When to plant honeysuckle and how to care?

To date, it has become popular to plant different crops in the garden. It's no secret that vegetables and fruits from their own site have a huge amount of vitamins, because they do not have any artificial additives. And the harvest from your own farm is much cheaper than the purchased products.

Many gardeners are very fond of growing berry bushes in their garden . They are very versatile plants, because they not only look great against the background of the house, but can also be used as a hedge, and every year bring a delicious harvest. One of those bushes, gaining popularity in recent years, is honeysuckle. The berries of this plant are of high value, so every grower is interested in the question of when it is better to plant honeysuckle.

general information

As it turned out, only a few domestic gardeners have heard of honeysuckle and have at least some idea of this bush. The berries of this plant are very rich in various vitamins and microelements, and in its useful properties, honeysuckle significantly exceeds blueberries and blackberries.

However, honeysuckle, how to plant and care for which will be discussed further, is valued not only for its useful properties. Shrub has an extraordinary beauty, so it will perfectly hide all the shortcomings of the garden. In addition, honeysuckle can also be used in landscape design. Summer pavilions, twined by a bush, will look simply tremendously, and during flowering the plant will fill the air with a stunning sweetish smell.

However, for shrubs to always delight you, you need not only to know how to properly plant honeysuckle, but also to have an idea of the specifics of caring for it. After all, this depends not only on the beauty of the bush, but also on the quantity of the harvest, and the taste of the berries. With proper care, a good harvest is provided to you.

Ideal place for planting

Honeysuckle is a very unpretentious plant that perfectly adapts to any climatic conditions. However, so that the bush can get accustomed to a new place and grow strong, it is very important to choose a suitable place for its landing. So, where to plant honeysuckle? The plant feels best in open areas, which are covered by a large amount of sunlight.

In dark places, honeysuckle will not only grow more slowly and bring a smaller crop, but will also be more susceptible to various diseases. And on the places blown by the northern winds the bush will not only look unattractive, but it can also stop giving berries. Drafts have a detrimental effect on honeysuckle, so there must necessarily be other plants, a fence or some structures nearby. If there are none, then artificial canopies should be created.

Ground requirements

Honeysuckle, how to plant and care for which you learn a little later, does not have any requirements and preferences for the composition and quality of the soil. The bush perfectly grows even on poor ground. The plant is best planted on loose soil, which contains sand or clay.

It is not recommended to plant honeysuckle in wetlands, as high humidity can lead to decay of the root system and death of the plant. If there is a wetland in your region, it is very important to organize a reliable drainage system that can effectively remove excess moisture from the roots. And if the groundwater is very close to the surface, then it is necessary to plant bushes on high ridges.

A few words about the yield

If the honeysuckle is planted on favorable soil, then it will bring a decent harvest every year. As for the taste of berries, they depend on many factors. To the fruits were delicious and rich in vitamins, you need to take into account the botanical properties of the plant, and also to know at what distance to plant honeysuckle. Flowers shrubs are perfectly pollinated, so they should be planted near other garden plants.

Ways to plant honeysuckle

Growing honeysuckle can be done in several ways, however, there is no clear opinion as to which of them is better, because each gardener practices a certain method.

There are the following ways of growing a bush:

• Cuttings;
• Layering;
• Seeds;
• Seedlings.

The first two are more preferable, because in this case the honeysuckle takes root more quickly and begins to yield. However, despite this, most gardeners prefer to plant seeds. This is due to the fact that the seeds are very easy to find. The negative side of this method is that the taste of berries in this case depends very much on the quality of the planting material. Therefore, the best option is planting seedlings, which are well established and quickly begin to grow. About when to plant honeysuckle, you will learn further.

How to choose the right seedlings: general tips and recommendations

If you decide to plant seedlings, then you should consider their age when buying. Experienced gardeners recommend the use of biennial seedlings, in which from two to four branches about 35 centimeters in length. In addition, it is very important to pay attention to the root system. It should be well developed and healthy. It is also important to know when to plant honeysuckle. The thing is that the buds of this shrub begin to bloom very early, so that in the spring the plant pleased you with its fragrance and delicious berries, it is important to plant the seedlings in time. The optimal time for this is considered the beginning or middle of the autumn.

Experienced gardeners, who have long been engaged in the cultivation of honeysuckle, also fully adhere to this opinion. If you plant a bush in late September or early October, then it will be able to adjust to the type of soil and climatic features of your region and will overwinter well. Therefore, the answer is unequivocal: we plant honeysuckle in the fall.

The plant grows very quickly and a lush beautiful crown is formed on it, which can reach a diameter of two meters. Therefore, when choosing a site for planting, you should take this into account. It is not recommended to plant shrubs very close to each other, as this will negatively affect the yield and quality of the berries.

How to plant cuttings?

So, how to plant honeysuckle in spring seedlings, we figured out, so it's time to talk about the correct planting cuttings. The hole under them should be about half a meter wide and about 4 centimeters deep. In order for the stalk to become well established, the bottom of the well must be mashed with a substrate rich in nutrients. You can buy fertilizer, and make it yourself.

This will require:

• Humus or compost - 2 buckets;
• Potassium salt - 200 grams;
• Double superphosphate - 200 gr.

Or:

• Any organic fertilizer - 2 cups;
• Nitrofoska - 60 grams;
• Wood ash - one and a half cups.

Any of these substrates will require an amount to fill the well by about half. When it is cooked, the substrate is poured into the hole, after which it is covered for a few days, and only then you can start planting the cuttings.

How to plant honeysuckle in spring? The stalk should be very carefully placed in the well, gently spreading the roots in the substrate. It is very important that there are no air cavities in the fertilizer. Then the hole is filled with ordinary earth. It should not be very hard to compact the soil, because in time it will settle down. When the hole is covered, the plant should be thoroughly poured, and the ground loosened a little to ensure the flow of oxygen to the root system. The soil of the hole is covered with mulch. If these simple recommendations are followed, the stalk will be well established in the garden and will grow rapidly.

Tips for planting seeds

Since the seed method of cultivation is one of the most popular and used by most gardeners, it is very important to know how to plant honeysuckle in the spring.

A step-by-step landing instruction is as follows:

1. Wide capacities are prepared, which are filled with sand.
2. The soil is thoroughly watered with water, after which seeds are laid out on its surface, which should be sprinkled with a small layer of moistened sand.
3. When the landing is fully completed, the container is covered with a tight lid and sent to the refrigerator to the lowest shelf.

It is important to understand that the seeds germinate for a long time, so you can get the first harvest in about five years. In addition, the seeds need proper care. Once every 10 days, it is necessary to check the moisture content of the sand. If it has become completely dry, then watering should be done. In this case, do not drench seeds very much. It will be enough just to moisten the sand a little, so that it becomes 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 topped with a small layer of sand. After the transplant, the plant needs more intensive irrigation, however, do not be too zealous, as this can lead to decay of the root system.

Knowing how to properly plant honeysuckle in the spring with seeds is only half the battle, since it is very important to provide the plant with proper care. Containers tightly covered with a film and placed in the suburban area under the trees. It is best to choose dark places, protected from direct sunlight. After appearance of sprouts of honeysuckle, the film is removed and the plant is kept under open air.

When the sprouts slightly increase in size, they can be planted in the garden. It is recommended to make a small bed of a small size, and also to fence with planks. If planting is carried out in the autumn, then the soil is sprinkled with branches of coniferous trees or any other mulch that is at your disposal. This will slow the evaporation of moisture and protect the root system from frost.

Watering and top dressing

So, with that, when to plant honeysuckle, we have already decided, so it's time to talk about the correct watering and feeding the bush. The plant is very unpretentious in nursing, however, some features still exist. Every spring, it is necessary to make a hole in the well. In this case, you should be extremely careful not to damage the root system. Then the honeysuckle is fed and mulched.

All these procedures are mandatory for implementation during the first five years after planting the bush in the open ground. This is due to the fact that this is how much the formation of the root system takes. This is due to the lack of good harvests throughout the first years of plant life. But for the sixth year, honeysuckle will gain all its strength and will bring a large number of incredibly tasty and healthy berries.

Watering the bush is necessary often, but moderately. In an abundant amount of moisture the plant needs only in the beginning of spring, when the flowering period comes. With the onset of fruiting, watering should be done every day, and one bush requires at least a bucket of water. In arid and sultry months, the amount of water can be increased. With a lack of moisture, the shrub starts to produce much less harvest, and the taste of the berries deteriorates noticeably.

Answering the question when to plant honeysuckle, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer, since the shrub grows well, both in spring and in autumn planting. However, irrespective of the season, every year a solution of wood ash is poured into the plant, for preparation of which a liter of the drug is required per bucket of water.

As for top dressing, it is mandatory for honeysuckle. Spring top dressing is carried out before the appearance of the first foliage with the help of ammonium nitrate. In autumn, wood ash, superphosphate and compost are used. However, it is very important not to overfeed the plant, because an excess of fertilizers will adversely affect growth.

Work with soil and rejuvenation of bushes

Answering the question about how to plant honeysuckle in the spring, one can not ignore the equally important question of working with soil and rejuvenation. In order for the crops to be abundant, and the flavor qualities of the berries to be preserved, during the whole period of active flowering it is necessary to loosen the soil. This will saturate the roots with oxygen and prevent the drying of the soil. 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 frost, the holes are poured with mulch, from which the honeysuckle can bear even very severe frosts.

For normal growth and high yield it is very important to prune the 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 that pruning shrubs in early spring. If the honeysuckle is very old, then you can cut off all the branches, leaving only shoots, after which it is recommended to feed the plant.

Honeysuckle is an amazing plant that has a lot of advantages compared to other berry bushes. It is very easy to care for and perfectly suits any climatic conditions. In addition, the harvest of honeysuckle ripens earlier than other crops, and berries have a unique taste and therapeutic effect.