Decorative curly honeysuckle: planting and care, photos, reviews

Curly honeysuckle is an ornamental vine with beautiful flowers in white, yellow, pink, orange and red hues. It is used for decoration in the form of hedges, on fences, arches and other structures. It is distinguished by ease of maintenance and fairly good winter hardiness, which allows it to be grown in almost all regions of Central Our Country.

Description of curly honeysuckle

This plant belongs to the category of climbing shrubs, reaching a height of 4-5 meters. Usually they are planted near fences and other supports, to which shoots cling. The leaves are dark green, ovate. Seedlings bloom in the third year of life. Curly honeysuckle flowers appear throughout the summer and early autumn (in the south – until October).

They are distinguished by a two-tone color – crimson on the outside, and yellow on the inside, with a pleasant aroma. The fruits are inedible red berries, formed already at the end of summer.

Curly honeysuckle has an average winter hardiness (zone 5), withstands frosts down to -25 ° C. Suitable regions for growing are:

• middle lane;
• the Volga region;
• Chernozem region;
• southern regions.

It is difficult to grow such a crop in the Northwest and very difficult in regions with severe winters (in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East).

Types of climbing honeysuckle

There are more than ten types of climbing honeysuckle, among which the most frost-resistant are common in Our Country. Description and photos of varieties suitable for growing in Our Country will help you choose the best option.

CapryPhil

Winter-hardy honeysuckle growing up to 6 meters.

Honeysuckle gives red-yellow flowers with a pleasant aroma

Closer to autumn, red berries form on the vine, which also decorate the site.

Brown

Another variety that grows up to 5 meters in height. Produces profuse orange and red flowers that appear over 3-4 weeks.

The Brown variety is highly winter hardy.

Hekrot

Liana up to 4 meters in height with tubular, very fragrant flowers of yellow and pink hues.

Hecrota does not form edible fruits, but blooms for a very long time

coverlet

Another winter-hardy curly honeysuckle. Differs in numerous bright flowers and interesting black fruits.

The coverlet is characterized by early flowering, which begins in May and lasts until July

Korolkova

An unpretentious variety of curly honeysuckle with light pink, delicate flowers. After flowering, which lasts two weeks, spherical fruits of a bright orange hue appear on the shoots, which ripen in early September.

Variety Korolkova grows up to 3 m in height

Tatarskaya

Low shrub (no more than 3 m) with abundant, highly branched shoots. Numerous flowers give a pleasant aroma.

Tatar honeysuckle is a good spring-summer honey plant, producing light honey and dirty yellow pollen.

Gerald

Evergreen curly honeysuckle, characterized by high winter hardiness. Gives small flowers of white and yellow shades.

This variety of honeysuckle is notable for the fact that the foliage does not fall even during wintering.

Alba

Curly variety with abundant white flowers. Used in landscaping design.

The variety is suitable for vertical and horizontal gardening.

Curly honeysuckle in landscape design

Since decorative honeysuckle belongs to climbing plants, it must be tied to a support and used in landscape design in such options:

• hedge – for these purposes, for example, honeysuckle is suitable;

  

• decorative arches in the center of the garden;

  

• green roof over the recreation area;

  

• decoration next to the entrance;

  

• green wall.

  

In garden design, climbing honeysuckle goes well with various perennials: undersized conifers, loosestrife, garden balsam, anemone and others.

It also looks great in single plantings on open, well-groomed lawns.

Honeysuckle and other climbing plants are often used in pergolas.

Planting and caring for climbing honeysuckle

For breeding, curly honeysuckle is purchased from trusted nurseries or stores. It is best to choose two-year-old seedlings with bare roots. They must be sufficiently developed, healthy in appearance, without external damage. Planted in the spring, when the snow has already melted, but the buds have not yet swollen.

Terms of planting

There are two main options when choosing landing dates:

1. Early spring, before the awakening of the kidneys, while they are not yet swollen.
2. Late autumn, when the main leaf fall has already passed.

You can choose any period. Many gardeners believe that it is spring planting that is best suited for most regions of Our Country. As for the southern regions, climbing honeysuckle can be planted here even in mid-October.

Where to plant curly honeysuckle

When choosing a place for planting honeysuckle, you need to pay attention to several points:

1. Climbing culture is very fond of bright sunlight, so the preferred place for it is an open, well-heated area.
2. The soil should be sufficiently fertile and light. If the soil is depleted, organic matter and mineral fertilizers must be applied during planting.
3. The soil reaction should be neutral – climbing honeysuckle does not like acidic soil. In this case, you can add slaked lime in the amount of 200-300 g per 1 m2 or wood ash in about the same amount.

Rules of landing

Planting technology for climbing honeysuckle is standard:

1. Clean up and dig up the area.
2. A landing pit is formed with a depth and diameter of about 50 cm.
3. A drainage layer of 10-12 cm is laid (you can take fragments of brick, crushed stone and other small stones).
4. Spread a mixture of garden soil with compost (in equal proportions), add 50 g of superphosphate and 200-300 g of wood ash.
5. If the soil is not very fertile, rotted manure can be applied.
6. Mix thoroughly and root the seedling. In this case, the root neck should remain on the surface, i.e. no need to go too deep.
7. Water abundantly and lay a layer of mulch from straw, peat, spruce branches or other materials at hand.

In the first season, a young seedling of climbing honeysuckle should immediately be tied to a support. Then it will go up in the right direction, which can be adjusted as needed.

Curly honeysuckle must be tied to a support (for example, to an arch)

Watering and feeding

In care, curly honeysuckle is not capricious, so a novice summer resident will be able to cope with its breeding. In the first season, it requires abundant watering – you can add a bucket every 10 days, and in hot weather – weekly. If it rains, additional watering is not needed. When a long drought occurs, water is given regularly, and the soil is also loosened and the seedling is sprayed.

As for fertilizers, it is not necessary to give them in the first season. Starting next year, it is recommended to fertilize regularly for lush flowering and confident growth. Fertilizers for curly honeysuckle are given three times per season:

1. At the end of March or at the beginning of April, a complex mineral fertilizer is applied, 2 tbsp. l. per 1 m2.
2. At the beginning of summer, 10-15 days before flowering, it is useful to add any organic matter, for example, an infusion of chicken manure.
3. At the end of August, 1 glass of wood ash (200 g) per 1 m2 is added to the soil. It will not only provide climbing honeysuckle with nutrients, but also prevent possible acidification of the soil.

This will provide the tree with trace elements and also protect the soil from drying out quickly.

Pruning curly honeysuckle

Usually, honeysuckle is pruned in early spring. To do this, take a pruner and remove all damaged, as well as dry, frozen shoots. It is also useful to carry out a shaping haircut, shortening all protruding branches by 1/3 of the length.

Honeysuckle easily tolerates such pruning – a bush can be formed annually by removing unnecessary shoots. A sanitary haircut is carried out as needed, and a stimulating one (removal of old branches) – once every 3 years, and only on adult plants (over 6 years old).

Wintering

Shrub varieties of climbing honeysuckle tolerate winter quite well and do not need special shelter. Creepers are less resistant to frost, so in late autumn they are removed from supports and laid on the ground and a large layer of straw, hay or spruce branches is thrown, and spandbond or other insulation is laid on top.

How to propagate curly honeysuckle

Decorative honeysuckle at home can be propagated in any convenient way:

• seeds;
• layering;
• division of the bush;
• cuttings.

One of the simplest methods that gives a good result is breeding by layering.

The procedure is started in the middle of spring, when the snow has completely melted, and at night the temperature will not fall below +5 ° C.

The algorithm is as follows:

1. They dig a small trench 10-15 cm deep.
2. One of the shoots is carefully bent to the ground and placed in this trench.
3. Fix with pegs and sprinkle with earth.
4. Water regularly to keep the soil moderately moist.
5. Feed along with the rest of the plant.

In autumn, ready-made layers are obtained, which can be carefully separated and transplanted to a permanent place (the root neck should remain on the surface).

Reproduction of curly honeysuckle by cuttings is also carried out in the spring. Several shoots 10 cm long with two internodes are cut, grown in a moist substrate under glass. A month later, a greenhouse is opened for constant ventilation, and in the fall they are planted in open ground.

Curly honeysuckle pollinators

Curly honeysuckle is a partially self-fertile variety. This means that they need to be cross-pollinated or they will produce far fewer flowers. Therefore, it is better to plant 3-4 honeysuckle of different varieties on the site, for example:

• Tatarskaya;
• Gerald;
• Telman;
• Alba and others.

You can plant not only decorative, but also fruit varieties. For example, grape honeysuckle will give not only creepers, but also delicious fruits.

Diseases and pests

Decorative curly honeysuckle copes well with diseases and pests, but can sometimes suffer from a strong aphid invasion. In this case, it is recommended to use folk remedies or insecticides, for example:

• a solution of wood ash or baking soda;
• infusion of onion peel;
• Biotlin;
• Karate;
• Confidor and others.

In rare cases, the liana is affected by various fungal infections, for example:

• ramulariasis;
• cercosporosis;
• powdery mildew.

You can identify them by external signs – various foreign formations appear on the leaves. These can be stains of a dirty brown color, “powdery” plaque, swelling, tubercles. At the first symptoms, climbing honeysuckle foliage should be fully treated with fungicides. Apply Bordeaux liquid, Maxim, Topaz, Fitosporin and others.

Powdery coating is a characteristic sign of a fungal infection of curly honeysuckle.

Conclusion

Curly honeysuckle is a good replacement for hops and other plants, which are significantly inferior in their decorative qualities. This is a lush, beautiful liana that will successfully fit into the design of any garden. The plant is characterized by undemanding care, so both an experienced and a novice gardener can grow it.

Reviews of curly honeysuckle