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More than 190 species of the plant of the Honeysuckle family are known. It grows mainly in the Himalayas and East Asia. Some wild species are found on the territory of the Federation. One of the newest early-maturing varieties is a shrub bred by the Tomsk enterprise “Bakcharskoye”: a detailed description of the Strezhevchanka honeysuckle variety, methods of its propagation, planting and care features.
Description of honeysuckle varieties Strezhevchanka
Edible honeysuckle (Lonicera edulis) Strezhevchanka belongs to the vigorous early varieties. A bush up to 180 cm high and 1,5 meters in diameter has straight spreading branches. The foliage is dark green, slightly matte. The grade is dessert, with high palatability. The plant blooms in May and continues to form buds for 15-20 days. The most abundant harvests can be expected from the fifth year after planting, and further for 3-5 years, depending on care. Then the yield starts to decline.
Record-breaking large berries, weighing up to 3 g, ripen abundantly and amicably, do not crumble. It is easy to collect them, since the arrangement of the branches is quite sparse, and the fruits are located at the very tips. They are covered with a wax coating, dark blue, almost black, spindle-shaped. Sweet and sour, juicy, thin skinned. They ripen in the first half of June. The yield of a bush on average reaches 2,4-2,8 kg of berries from a bush, and with proper care and a favorable climate, it can be up to 4,5 kg. The disadvantages of the variety include the impossibility of machine harvesting of ripe berries and poor resistance to transportation due to increased juiciness and thin skin.
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka is a standard crop that needs proper pruning
Planting and caring for honeysuckle Strezhevchanka
Like any other variety of honeysuckle, Strezhevchanka is unpretentious and very hardy. However, comfortable conditions are the key to a bountiful harvest, so you should follow the rules for planting and caring for it.
Ripe fruits become soft, very tender
Terms of planting
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka is an early ripe variety, awakening from sleep with the first warm days. Therefore, the best option would be autumn planting, at least a month before freezing temperatures. Specific dates vary by region. If in the northern and central regions of Our Country it is September, then in the southern regions, landing can be done until October-early November.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Wild varieties of honeysuckle prefer sunny, open areas near forests and water bodies:
- old clearings and burnt areas;
- forest glades and meadows;
- edges and outskirts of overgrown swamps;
- banks of rivers, lakes, streams, damp ravines.
Tolerates shrub and light shade. Therefore, when preparing a landing site, it is worth considering the natural features of honeysuckle. For honeysuckle Strezhevchanka you need:
- open, maximally illuminated place;
- protection from wind and drafts;
- well-drained soil.
The southern slopes of hills, areas near blank fences and walls of houses or outbuildings, open patios are perfect. Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka is undemanding to the composition of the soil. The following types are allowed:
- peatlands and gray forests;
- loam and alumina;
- chernozems and sandy loam;
- sod-podzolic and volcanic sand.
The acid-base balance of the soil, in which the plant feels comfortable, is also very wide – from 4,5 to 7,5 pH. Honeysuckle should be provided with a high content of minerals and nutrients.
Rules of landing
At the chosen place, it is necessary to dig a hole 40×40 in size and 50 cm deep. The edges must be strictly vertical, and the bottom must be even, horizontal. First, a drainage layer of turf, crushed stone, broken brick and pebbles 8-10 cm high is poured. Then a fertile soil mixture should be prepared by mixing 1-2 buckets of compost, a liter of ash, half a bucket of humus and 50 g of superphosphate into the selected soil. If the soil is too heavy, you can add baking powder in the form of sand. Pits should be prepared 1-2 weeks before planting.
If the seedling has an open root system, then the soil should be filled with a slide so that the root neck is on the surface, and the roots can be freely straightened. Then the bush must be carefully sprinkled with soil and slightly crushed by hand. If the plant is planned to be planted by transshipment from the pot, then the pit should be filled in such a way that the root ball stands on the ground without deepening the upper part – it should be level with the soil level.
Planted plants must be well shed with water and mulched with any convenient material, from chopped straw and agrofiber to peat, husks or mowed grass.
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka in the third year after planting
Watering and feeding
Proper care of the shrub involves regular watering, 3-4 times during the active flowering period, after harvesting and in the fall. Fertilization is necessary for 2-3 years after planting in the ground. Before flowering, fertilize with urea, and after harvesting, shed with a solution of mullein. Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka is especially sensitive to the presence of potassium and phosphorus in the nutrient substrate. Therefore, in the fall, it is necessary to fertilize the plantings with superphosphate and potassium salt.
Pruning honeysuckle varieties Strezhevchanka
It is best to form a crown using a standard method – this greatly simplifies the care and harvesting. Pruning should be done in late autumn, when the flow of juices slows down, starting at the age of six. Young apical shoots are not touched, since it is on them that the future crop is formed. For young plants, sanitary pruning is practiced, with the removal of dried, diseased, damaged branches. The old bush can be cut to the height of the trunk. Such rejuvenation allows you to give a second life to the plant and get full-fledged crops over the next years.
Wintering
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka does not need special preparation for winter. In autumn you should:
- it is good to shed falling asleep bushes;
- carry out pruning and top dressing;
- remove old foliage;
- loosen, renew the mulch layer.
Reproduction of edible honeysuckle Strezhevchanka
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka can reproduce in the following ways:
- cuttings. To do this, you need to choose strong shoots 2-4 years old, 14-18 cm long with several live buds. The top cut should be straight, the bottom cut at an angle. Remove the leaves, except for those that remain on top, cut them in half. Place vertically in light fertile soil, under a glass jar. After 2-3 weeks, the rooted cutting can be transplanted into open ground;
- division of the bush. It should be produced either in March or October. Dig up the selected bush on one side, cut off several branches along with pieces of the root, plant them for a permanent place of residence;
- layering. To obtain processes, the lower branches should be bent to the ground, fixed and dug. Fix the upper parts vertically with pegs. Shed with a root stimulator. When new shoots appear and grow, they should be carefully separated from the mother branch, leaving each piece with a rhizome, and transplanted.
Thus, from one honeysuckle bush Strezhevchanka, you can get 5-10 new plants per season.
Rooted cuttings of honeysuckle Strezhevchanka
Honeysuckle pollinators Strezhevchanka
To increase the yield, it is recommended to plant several varieties of honeysuckle side by side to ensure cross-pollination. Strezhevchanka reacts with a record number of berries in the presence of pollinators such as:
- honeysuckle Delight and Yugan;
- Bakchar giant;
- Daughter of a giant and Silginka.
To ensure pollination, one of the above species is enough for 5-6 bushes.
Diseases and pests
Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka demonstrates unique immunity to common shrub diseases. Therefore, the main care consists in preventive measures, including folk remedies:
- modern fungicides, sulfur, urea help well against fungal diseases;
- bacterial and viral infections are not terrible for a strong, healthy plant with good immunity;
- from aphids help treatment with alkaline solutions, ash, soda ash, laundry soap;
- spraying with iodine preparations, whey, infusions of tomato and potato tops, plants whose smell is intolerable to insects showed themselves well;
- if mass accumulations of insects are found that threaten honeysuckle plantings, industrial insecticides should be resorted to.
Honeysuckle bushes Strezhevchanka affected by aphids
Conclusion
The description of the honeysuckle variety Strezhevchanka, given by breeders, attracted the attention of gardeners. Despite the fact that the official tests of the variety have not yet been completed, Strezhevchanka honeysuckle has already proved itself in the most positive way. A tall bush with straight branches begins flowering in May, and the fruits appear in June-July. Honeysuckle Strezhevchanka gives very juicy berries, with a thin skin and a sweet-sour taste. They have high dessert qualities, it is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals useful for the body. Suitable for use in cooking, both fresh and processed.
