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Honeysuckle is a fairly common plant in the temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 190 wild species, but only a few of them are edible. All of them are distinguished by the dark blue or purple color of the fruit, but due to the bluish bloom they may appear blue. Red, orange and yellow berries are poisonous.
Recently, there has been an active creation of new honeysuckle crops, one of the most promising is the variety Daughter of the Giant.
Variety description
The daughter of the Giant is a hybrid of Turchaninov’s honeysuckle and the Bakcharsky Velikan variety. The cultivar was accepted in 2009 for the State Variety Test, and in 2017 it was included in the State Register.
TECH SPECS
Honeysuckle varieties Daughter of the Giant forms a rather large bush, reaching 8 m by 9-1,7 years, with an oval crown of medium density. In the first years, it grows slowly, and although it is considered early-growing, it gives a marketable crop no earlier than 5-6 years after planting. It differs from other varieties in that at the beginning of the growing season, young shoots have a crimson hue, which is commonly called anthocyanin.
Honeysuckle berries Daughter of the Giant are considered one of the largest today, on average 1,8-2,5 g. This difference is due to the heterogeneity of the fruits, which have a characteristic shape similar to an inverted comma or an elongated pear. Productivity – 3,1-3,5 kg per bush or about 10,2 tons per hectare. Under especially favorable conditions, up to 1 tons of berries can be harvested from 17 hectare.
The fruits of the Daughter of the Giant are dark purple, almost black in color, although due to the wax coating they may seem bluish. The taste is dessert, sweet, with a slight sourness, without bitterness. The berries are suitable for processing or freezing, with medium transportability.
Daughter of the Giant is a medium-late honeysuckle variety with extended fruiting. Harvesting is recommended to be carried out manually, in 2 stages. The berries are tightly attached to the branches and are classified as slightly crumbling (losses up to 20%), but come off easily and cleanly.
Pollinators
Edible honeysuckles are self-fertile. When only one variety grows on the site, even with the best care and favorable weather conditions, the bush will bloom profusely, but will give only a few berries. To get a bountiful harvest of honeysuckle, you need to plant at least 2-3 varieties nearby.
Flowers are pollinated by bees and bumblebees. There is no need to specially lure them – honeysuckle is an excellent honey plant and itself attracts beneficial insects to the site. The variety Daughter of the Giant is best grown next to the Bakcharsky Giant, Delight, Strezhevchanka.
Advantages and disadvantages
Honeysuckle berries Daughter of the Giant are by far one of the sweetest and largest. Their original form will not confuse this variety with others. The advantages of the variety include:
- Large-fruited and good taste – 4,8 points.
- Annual abundant fruiting.
- Honeysuckle berries are healing.
- Winter hardiness. The Giant’s daughter can withstand temperatures below -50 degrees without shelter.
- The variety is slightly crumbling, the berries are firmly attached to the branches, easily break off without damage.
- Durability – honeysuckle can bear fruit abundantly up to 30 years.
There are few disadvantages of the variety:
- Self-infertility.
- Slow growth of honeysuckle in the first years after planting.
- Uneven ripening of berries.
- Up to 20% of the honeysuckle crop falls off.
Accommodation on the site
Although honeysuckle grows best in its usual conditions – the Middle Lane, with the right approach, it will produce a crop even in the southern regions.
Selection of planting material
The best planting material for honeysuckle is 2-3-year-old bushes with a closed root system. You need to buy plants in nurseries – this way there is less chance of getting into a mess with a variety or even buying an inedible variety. Choose honeysuckle with 2-4 even branches and the same internodes.
Site selection and soil preparation
Good lighting of the site is the main condition for the cultivation of honeysuckle, otherwise the plant is surprisingly undemanding. Any soil will do, but fruiting will be weak on sandstones. The optimal acidity is 5,5-6,6 (slightly acidic soil), the permissible one is 4,5-6,5.
Honeysuckle should not be planted in lowlands and ravines – stagnant water and accumulation of cold air will prevent it from developing normally. For the Daughter of the Giant variety, manual harvesting is preferable, if mechanized harvesting is expected, select a flat area. In regions with strong winds, plantings need protection during flowering and ovary formation.
Planting pits 40x40x40 cm in size are prepared in advance, 1-2 buckets of organic matter are added to each (depending on soil fertility), 50 g of potash and phosphorus fertilizers. If necessary, the soil is deoxidized with lime.
Bush planting
Honeysuckle is not cut before planting, but only broken branches are removed. They are very fragile, this must be taken into account. The standard planting pattern for the variety is 1,5 m between plants, 2,0-2,5 m between rows. In industrial plantations, plants are placed closer to each other, and row spacings are made large. But you still need to take into account the habitus – the Daughter of the Giant variety has a tall and sprawling bush.
It is better to start planting in late summer or early autumn, as soon as the heat subsides. Then the honeysuckle will have time to take root, and in the spring it will immediately start to grow. The planting hole is filled with water, when the moisture is absorbed, a mound is poured in the middle, around which the roots are spread. The neck is deepened by 3-5 cm, the soil is covered, squeezed, watered and mulched with peat or humus.
Cultivation
Only young plants need attention. Adults need minimal care – honeysuckle is quite unpretentious.
young plant care
After planting, honeysuckle needs frequent and plentiful watering. The next day, the trunk circle is loosened – this prevents weeds from developing and provides the roots with oxygen.
If, during planting, the soil was well seasoned with fertilizers and organic matter, honeysuckle is not fed in summer and autumn. In the spring, growth processes should be stimulated by pouring 30 g of urea dissolved in 10 liters of water under each bush.
Care for an adult plant
In the third year, in addition to spring fertilizer, after fruiting on poor soils, honeysuckle is fed with a full mineral complex, and in the fall a bucket of organic matter is brought under the root. It is useful to put ash into the soil at the end of summer – 1 liter for an adult plant, 0,5 liter for a young one.
Further care consists in weeding, loosening and periodic abundant watering in the absence of precipitation.
Pruning and wintering
Honeysuckle Daughter of the Giant was created in the Tomsk region and tolerates temperatures below 50 degrees below zero. She does not need shelter for the winter.
The plant is not pruned until the age of 15, only dry and broken branches are removed. The daughter of the Giant has a sparse crown, but if the shoots descend to the ground or are directed inside the bush, they are cut as early as possible. Without access to light, they still will not give a crop, but they consume nutrients.
After 15 years, old branches are cut out at the base of the honeysuckle, and at 20, if the crop has fallen, the shrub is rejuvenated. To do this, remove all the shoots, leaving 15-20 cm. The branches will grow next spring and the honeysuckle will be able to fully bear fruit for another 5-10 years.
Methods of reproduction
Honeysuckle is expensive, so the question often arises whether it is possible to propagate it yourself. There are several ways to get young plants, but not all of them are suitable for amateur gardeners. This is shown in the table.
Breeding method | Complexity | Problems for lovers | Final result |
Seminal | Low | Seeds germinate very well | Due to cross-pollination, 80-90% of plants have no consumer value, as they do not inherit varietal characteristics. |
Green or woody cuttings | Average | They require a greenhouse or a greenhouse and constant care; with self-breeding, no more than 30% take root. | Inherits all varietal traits |
Horizontal or vertical layers | Low | When harvesting or loosening the soil, layers often damage | Inherits all maternal traits |
By dividing the bush | Low | You can only divide a young, well-grown bush | Takes root well and quickly bears fruit |
Growing problems
Honeysuckle rarely gets sick and suffers from pests. It can be attacked by aphids, leafworms or willow scale insects, which are fought with appropriate insecticides. Spraying should be carried out after harvest or use biological remedies.
Of the diseases, powdery mildew should be distinguished, which appears due to the proximity of infected plants, in rainy summers or during evening watering in cold weather. The bush is treated with Fitosporin or an appropriate fungicide.
It is possible to re-bloom honeysuckle, which reduces the yield of the next season. In private farms, the buds should be cut off by hand, and as early as possible.
