High-yielding sweet honeysuckle Boreal Blizzard
Owners of home gardens, wanting to diversify the collection of plants and try something new, are increasingly paying attention to honeysuckle. Boreal Blizzard is a modern variety with edible berries and decorative appearance. This unpretentious plant has a number of nuances in agricultural technology that even a beginner can master.
The content of the article
Description of the variety
Boreal Blizzard Honeysuckle is popular in the USA, Canada, Japan and China, where the largest plantations of this plant in the world are located.
Origin and development, history of breeding
In 1998, Canadian breeders began a project to develop an edible honeysuckle variety. They took Japanese and Russian varieties as a basis. As a result, the most resistant to cold weather and the least demanding in care were selected.
After many years of experimentation, a series of varieties was obtained. One of the most successful is Boreal Blizzard, whose name translates as "Northern Blizzard".
Characteristics, description of appearance, taste
The bush grows up to 1.5 m in height, the shoots are upright, the crown shape is spherical and spreading.
The average weight of gray-ink berries is within 3-4.5 g, the shape is oval, slightly elongated. They are large-fruited in size - length 3-3.5 cm, in diameter - 1 cm. The pulp is juicy, dense, sweet taste.
Features of the use of this variety
The variety was bred in order to obtain edible berries with high taste.
Productivity and fruiting
Productivity is high, on average 4-5 kg per bush. Ripe berries are firmly attached to the branches and do not crumble.
Ripening period
The variety is late maturing, begins to bear fruit in the third year after planting. Berries are picked in July and early September.
Disease and pest resistance
The variety is resistant to powdery mildew. A plant with strong immunity and in the absence of mistakes in care does not suffer from diseases. Pest infestation occurs if preventive measures have not been taken.
Cold and drought resistant
The bush tolerates frosts down to -40 ° C without loss. Flowers are not damaged by spring frosts down to –8 ° С.
Honeysuckle is a moisture-loving plant. Prolonged drought has a negative impact on her condition.
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For which regions is best suited and demanding on the climate
The variety is suitable for cultivation in northern latitudes, where late flowering does not fall under return frosts. In the southern regions, the cultivation of honeysuckle is also possible, as it leaves late in the dormant period.
The main advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Boreal Blizzard Honeysuckle has the following benefits:
- long fruiting period;
- large and transportable berries with excellent taste;
- fruits practically do not crumble;
- high frost resistance.
No significant deficiencies were found.
What is the difference from other varieties and hybrids
Possessing a number of undoubted advantages, the variety popularizes honeysuckle as a type of garden plant, expands the regions of cultivation.
Owners appreciate it for the annual increase in yield, gradual ripening allows you to pick berries for 3-4 weeks.
Agrotechnics
In one place, under optimal conditions, honeysuckle grows for 30 years or more. The culture is considered unpretentious, but has a number of cultivation features.
Choosing a place in the garden and preparing holes
Honeysuckle adapts to a wide variety of soils, with a pH of 5-7. Any fertile wet area with good drainage will do; lowlands and flooded places are not suitable. The plant needs light all day long and protection from northerly winds. Planting at a distance of 2-3 m from buildings and other plantings will allow the bush to grow freely and not be in the shade.
The hole is prepared 12-15 days before planting. The depth is made 4-5 cm more than the earthen lump of the seedling. When choosing the diameter of the hole, it is taken into account that the plant needs space for the unhindered growth of the root system. With a high threshold of groundwater, drainage from broken bricks or fine gravel is poured onto the bottom.
Preparing for landing
For planting, annual specimens are bought in nurseries, including rooted cuttings. Signs of the right seedling:
- height 50-150 cm, 2-3 main shoots;
- roots are moist and well developed;
- no damage, cracks, build-ups and stains.
Before working with bushes with an open root system, too long shoots are shortened and soaked for 3-4 hours in Kornevin's solution or just water.
Important! Seedlings in a container do not require processing, they are planted throughout the season.
Ground requirements
The soil at the future site is prepared in order to provide the plant with an easy survival rate and a strong start for development. The work includes clearing weeds and introducing organic matter, followed by digging. With increased acidity, lime is added, and high-moor peat helps against alkalization.
Timing, scheme and landing rules
There are two terms for planting honeysuckle: in the spring in April-May and in the fall from September to October.
In spring, the optimal time falls at the end of the melting of the snow, when the earth is saturated with moisture, but has already dried up and warmed up. In autumn, the culture falls into a state of dormancy and planting is painless.
The holes are made at a distance of 1.5-2 m from each other. An interval of 2-3 m is observed between the rows. The soil from the pits is mixed with 100 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate and a bucket of compost.
Landing rules:
- the hole is filled by two-thirds with a soil mixture, a mound is made from it in the center;
- put a seedling, straighten the roots, the neck is 5 cm below the surface;
- fall asleep with the rest of the earth, periodically tamping;
- watered and mulched with compost, straw, grass cuttings.
A bush in a pot is planted by the transshipment method, which is not destroyed.
Growing features
Rooting of honeysuckle occurs within 2-3 years. The forces of the plant are spent mainly on the development of roots, so the ground mass grows slowly.
For cultivation in the Siberian climate or close to it, three-year-old seedlings are chosen. Pits are prepared in spring and planted in autumn, a month before frost. In the southern regions, a place in partial shade is more suitable for culture.
The nuances of care
The seedling is watered so that the near-stem circle does not dry out. Shallow loosening is required in combination with weeding. An adult bush needs 3-4 watering per season. In the fruiting phase, they are temporarily stopped.
Important! In heat or drought, the volume of water is increased, otherwise the fruits will be bitter, and the plant will weaken.
Top dressing begins at the age of 3-4 years. In spring, the root zone is mulched with humus, watered with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.At the beginning of the formation of the ovary, wood ash is sealed under the bush, 1-2 foliar dressing is carried out with microelements, for example, urea at a concentration of 5-10 g per 1 liter of water per plant - it improves the quality and size of the fruit.
Before preparing for winter, loosen with the addition of superphosphate and potassium salt.
At the age of 6-8 years, they start pruning. In the spring, dry and damaged branches are removed, in the fall - weak non-fruiting shoots. Anti-aging pruning is required 15-18 years after planting, when 8-10 of the strongest branches are left.
Pollinators
The cultivar is not self-fertile and requires cross-pollination from companions. On a site at a distance of no more than 20-25 m, 2-3 bushes of other representatives of the Boreal Beauty (Northern Beauty) or Boreal Beast (Northern Monster) series are planted.
Disease and pest control
Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology minimizes the risk of developing pathogenic organisms and pests. Errors in care and the wrong place, prolonged rainfall or drought lead to problems.
The most aggressive diseases:
- Ramulariasis is a gray-white spot on foliage in early spring. Further affects the peduncles and stems.
- Cercosporosis is a brown mark fungus with a red edging. The leaves dry up and die off.
- Razuha mosaic is a virus spread by a nematode or is already in the planting material. It causes the growth of deformed leaves from the side sinuses, due to which the bush thickens and stops development, the shoots weaken and dry out.
- Red-olive spot - formations on foliage, where fungal spores multiply, survive the winter in the ground when they fall.
Preventive measures include spring preventive treatment, timely removal of the affected parts of the bush. Suppress the reproduction of spores at any stage of development with the drugs Mancoceb, Tiovit, Fundazol, Bordeaux liquid.
The most dangerous pests:
- Leafworm - rolls the leaves and feeds on the juice, lays the larvae.
- Honeysuckle fingerfly is a fruit-eating caterpillar.
- Aphids - colonize on the underside of leaves with yellow-brown spots.
- Scabbard - affects the shoots, the fruits are tied firm and do not ripen.
- The honeysuckle mite is a small sucking parasite, the leaves eaten out by it curl and dry out.
During the season, the bushes are examined for the presence of pests and foci of infection.
If detected, spray with insecticides at intervals of 15-20 days. For culture, "Aktara", "Aktelik", "Confidor", "Fitoverm" are suitable.
Preparing for winter
Due to its increased winter hardiness, honeysuckle does not require shelter from frost. For insurance in the northern regions, young bushes are additionally mulched with a thick layer of foliage and covered with spruce branches.
Reproduction
Vegetative methods are suitable for reproduction.
Cuttings:
- after flowering, the young shoot is cut into pieces 10-15 cm long, so that there are 2-3 buds;
- the lower leaves are cut off, planted in a nutritious substrate, covered with jars or foil;
- kept at a temperature of + 25 ° C, watered as it dries and air the greenhouse;
- after rooting and the beginning of growth, they are planted in the holes.
Reproduction by layering:
- in June, the soil under the bush is dug up and loosened;
- strong annual shoots from the lower tier are fixed on the ground with a wire pin, deepening by 5-7 cm;
- watered as usual;
- in the spring they are cut off from the bush and transplanted.
In autumn, 6-7 years old honeysuckle is divided and several seedlings are obtained. The bush is dug up and cut into pieces so that each has a pair of shoots. The wounds are covered with garden varnish. They are planted using standard technology.
Harvesting
The berries ripen for a long time, so their collection takes several "approaches". The maximum yield occurs at 6-7 years.
How and when to collect
Ripe berries are harvested in mid-summer. They are plucked without stalks, placed in a shallow container or box. To speed up the process, the method of stripping from a bush is suitable, but these berries are used immediately and not stored.
The shelf life of honeysuckle in the refrigerator is up to five days. Delivers transportation over short distances without loss of quality, suitable for freezing and drying.
What can be the difficulties in growing
Sometimes after winter there are cracks on the bark - frost holes. Such branches are cut in the spring, the cuts are lubricated with garden var.
If there is only one honeysuckle on the site, then only a few pieces will be tied. For the ovary, 3-5 varieties are necessarily planted so that cross-pollination occurs.
Summer planting is dangerous with heat, which will negatively affect the plant. Under these conditions, the plant experiences stress and a lack of moisture, the root system develops with difficulty.
Tips and reviews of experienced gardeners about the variety
Experienced gardeners and gardeners recommend choosing varieties that are zoned for the area. You should not hope for a good harvest from bushes purchased by chance and of unknown origin.
It is more effective to plant honeysuckle in a curtain (a flower bed of several plants) so that insects better pollinate the bushes.
There are few reviews on the network so far, mainly discussing the quality of the berries.
Zulfiya, Ufa: “The variety has really large and sweet berries, but I would call the variety more industrial. I do not notice the characteristic aroma of honeysuckle. "
Roman S., Ryazan: “I landed in my village in the southern part. My variety clearly fell short of the declared characteristics of the size of the berries, the weight is about 3 g. But they are dense, transportability is good. Next year I will plant Beast next to me for the company. "
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Frost-resistant early ripening variety of honeysuckle "Lakomka"
Conclusion
The unpretentious honeysuckle berry has a pleasant taste, decorative appearance and moderate growth. The modern Boreal Blizzard variety is large-fruited, has no problems with shedding, and is suitable for widespread cultivation. Requires pollinating neighbors, a sunny place, adherence to the irrigation regime and rare spraying from parasites and diseases.