are used in cooking. They are good both fresh and dried. Juices, compotes, syrups and preserves are prepared from honeysuckle berries. Also, berries can be frozen, and the value in this case remains the same. Blue honeysuckle is also suitable for ornamental gardening. The green foliage of the shrubs is in perfect harmony with the multi-colored flower crops that can be planted in the immediate vicinity.
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