Contents
This culture has long belonged to decorative species. Summer residents planted shrubs on their site as decoration. Breeders have bred numerous species, including edible ones. Gardeners should carefully study the features and description of the Nightingale honeysuckle variety.
The Nightingale variety begins to bear fruit at the end of June
Description of the honeysuckle variety Nightingale
The main feature of this variety is that the Nightingale does not crumble berries, unlike other representatives. As for the appearance, this is a medium-sized plant, which is covered with a dense and lush crown. The green leaf plate has an oval-elongated shape.
During fruiting, light blue berries appear. They have an unusual shape that resembles a spindle. The weight of an average fruit can reach 100 g. Honeysuckle berries are covered with a strong skin. The pulp has a pleasant sourness and a delicate aroma.
The ovary of honeysuckle buds of the Nightingale variety begins at the very beginning of May, and the first harvest can be enjoyed in the last days of June. From one adult bush you can collect up to 2,5 kilograms.
Planting and caring for honeysuckle Nightingale
Honeysuckle is very popular among domestic gardeners because of its unpretentiousness and frost resistance. The shrub can be grown even in the northern regions. The main thing is to make the correct planting of seedlings.
Planting honeysuckle Nightingale in open ground is carried out in the autumn
Terms of planting
Plant seedlings are planted in the ground in autumn. This is due to the fact that the edible honeysuckle Nightingale begins the process of sap flow very early. Landing in open ground is carried out before it begins. The optimal period is the period from the last days of September to mid-October. As practice shows, the survival rate of the plant in this case reaches almost 100%.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Variety Nightingale is required to provide a well-lit place, but it must be reliably protected from the wind. As for the soil, it should be fertile loamy, in extreme cases – sandy loamy with sufficient moisture.
An excess of moisture should not be allowed, this can have a negative effect on the roots of the plant, causing them to rot. It is better if, before planting edible honeysuckle, potatoes and row crops grew in this place.
Rules of landing
A hole for honeysuckle seedlings Nightingale is dug to a depth of 0,4 m, diameter – 0,8 m. A little humus is laid in the hole, as well as a mixture of potassium sulfate, ash and superphosphate. All components are taken in equal quantities.
Mounds are made from this substrate, on which the plant is then carefully planted, not forgetting to straighten the roots. Then they fall asleep with earth and lightly tamp. At the very end, watering is done, a bucket of water is taken for each seedling.
Watering and feeding
The Nightingale variety grows well in a moist substrate; during the dry season, the plant must be watered before the soil begins to dry out. If this is not done, then the fruits will become bitter. It can also cause preliminary shedding of berries. If the season is rainy, then three watering events will be enough for honeysuckle.
As for the application of fertilizers, in the first year, the young honeysuckle shrub has enough nutrients that were added to the planting pit. The following year, you need to feed the plant with organic compounds. You can make a nutrient mixture yourself from nitrogen, urea and ammonium nitrate. This solution will help increase green mass and increase yields.
Trimming
Shrub pruning is done twice a year, this is done in early spring and after harvest. The step-by-step instruction looks like this:
- They cut off all the old, dry shoots from the honeysuckle, they also do it with broken, diseased branches and umbrellas.
- Remove improperly growing branches, they interfere with the penetration of light and air.
- I leave no more than 15 shoots, from which it is also necessary to remove the tops, leaving 5 buds on each.
After that, it remains to thoroughly weed the soil and eliminate the growth around the bush. As a result of pruning, the plant will not only acquire a neat appearance and a lush crown, but also significantly increase fruiting.
Autumn pruning is carried out only when fruiting is over.
Wintering
The wood and leaf buds of edible honeysuckle can survive even the harshest winters. They withstand temperatures up to -45 degrees. But the root system and flower buds resist frost at minus 40. That is why many summer residents do not cover the Nightingale variety for the winter.
The only exception is young honeysuckle seedlings, they need it. This is due to the fact that the plant does not have time to take root over the summer period. Covering material in the form of dry leaves will help reduce the risk of freezing.
Potassium fertilizer will significantly strengthen the immunity of an edible crop.
Reproduction of edible honeysuckle Nightingale
The nightingale honeysuckle shrub can be propagated in many ways. It is worth considering each option in more detail:
- By dividing the bush. An adult plant is dug up, the adventitious root is separated from it and planted in a separate hole.
- Cuttings. Several young shoots are cut from honeysuckle, each of them should have at least two buds. Then they root in a separate container and create greenhouse conditions. After the cutting gives rise to shoots and releases roots, it will be possible to transplant into open ground.
There is also a seed method, but it is more laborious and lengthy, so it is not so popular among summer residents. The aerial part of the plant develops extremely slowly. The fruits can be harvested 4 years after planting.
Honeysuckle Pollinators Nightingale
In fact, the Nightingale variety is self-fertile, so it needs third-party pollination. Experienced summer residents recommend planting the following types of honeysuckle near the shrub:
- “Morena”;
- “Blue Spindle”;
- “Blue bird”.
Diseases and pests
This plant has a fairly strong immune system, so the Nightingale variety perfectly resists many diseases. This also applies to pests, with proper care and some preventive measures, gardeners do not encounter such problems.
Inappropriate care and a bad season, for example, if it turned out to be a cold and rainy summer, can lead to the fact that the honeysuckle weakens, therefore it becomes the prey of various insects. Against this background, various fungal diseases appear, the most common:
- Brown spot. Spots appear on the foliage of the plant, painted brown. After some time, the disease leads to the fact that the greens begin to actively fall off. To fix the problem, the shrub should be processed. For this, Bordeaux mixture or the drug “HOM” is perfect.
Insecticides will help you quickly get rid of powdery mildew on honeysuckle
- Light gray spotting. The disease is expressed as gray spots on a leaf plate with a black border. Treatment is carried out by spraying the shrub with soapy water.
Gray spots appear on the leaf plate on both sides
- Powdery mildew. On the green mass of the Nightingale shrub, a characteristic white coating appears, which is visually similar to cotton wool. Get rid of the fungal disease “Chistotsvet”, “Thiovit Jet” or similar drugs.
White bloom on honeysuckle foliage – a sign of powdery mildew
Variety Nightingale may be attacked by pests. The most frequent guests on honeysuckle:
- striped sawfly;
- changeable sawfly;
- biennial flyer.
In the fight against harmful insects, chemicals are used. Aktellik, Fufanon will perfectly cope with the task. If you do not get rid of them in time, then they will destroy not only the greens, but also the fruits of honeysuckle.
Conclusion
Before planting a fruit-bearing shrub on a garden plot, you should carefully study the description of the Nightingale honeysuckle variety. Despite the fact that the plant is considered unpretentious, it still needs some care. But the reward will be a whole basket of tasty and healthy berries that can be consumed both fresh and frozen, so vitamins will be on the table all year round.