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Honeysuckle garden is grown because of the early and very useful berries. It is bred on the basis of edible species growing in the Far East, Western Siberia, China and Korea. In regions close to its natural habitat, the shrub needs minimal care. But recently, just as grapes are “moving” to the North, honeysuckle is being planted in the southern regions. And there the culture suffers from the heat, grows poorly and bears fruit. Adaptation to an unfamiliar climate continues, and the honeysuckle soil plays an important role in this process.
Edible honeysuckle is easily recognizable by its blue berries.
What kind of soil does honeysuckle prefer
In harsh climates, honeysuckle is an unpretentious plant that can tolerate some shading, frost and does not require special care. In the south, most varieties wither. Many gardeners attribute this to the composition of the soil, but they are only partly right.
In various, even very authoritative sources, one can find seemingly opposite recommendations regarding the preparation of a planting mixture for honeysuckle. Some advise adding lime or a large amount of ash to the pit, which in itself alkalizes the soil. Others claim that honeysuckle loves acidic soil.
In fact, the culture is very undemanding to the composition of the soil. The pH of the soil for honeysuckle varies in a wide range – 4,5-7,5, that is, it can have a reaction from medium acid to slightly alkaline.
Usually, residents of the North-West, Siberia, the Far East do not even think about its composition when planting honeysuckle in open ground. But southerners complain: honeysuckle does not grow well in black soil.
Chernozem is different. Yes, it contains a lot of humus and is highly fertile. But, for example, the richest in composition, loamy during rains turns into plasticine, and in drought it becomes hard as a stone and cracks. No wonder the inhabitants of the black earth zone also improve their soils.
The soil for garden honeysuckle should be loose, well permeable to air and water. Short-term wetting or drought should not disturb its structure.
And what happens when planting honeysuckle in black soil? Although the root of the culture is taproot, it is short – only 50 cm. And there are many lateral processes. During a drought, hardened and cracked soil literally tears thin fibrous roots. And during the period of rains or active watering, it turns into a heavy sticky mass, impervious to air.
This presents a problem not only for honeysuckle. Sometimes the owners, having brought pure loamy chernozem to the site, which is really the most fertile, believe that they have been deceived. And they don’t know what to do with the land. It is necessary to improve its structure from season to season. And honeysuckle simply suffers more than other crops, because it is absolutely not adapted to such soil conditions.
Loamy chernozem is the most fertile, but needs structuring
The structure of loamy chernozem can be improved by regular, once every few years, lime application. Or additives that increase soil permeability, such as humus and acidic peat, which has a fibrous structure.
Honeysuckle really grows better if one of the listed additives is present in the planting pit. But not because of the correction of acidity. Lime, humus and acidic peat improve soil structure. And this is of great importance for culture.
Soil composition for honeysuckle
The soil for garden honeysuckle should be well structured. To check if it needs improvement, you need to cut off a fertile layer of at least 10 cm with a shovel and throw it up. Carefully inspect the fallen layer:
- there is a whole pancake on the ground, from which several pieces bounced off on impact – a lot of clay;
- the formation completely crumbled – too much sand;
- the top layer of soil broke up into lumps of different sizes, grains, grains – a good structure.
Heavy clay soils do not pass moisture and air well. After watering and rain, a crust forms on the surface, water stagnates in the root area. For honeysuckle, this is unacceptable. This is what happens on fat black soils. That is why they are not suitable for growing crops.
Sandy soil dries out quickly, and nutrients are washed out of it. Water-soluble fertilizers go to the lower layers without having time to act.
If the soil is not suitable for the crop, you need to prepare a fertile mixture yourself. For honeysuckle, one of the options is suitable:
- humus and middle (black) peat in equal proportions;
- turf land, peat (sand), humus, proportions – 3: 1: 1.
On alkaline soils, it will be useful to add riding (red) peat to the planting pit. For acidic soils, good additions are ash or lime.
How to prepare the soil for honeysuckle
In the area of u50bu2bthe natural growth of culture, it is enough to plant a bush in ordinary soil in a sunny place. If the soil gets stuck, divert water or arrange good drainage. To improve fertility, a bucket of humus, XNUMX g of potash and phosphorus fertilizers are added to each planting hole. On well-structured, but poor soils, organics contribute XNUMX times more.
It is more difficult on too dense soils, including chernozems, as well as sandy loams. Here you need to dig a planting hole with a depth and diameter of at least 50 cm. It is better to replace the earth completely with one of the soil mixture options presented above.
On unsuitable soils, the planting pit is filled with self-prepared substrate
Tips from experienced gardeners
Gardeners-practitioners who grow honeysuckle in regions unfavorable for culture advise:
- When improving the structure of heavy soils, only coarse-grained sand can be used. The small one glues the earth together and will only aggravate the situation.
- It is impossible to simply mix the components when preparing the soil mixture. It is recommended to sift them through a large sieve, add fertilizer. And only then fill the landing pit. Many gardeners neglect this rule, and then they cannot understand what went wrong. For honeysuckle, the operation is of great importance.
- When sifting the components of the soil mixture, you can use the mesh from the old armored bed. It is installed on supports, peat, sand, humus, turfy soil are thrown. If large lumps come across, they can be immediately broken by hitting the flat with a shovel.
- Humus is taken by horse and cattle. Pig access to the garden should be closed. Bird droppings are suitable for liquid top dressing; they are not laid in the planting pit.
- If in regions with a cool climate honeysuckle is planted in a sunny place, then in the south the culture requires shading. It is already too hot for her there, and in direct sunlight the bush will try to survive, and there will simply be no strength left to set fruits. Well, if on the south side of the honeysuckle there is a tree with an openwork crown, there is a trellis, a trellised arbor, or a net is stretched with a climbing plant planted nearby.
The farmer talks about the autumn planting of honeysuckle and blueberries, and also shows the preparation of the soil mixture using a shell net:
Conclusion
The soil for honeysuckle should be fertile and structured. The culture is undemanding to acidity, it can grow with a pH reaction from 4,5 to 7,5. Soil unsuitable for honeysuckle must be removed from the planting hole and filled with a self-prepared mixture.