Honeysuckle is a genus of fruit shrubs that includes more than two hundred names. Many of them, due to their decorative qualities, can be successfully used in landscape design, but there are also those that are planted as a garden crop and, with proper care, bring an excellent harvest of tasty and healthy berries. We will describe in more detail what conditions should be created for the successful cultivation of edible honeysuckle.

How to care for honeysuckle

The spring period is a very important stage in the life of any plant, since it is at this time that the beginning of vegetation processes occurs, a set of green masses, formation of fruit buds, preparation for flowering and planting of fruits.

With regard to honeysuckle, the above is all the more important that the fruiting period of this berry bush is very early: some varieties ripen at the very beginning of summer, even before the first strawberry or strawberry appears on the bed.

Thus, it is in the spring that the owner of the garden plot is required to carry out the main set of works that will allow the honeysuckle to grow actively and successfully bear fruit.

Did you know? Not all types of honeysuckle are edible. Moreover, the famous “wolfberry”, which can cause severe poisoning, is the popular name for several types of shrubs, including Lonicera xylosteum, that is, the real Honeysuckle, or forest.

In particular, at the initial stage of the growing season, it is necessary:

• to carry out sanitary and anti-aging pruning of the bush, removing all diseased, frozen and interfering shoots, as well as shortening the main skeletal branches;
• water the plant to stimulate the formation of young shoots. At the later stages of the growing season, the honeysuckle will no longer need regular moistening of the soil, moreover, a tasty and healthy crop cannot be obtained if the berry shrub is often and plentifully watered during the period of fruit formation, but in the first months of spring, watering the crop is simply necessary;
• loosen the soil for a longer retention of moisture in it and remove weeds, which are a place of accumulation of pathogenic microflora and compete with the fruit crop for the feeding area. To solve the problem of loosening and weeding once for the whole season is possible with the help of mulching - now this method of soil care is gaining more and more popularity;
• to process the bush from diseases and pests, most of which are activated with the advent of spring;
• apply various types of organic and mineral fertilizing to the soil.

On how to properly fertilize the edible species of honeysuckle, it is worthwhile to dwell in more detail.

Seasonal features of top dressing bushes than to feed

Each experienced gardener understands well that the fertilizer application scheme for any cultivated plant involves not only strict adherence to the dosage of a particular product, but also the need to adhere to calendar dates when using a certain type of fertilizer - the plant's need for a specific nutrient can radically change during the growing season .

Video: feeding honeysuckle when ripening berries

Before, during and after flowering

Standard recommendations for spring feeding of honeysuckle for clarity can be presented in the form of a table:

As a general rule, it is better not to carry out active dressing directly during flowering and fruiting. An exception may be mildly acting humates, which improve soil fertility, but do not cause the plant additional stress or chemical burns.

Important! Best of all, honeysuckle absorbs fertilizers within two weeks before active flowering begins. If you do not miss this moment, the harvest will be plentiful and tasty.

For rooting young seedlings after planting

Young honeysuckle bushes in the first months after planting can not be fed, as this can cause burns to the fragile root system. Therefore, all the nutrients necessary for the plant should be applied to the soil directly during the preparation of the planting pit.

If this condition is met, fertilizer application can be forgotten for the next 2-3 years.

If the initial composition of the earth in terms of acidity and mechanical composition is suitable for growing a specific garden crop, the upper fertile soil layer extracted from the pit, on the advice of experienced gardeners, mix with:

• 20 liters of organic matter (compost or rotted manure);
• 50 g of superphosphate;
• 700 g of wood ash.

For good growth and branching

The element responsible for the active set of green mass plant is nitrogen. That is why it is very important to make preparations containing it in spring and it is strictly forbidden to use it in autumn: young leaves and shoots that appear on the bush at the end of the growing season do not have time to fully form before the onset of cold weather and still freeze in winter.

At the same time, honeysuckle spends a large amount of vitality on their growth, which, on the contrary, it is advisable to protect before plant frost.

However, it would be wrong to think that nitrogen is the only condition that ensures the active growth of the garden shrub. A powerful root system is also equally important for the formation of the aerial parts, and its strengthening and development, in turn, requires an element such as phosphorus.

Did you know? In order to distinguish an edible honeysuckle from a poisonous one, our ancestors used a simple but quite reliable method - they looked at the color of a ripe fruit. Blue or black berries can be eaten safely, but red and orange contain hazardous glycosides and other toxic compounds.

To increase the yield

The third, besides phosphorus and nitrogen, an important mineral, without which the normal development of any plant is impossible, is potassium. However, if nitrogen provides intensive vegetation specifically for new leaves and shoots, then potassium and phosphorus in the complex stimulate the formation of other parts - the root system, buds, flowers and ovaries.

For these reasons, it is potassium and phosphate fertilizers that are used individually or in the form of complex preparations, such as, for example, Agrofoska (unlike Nitrofoski and Nitroammofoski, this product does not contain nitrogen), they allow directing all Honeysuckle vitality is not for the formation of a huge lush bush, but for accelerated budding, mass flowering and the laying of a large number of fruits.

Types of fertilizers

Fertilizers are usually classified according to several criteria, but the most common is the division by origin, which can be organic or mineral.

Mineral

Mineral fertilizers are inorganic compounds in the form of salts of certain chemical elements that are necessary for the normal development of plants. Unlike organics, such tools allow you to act on the culture more directionally, getting exactly the result that the gardener needs.

Important! Mineral fertilizers act on the plant faster than organic ones and have, in comparison with organic matter, a wider spectrum of action.

Modern agriculture cannot be imagined without this kind of intensification and scientific approach, while the usual enrichment of soil with organic matter increases its fertility as a whole, but does not allow normalizing the yield of a particular agricultural crop.

In addition, the reserves of organic fertilizers are an exhaustible quantity, while the chemical industry can produce mineral additives in any quantities.

Mineral fertilizers, in turn, are simple and complex: the former contain only one element important for the plant (potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc.), while others are a kind of mineral cocktail. For example, the Nitrofoska mentioned above is a mixture in which three components are presented at once, namely, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Organic

Until the chemical industry was developed, people used various organics to increase the yield of their crops — plant residues, animal waste, sewage sludge, and other similar means.

As it turned out later, all these organic substances in the process of decomposition release exactly those minerals that are necessary for the development of plants - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, etc.

In addition, biological processes associated with the decomposition of organics are also accompanied by the formation of carbon dioxide, which stimulates photosynthesis in plants.

Finally, additional organic matter contributes to a more active development of soil bacteria and other microorganisms that feed on it, beneficially affecting the root system and helping it better absorb mineral substances from the soil.

For these reasons, no matter how convenient and cheap modern mineral preparations are, you can’t expect a good harvest without the additional use of organic fertilizers.

The main varieties of organics used in the feeding scheme of garden plants are:

• manure (cow, horse, pork, rabbit, nutria);
• bird droppings (most often chicken and pigeon, less often - goose and duck);
• feces (contents of cesspools);
• peat (high, lowland and transitional);
• silt (organic residues accumulating at the bottom of reservoirs);
• compost (rotted plant residues);
• siderates (stems of some annual and perennial herbaceous plants, mainly legumes);
• chopped bark and sawdust.

A separate group of fertilizers, which is not considered organic, although it has a biological origin, should include humus (soil-forming substances) and bacterial preparations (soil microorganisms that stimulate the development of the root system).

Folk recipes

In addition to classic organic and mineral fertilizers, unconventional products are sometimes used as a top dressing for honeysuckle, which are a kind of product of collective folk experience.

The most common product in this category is ordinary bread yeast. However, it should be noted that the use of yeast as a fertilizer for the garden has both supporters and opponents.

Yeast does not contain any nutrients for the plant - they only accelerate the decomposition of organics. At the same time, since this process involving yeast takes place in an unnatural way, the abnormally quickly enriched soil becomes impoverished just as lightning fast.

Many gardeners in spring add potato peelings or last year's tops under honeysuckle bushes. Our ancestors also noticed that starch, especially in combination with ash, stimulates both the powerful growth of young branches and the formation of larger and sweeter berries in plants such as honeysuckle, currants and gooseberries.

To extract the maximum amount of starch from the peel, you can also prepare an infusion.

For this cleaning, they are tightly packed in any container, poured with boiling water so that about 1/3 of the volume of water rises above the potatoes, and left for 2-3 days.

Then the liquid is decanted and used to water the bush. In the same way, you can use the water in which the potatoes were cooked.

Among other unusual ways of fertilizing honeysuckle, transmitted among the people from generation to generation, it is worth mentioning the use for these purposes:

• water after washing the aquarium;
• coffee grounds;
• sleeping tea.

Types of nitrogen fertilizers and application rates

Mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen are divided into four main groups, each of which, in turn, is represented by several drugs.

So, varieties of nitrogen fertilizers can be represented in the form of a table:

The rate of consumption of nitrogen fertilizer when feeding honeysuckle can be seriously adjusted depending on which particular preparation is used by the gardener. Accordingly, it is always very important to carefully read the manufacturer's instructions and strictly follow it.

There is another way, but it is only suitable for those who are well versed in chemistry and are able to calculate the amount of pure nitrogen in a particular fertilizer.

In this case, we can proceed from the needs of the honeysuckle in nitrogen, which are determined by the following standards:

Potassium

• Potassium performs a number of important functions in the life of plants, in particular:
• stabilizes the water balance, increases the endurance of the culture relative to the lack of moisture in the soil and air;
• improves metabolic processes in plant cells, including nitrogen and carbon (overfeeding with nitrogen with a lack of calcium leads to the accumulation of ammonia in the stems and leaves, as well as nitrates in the fruits);
• improves the taste of the fruit (violation of carbon metabolism - the first reason for the weak accumulation of sugar in the berry), and also enhances their aroma;
• increases winter hardiness of perennial crops (thanks to the same sugar);
• stimulates the processes of photosynthesis;
• activates the fermentation mechanisms;
• increases the plant's immunity to certain fungal diseases, in particular, rust, powdery mildew, rot;
• prevents the fruit from ripening prematurely - as a result, their chemical composition becomes more balanced (accelerated fruit production implies an excess of harmful phosphoric acid in the pulp).

The most common potash fertilizers are potassium chloride, potassium salt, potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, potassium magnesium sulfate (kalimagnesia), as well as potassium carbonate.

At the same time, preparations containing chlorine unsafe for the human body should be used in the fall - they are not used for spring and summer treatment. The standard need for honeysuckle in potassium is 15 g of pure substance per 1 m², the frequency of application is 1 time in 2 years.

Phosphorus in the spring for flowering

Phosphorus is no less important for honeysuckle than nitrogen and potassium. This element stimulates more active flowering, strengthens the root system, and also regulates plant respiration. Phosphorus is a source of fast energy, with a lack of which the shrub lags in development, loses foliage, delays the formation of the crop.

The most affordable phosphate fertilizer is superphosphate (normal or double). During flowering, the honeysuckle is enough to feed a working solution of this drug once at a concentration of 1 tsp. on 10 l of water. An alternative is ammophos (nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer), introduced into the soil in early spring at a concentration of 10 g per bush.

How to choose fertilizers for different varieties

The rules for feeding honeysuckle are the same for all varieties of this plant - with the caveat that we are talking about fruit rather than ornamental shrubs, that is, the ultimate goal is to obtain a large crop of large, sweet and, if possible, unrooted fruits, and not just decorate the garden .

Some adjustment of the fertilizer application pattern may occur depending on such factors:

• initial composition and condition (fertility) of the soil;
• climatic conditions in which the bush is grown;
• plant age, etc.

Features of the honeysuckle variety can only slightly affect the composition and dosage of top dressing. For example, the higher the initial yield indicators, the more intensive the feeding should be; for varieties prone to shedding fruit, you can slightly increase the dose of nitrogen fertilizers, etc.

Application Methods

Most often, honeysuckle is fed under the root, by watering with a working solution in which this or that fertilizer is previously diluted, or by the dry method - sprinkling the drug under a bush (urea, ash, etc.), mulching (peat), or planting it in the soil at the same time as digging (compost, green manure, manure).

In addition, foliar top dressing is also used - spraying the working solution on the sheet.

For this purpose, you can use standard mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, potash, phosphorus), for example, per 10 l of water:

• urea - 1 tbsp. l .;
• superphosphate - 1 tbsp. l .;
• potassium sulfate - ½ tbsp. l

But, as a rule, so-called microfertilizers are used for foliar top dressing, the purpose of which is to saturate the aerial parts of the plant with other chemical elements, in addition to the three main ones.

Among these drugs, mention may be made of:

The subtleties of spring urea top dressing

Urea, or urea, is the most common nitrogen fertilizer used in small household plots. It is necessary to introduce it, as we already know, exclusively in the spring, but this can be done in two different ways - in dry form, simply by sprinkling white granules similar to polystyrene according to the area of ​​the bush nutrition (inside the near-stem circle) or by preparing a working solution and then watering it with a plant .

The first method provides a more prolonged effect of the drug and, of course, is very convenient. The difficulty is that it can be used only in the very early spring, ideally even before the snow melts, so that melt water then gradually carries urea slowly dissolving into the soil.

If there is no snow under the bushes, but the ground is quite frozen, such an effect after warming will also be provided. Choosing the second method, urea must be dissolved in water independently. The standard concentration for honeysuckle is 20 g of the drug per 10 liters of water.

Did you know? Urea has a pronounced antifungal, bactericidal and antiseptic effect, so this drug is widely used in dentistry and some other branches of medicine.

If you increase the urea content in the working solution by about 30 times (500-700 g of the drug per 10 liters of water), from a nitrogen fertilizer such a tool will turn into a very effective insectofungicide - a drug against fungal diseases and harmful insects. To use it in this case is necessary not for watering, but for preventive or therapeutic spraying of the aerial part of the bush.

Is it possible to fertilize with manure

Manure is one of the most common organic fertilizers, the benefits of which are determined by a number of factors.

• In particular, manure:
• It contains a large amount of potassium and phosphorus, moreover, these elements are presented in a form that is most convenient for root system absorption
• rich in nitrogen, which penetrates the soil slowly and remains in it for a long time;
• is a source of magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, copper and other trace elements necessary for fruit shrubs;
• lowers soil acidity (thanks to calcium and magnesium);
• attracts earthworms, promotes the formation of humus and the development of beneficial microflora in the soil;
• in the process of decomposition, it emits carbon dioxide, which is necessary to improve the water and air permeability of the soil, stimulating photosynthesis and warming the plant in the cold period.

Given all these circumstances, manure is an excellent top dressing for honeysuckle, and the best time to use it is late autumn, when at the same time digging under the bush you can lay 10-15 kg of rotted organics.

Does honeysuckle love ash

Ash is a natural potash fertilizer, very loved by gardeners due to its accessibility and safety for shrubs and other plants. In addition to potassium, wood ash also contains other elements useful for fruit crops, in particular calcium, iron, and magnesium.

Ash also has a pronounced antiseptic effect, it is able to deter harmful insects and protect the plant from fungal infections. Due to the natural origin of top dressing, it is easily absorbed and rarely causes side effects, even in case of overdose.

Honeysuckle can be fertilized with ashes using the dry method, scattering powdered charcoal under the bushes in an amount of about 500 ml per plant, but you can use top dressing in an aqueous solution with the same dosage: the required volume of ash is simply poured with 3-5 liters of water and the resulting talker around the perimeter of the trunk circle.

Top dressing in the spring in the Moscow region

The natural habitat of edible honeysuckle are the regions of Siberia, Altai, the Far East, Japan, China and Korea, where the shrub is located in forest glades, the banks of reservoirs and the outskirts of marshes.

The central regions of Russia, including the Moscow Region, are suitable for growing honeysuckle, but still the local climatic conditions do not quite correspond to what the plant is adapted to. So, the winters in Moscow are less severe, but more damp and dank, which means that the honeysuckle bark can be heated up.

Snow falls in Siberia early and lies until spring, after which uniform warming begins. There is no rain in January, the air is cold and dry.

Under a dense snowdrift, the root system and honeysuckle fruit buds are completely safe, while snowless winter, which is normal for the Moscow Region, can lead to freezing of shrubs even in relatively small frosts.

Sharp temperature differences are no less dangerous for the culture., cooling after the thaw, especially in spring, when the fruit buds begin to wake up, after which they undergo unexpected stress in the form of severe frost.

Another feature of the Moscow climate is the sharp winds, which, due to the high humidity of the air, can cause more damage to the aboveground part of the plant than taiga snowstorm. Summer in the Moscow Region is longer, which positively affects the development of plants, but there are fewer sunny days, while honeysuckle is a photophilous culture.

All the described features indicate that in the Moscow Region the cultivation of unpretentious honeysuckle as a whole requires more thorough care of the plant, including the observance of the feeding regimen.

As for the rest, the fertilizer application procedure is standard, the correction should be made only for an earlier spring arrival - for example, if in Siberia dry urea can be scattered in the snow in late April, then in the Moscow region by this time the bush often enters the flowering phase.

Honeysuckle is a hardy and unpretentious culture, and therefore it is considered less demanding in care than related currants or gooseberries. But in order to get a good harvest, the bush needs nutritious and fertile soil, which means that you can not do without regular feeding. In this case, the gardener needs to know that for applying any fertilizer it is important to choose not only the right dosage, but also the right time, otherwise the drug can do more harm than good.