Honeysuckle(Lonicera), sometimes also referred to as drywood, is one of the most valuable garden climbers. It looks perfect on any supports, trellises or pergolas. It looks great against walls and on garden arbors. This climber can cover a fence, creating a beautiful wall of greenery, which will additionally silence our garden and protect it from the wind. What doescultivation of honeysuckle look likeand whichvarieties of honeysuckleare best for the garden?
Honeysuckle is one of the most beautiful flowering vines
Honeysuckleis a genus of plants belonging to the Drillaceae family (Caprifoliaceae). It can occur as a creeper, but also in the form of a shrub. A division is often introduced, calling the bushy forms dry trees, and the climbing forms - honeysuckles.
Honeysuckle - varieties
Honeysuckleblooms beautifully, depending on the variety, from late May to October. Honeysuckle flowers have a very distinctive appearance. They are tubular with lips curled outwards. They bloom in various colors: white, yellow, orange, red and purple-purple, and they smell beautiful in the evening hours. In the period from July to October, they develop fruits that are food for many birds.
These plants usually have green leaves, but there are alsovarieties of honeysuckleswith leaves of a different color .
Such a climber isJapanese Honeysuckle(Lonicera japonica) Aureoreticulata, which has yellow leaf innervation. It blooms white at first, then the flowers turn yellow. In turn, the same species in the variety Purpurea has purple leaf innervation throughout the summer, while in autumn and winter the entire leaves turn purple. It is also worth adding that this variety only partially loses its leaves for the winter, so it can be classified as semi-evergreen. When deciding to cultivate Japanese honeysuckle, however, you need to remember that it is quite sensitive to low temperatures and you should take this into account when selecting the position on which to plant it. "
" The fruits of most ornamental honeysuckles are not edible (usually slightly poisonous). Therefore, under no circumstances should we try to eat them. It is worth noting, however, that the genus honeysuckle (Lonicera) also includes the Kamchatka berry, also known as the honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea, syn.Lonicera kamtschatica), grown for its edible fruit. Its fruits are oblong, purple-blue, with a sweet and sour taste. They can be eaten raw or used in preserves. It is grown mainly as an amateur, and the cultivars Czelabinka and Siniglaska are usually planted on plots and in home gardens. Both are highly resistant to frost and drought, so they do well even in slightly neglected gardens. They bear fruit better in the presence of a pollinator, so it is worth having both of the above-mentioned varieties in your garden. "
Pomeranian honeysuckle grows perfectly in our climate
Honeysuckle - cultivation and care
Honeysucklegrows best and blooms most profusely in full sun and shade. It will cope with most garden soils that are neutral to slightly alkaline, but loamy, fertile and moist soils are best for honeysuckle.Growing honeysuckleis not successful in areas poor in humus, excessively drying or wet.
When to plant honeysuckles?
In garden stores and centers, honeysuckles are usually available as container plants. Climbers produced in containers can be planted throughout the growing season, but it is worth remembering that the species andvarieties of honeysucklewith seasonal leaves are best planted in autumn (on dry soils) and early spring (in any soils). ), while evergreen species are best planted in the spring.
Honeysuckle propagation
If we want to expand our garden honeysuckle collection at a low cost, we can reproduce them very easily. It is enough to make a layering from the mother plant.Honeysuckle propagationcan also be done by leaf cuttings in the period from June to July.
Cutting honeysuckle
Honeysuckle careis also correct pruning. Well, the most important thing is to trim a young plant that is poorly branching.We cut 1/3 of the length of the shoots. This will stimulate her to sprout more shoots, which will make her more dense. Thishoneysuckle cutis done for 2-3 seasons. Some species of honeysuckle, such as the Honeysuckle honeysuckle, bloom on last year's shoots, then it must be remembered that after the plant is formed, its cutting will be limited to removing only weak and damaged shoots. However, species flowering on this year's shoots, such as Japanese honeysuckle, are cut very early in spring.
What to do when a honeysuckle is stripped from the bottom?
Specimens that have been growing for several years may strip themselves from the bottom. Then you should perform a rejuvenatingcutting of the honeysuckle , which consists in removing the oldest shoots just above the ground.
Honeysuckles are most often sold in containers. Such plants can be planted throughout the season
Honeysuckle - diseases
In the cultivation of these plants, aphids may become the biggest problem, as they usually attack the youngest shoots, flower buds and leaves.They attack at the beginning of the season already in May, when the vines are then very unattractive and have few flowers. The fastest way to get rid of pests is to use a chemical agent (eg Decis 2.5 EC, Decis Ogród 0.15 EW, Pirimor 500 WG or another recommended for aphids). If we avoid the use of chemicals in the garden, it is worth reaching for the natural Agrocover preparation - an environmentally safe agent based on natural ingredients, which copes very well with aphids on honeysuckles. Plants planted in full sun are the most intensively attacked by aphids, so it is worth choosing somewhat shaded places for honeysuckles, so that they will not be so vulnerable to aphid attacks.
The cultivars rarely attacked by aphids includePointed Honeysuckle(Lonicera acuminata), which is an evergreen vine. The best place in the garden for him is one that is semi-shaded, as in full sun it can freeze during harsh winters. It also prefers a position sheltered from very strong winds.Cut honeysuckle at the beginning of spring because it blooms on this year's shoots.
Another species that is less frequently attacked by aphids isHenry's Honeysuckle(Lonicera Henryi), which is also an evergreen vine. It has beautiful dark purple-purple flowers. Its requirements are the same as those of honeysuckle. It is also worth addingJapanese honeysuckle(Lonicera japonica) to this group.
"Powdery mildew, which also often attacks honeysuckles, may also be troublesome in cultivation. When infected with this disease, a white-gray powdery coating forms on the leaves. It often appears on plants growing in partial shade where there is no drafts. To combat it, use fungicides (e.g. Topsin M 500 SC or other recommended).
The species least sensitive to mildew areBrown&39;s honeysuckle(Lonicera brownii), one of which is the most popular variety is Dropmore Scarlet. It has red flowers and, which is worth noting, is extremely frost-resistant.AlsoHeckrott&39;s honeysuckle(Lonicera heckrottii) and Pomeranian honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) are not very sensitive to powdery mildew. A very valuable variety of Pomeranian honeysuckle is Graham Thomas, which has strongly fragrant cream-yellow flowers and red fruit. It is also frost-resistant enough. It is also worth mentioning the Serotina variety, which has red-purple flowers on the outside and cream flowers on the inside, which also smell very intensely. The variety is also sufficiently frost-resistant.
Honeysuckles can also suffer fromleaf diebackandleaf blotchTo combat both these conditions, the following preparations will be useful: Discus 500 WG, Domark 100 EC, Score 250 EC. The list of preparations is longer, of course, but these three are suitable for combating both leaf blotch and dieback. "
MSc Eng. Katarzyna Bańcerowska
