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Some summer residents are faced with the fact that honeysuckle does not grow at all on the site, or the bush gives small growths, blooms poorly, or poor berry picking. After analyzing the developmental delays, gardeners correct the shortcomings with appropriate care or shrub transplantation.
Experienced gardeners have noticed that for a good harvest it is better if the honeysuckle does not grow in one row, but in a group.
Why does honeysuckle grow poorly
Unpretentious and cold-resistant culture is popular in the areas of the middle lane, as an early fruit and berry bush. Now many varieties of garden honeysuckle with different characteristics have been bred, which significantly expands the area of its distribution. At the same time, the species is considered a fairly new crop; all diseases and pests that can significantly slow down the development of a bush and reduce productivity have not yet been studied.
If edible honeysuckle does not grow well, several factors may be the cause:
- incorrectly selected landing site;
- unsuitable for the composition and structure of the soil;
- planting a single bush or group of plants of the same variety;
- lack of proper care of the culture;
- attempts to grow a cold-resistant crop originating from the Far East in the southern regions with a warm winter period;
- damage to the plant by birds, diseases or insects.
Popular problems why the honeysuckle bush does not grow well
A hardy fruit and berry shrub, falling into unsuitable conditions, grows with a noticeable lag. Growers analyze how they meet agrotechnical requirements and define new tasks in care.
Acquisition of productive varieties
Yield, size, texture and taste of honeysuckle berries depend on the particular variety. Their numbers have increased significantly in recent years. A feature of the new cultivars bred for the middle zone and other regions is the absence of shattering of berries. Fruits of various tastes – dessert, sweet and sour or with bitterness.
Varietal diversity
Honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated crop and gives a good harvest if 4-7 bushes of different varieties grow nearby on the site. An important condition for fruit set is the presence of pollinating insects, more often bumblebees and bees. Berries are sprayed at the beginning of flowering with a sweet solution: 2 tbsp. l. sugar or honey is diluted in 10 liters of water and sprayed on the bushes, attracting insects.
Site Selection
The development of honeysuckle depends on the location. The shrub grows well and bears fruit in a site open to sunlight and protected from constant harsh winds. Even partial shade affects the yield in areas with short and cool summers, since reproductive buds are laid in smaller numbers.
The berries of the well-known varieties Blue Bird and Blue Spindle, which have been growing in gardens for a long time, often fall off
An unpretentious shrub grows on several types of soil. The following characteristics are mandatory for the soil:
- subacid;
- well structured – loose and light;
- fertile.
Honeysuckle can tolerate short-term stagnant water, but does not grow in a wetland.
Care
The trunk circle of honeysuckle is mulched, protecting the bush from weeds and retaining moisture. In hot May and June, if it is noticeable that the honeysuckle does not grow up, water it 4-6 times with 20 liters of water under the bushes.
Top dressing is necessary, which for honeysuckle is done every 3-4 years in the spring – organic matter and nitrogen fertilizers. And in August, phosphorus-potassium preparations are introduced.
Timely pruning
On fertile soil at the beginning of summer, honeysuckle very quickly and rapidly forms shoots and thickens. Every year, an old bush over 5 years old is thinned out, completely removing the oldest trunks. Young shoots are left, fruit buds are created on them for the next season. After planting, only sanitary pruning is carried out.
Planting zoned plants
Gardeners have noticed that in the south, garden honeysuckle does not grow well. Many varieties bred for regions with long frosty winters soon die in the southern regions. In the thaw, honeysuckle quickly responds to an increase in temperature, the buds wake up, which, after the return of frost or cold rains, turning into ice, die. In the southern regions, zoned types of honeysuckle are grown with a long dormant period.
In the central and northwestern regions, high-yielding varieties grow well, created by scientists on the basis of the institute in Michurinsk, as well as bred in the Leningrad region. In the Volga region, zoned honeysuckle is distributed from a nursery in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which bears fruit with large berries. Among the Ural summer residents, varieties of the Chelyabinsk fruit and vegetable station are popular. Siberian gardeners grow seedlings from nurseries in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Far East.
Protection against pests and diseases
Among the pests of the crop, false shield and goldfish are often called. The overwintered larvae of the false shield feed on young leaves and tops of the shoots and leave behind honeydew. Spores of various fungi, especially sooty, settle on sticky leaf blades. In damaged leaves, nutrition is disturbed, which negatively affects the plant. The branches become brittle, the bushes do not grow, gradually dry out.
For the winter, false shields remain on the bark of plants
Another pest of shrubs is goldfish. The insect lays eggs in young stems, the larvae feed and grow inside the shoot. Because of this, wilting of the leaves is observed, then drying out of all apical shoots. There are no effective methods against insects. The peak of their development falls on the fruiting of the crop, when it is undesirable to spray the plants. Damaged shoots are removed, moreover, capturing most of the trunk.
The worst pest of honeysuckle is the golden brown beetle.
What to do if honeysuckle does not grow
Having determined the cause of the weak development of the plant, they select solutions to the problem:
- several carefully selected new varieties are planted to a single bush;
- if the bush does not grow well in the wrong area, it is easy to transplant, because the roots of the culture are fibrous, superficial, quickly take root;
- care includes regular watering and fertilizing when honeysuckle does not grow well in spring;
- trunk circles mulch if the bush grows in a sunny place;
- removing fallen leaves and spraying branches and trunks with fungicides prevent the development of diseases and insects.
From birds that peck not only berries, but also buds in winter or spring, because of which the shoots grow poorly, install fine-mesh nets
Conclusion
There are several reasons why honeysuckle does not grow on the site. An incorrectly planted bush is moved, new productive varieties are added, and pollination is provided. A well-groomed plant will delight with early berries.
