Sweet and sour medium early variety of honeysuckle "Gerda"

Gerda is one of the domestic varieties of early maturing honeysuckle. It is characterized by early maturity and pleasant, sweet and sour berry taste. The article will introduce you to the description of the variety, the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the peculiarities of pollination, planting, growing and harvesting.

Description of the variety of honeysuckle

Gerda - edible honeysuckle, bred by domestic breeders. The berries of this variety contain many useful substances, they are recommended to be used for anemia, colds and sore throats. Honeysuckle helps to strengthen the immune system and the full development of the circulatory system, has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and prevents the formation of tumors.

Origin and development, history of breeding

Variety Gerda is a kind of Kamchatka honeysuckle. Bred in 1987 by breeders of the Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia. M.A.Lisavenko as a result of pollination of the Blue Bird variety with a mixture of pollen collected from different regions of Russia.

Gerda has been on state variety testing since 1988, it is included in the state register of Russia in 1994.

Characteristics, description of appearance, taste

The bushes are compact, undersized (height no more than 1.5 m), with a sprawling crown of a spherical shape and straight, matte green shoots. The leaves are oblong-oval with a pointed tip, large, green.

Berries are oval in shape with a slightly elongated top, weigh on average 0.67-0.91 g, are covered with a smooth thin skin of blue-black color with a bluish-gray waxy bloom.

The pulp is tender, has a sweet and sour taste and a weak aroma.

Features of the use of this variety

Gerda berries are consumed fresh, frozen, dried, used to make jams, compotes, preserves and juices.

Leaves and branches are used in folk medicine, preparing medicinal infusions of decoctions from them.

Due to their decorative appearance, the bushes are used in landscape design to decorate a garden or local area.

Ripening period, yield and fruiting

Gerda is an early ripening variety. The bushes bear fruit from the second year after planting, but large volumes of berries are harvested only after 3-4 years.

The average yield is 38.6 c / ha or 1.7 kg / bush, the maximum yield is 76.7 c / ha.

Disease and pest resistance

The Gerda variety can infect phytoviruses and fungal diseases. Among pests, aphids, honeysuckle mites and scale insects are dangerous.

Cold and drought resistant

This is a winter-hardy variety - the bushes tolerate a drop in air temperature to -40 ... -50 ° C, but the buds die already at -8 ° C.

Gerda tolerates hot weather well, but if the drought occurs during the ripening period of the berries, additional watering is required for their growth.

For which regions it is best suited and what is the exacting climate

The variety is included in the state register for the West Siberian region. Due to its unpretentiousness to climatic conditions, it is allowed to cultivation in all climatic zones of the Russian Federation, except for the Far North.

The main advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The main advantages of the variety:

• drought and frost resistance;
• early ripening of berries;
• early maturity;
• unpretentiousness;
• decorative appearance of the bushes;
• universal use of fruits;
• pleasant taste;
• partial self-pollination;
• lack of tendency to shedding berries.

By the disadvantages of Gerda, the fruiting period is extended in time.

What is the difference from other varieties and hybrids

Comparison of Gerda with other early ripening honeysuckle varieties in the table:

Agrotechnics

To obtain a plentiful and high-quality harvest of honeysuckle, a number of conditions must be met, including the correct selection and preparation of the site and planting material, as well as providing the plants with proper care.

Choosing a place in the garden and preparing holes

For landing Gerds choose a well-lit place along a fence or other hedge that will protect the bushes from gusty winds. Plants are not planted in lowlands due to the risk of flooding - stagnant water in the soil leads to decay of the root system and the death of bushes.

Preparing for landing

For planting, one or two-year-old seedlings 0.5-1 m high are chosen without signs of disease or damage by pests, with smooth shoots and uniformly green leaves, giving preference to specimens with a closed root system - their roots are not overdried, which improves the survival rate of the bushes.

The land on the site is dug in advance, cleaned of plant residues and weeds, fed with manure or humus, superphosphate and potassium salt (10 kg, 30-60 g and 20-30 g, respectively, per 1 sq. M.).

Ground requirements

The variety prefers a loose, fertile, moisture-permeable soil with good aeration and weak or neutral acidity. The most suitable option is loam or sandy loam.

Timing, scheme and landing rules

Gerd's honeysuckle is planted in the ground from August to mid-October.

Landing scheme:

1. Dig planting holes in the prepared area with a depth of 30-40 cm and a diameter of 25 cm.The distance between the bushes should be 1.5-2 m.
2. Fill them two-thirds with fertile soil, form a small hill in the center.
3. Place a seedling on it and spread its roots.
4. Sprinkle the plant with earth so that the root collar is 3 cm deep or is at the level of the soil.
5. Water the plantings abundantly, pouring 10 liters of water under each bush.
6. Mulch the ground with humus or peat.

Features of growing and nuances of care

In the spring-summer period, watering is carried out every two days, pouring a bucket of water under each bush. Plants are not watered in autumn.

A day after watering or rain, the soil is loosened to improve the access of moisture and oxygen to the roots of the honeysuckle. At the same time, the soil is weeded, clearing it from weeds, which take nutrients from the soil and create high humidity.

Honeysuckle is fed in the spring with mineral fertilizers, in particular, ammonium nitrate at the rate of 30 g per one bush. In autumn, the variety responds well to potassium-phosphorus fertilizers (superphosphate, kainite).

To increase yields and prevent diseases and pests, the bushes are regularly thinned out, leaving strong and straight young shoots and removing weak, twisted, damaged and old ones (over 15-20 years old).Honeysuckle is pruned in early spring (March-April) or in late autumn (early October-November), before frost.

Reference. The branches are cut, leaving hemp 30-50 cm long.

Pollinators

It is partly self-fertile. To increase yields and improve the quality of fruits, suitable pollinators are planted nearby, which can be any varieties of Kamchatka honeysuckle, but the best ones have proven themselves: Assol, Chelyabinka, Kuvshinovidnaya, Cubic Zirconia, Slastena, Berel.

Reference. Growing nearby bushes of inedible honeysuckle provokes the formation of unsuitable fruits on Gerda.

Disease and pest control

Gerd's honeysuckle can affect:

Preparing for winter

At the end of autumn, the bushes are prepared for winter. For this, the earth in the near-trunk circle is mulched with horse humus. In the northern regions, plants are covered with spunbond or other covering material.

Reproduction

The method of seed propagation, due to its complexity, is used only by breeders. Gardeners propagate Gerda vegetatively: by cuttings or by dividing the bush.

For cuttings in the fall, from the middle of weakly bending or damaged shoots at an angle of 45 °, cuttings 7-12 cm long are cut and placed in a dry cellar or basement for storage. In May-June, cuttings are planted in prepared soil, deepening the highest bud by 0.5 cm.

The division method is valid for bushes no older than five years. To do this, the plant is dug up and the shears are divided into several parts so that each one has 3-4 young shoots and a rhizome.

Harvesting

The berries ripen around June 15-22. The crop is harvested by hand, after laying a cloth under the bushes, on which they will fall.

Reference. The fruits are stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2-3 days.

What can be the difficulties in growing

Problems that may arise when growing Gerda:

• the bushes develop poorly, wither, die - probably the plants are planted in a lowland where water accumulates, or this is the result of excessive watering, which causes the roots to rot;
• the leaves dry and deform - the planting was attacked by aphids or is it a symptom of a fungal disease, the treatment of the bushes with insecticides ("Akarin", "Apollo") or fungicides ("Fundazol") is required.

Tips and reviews of experienced gardeners about the variety

Gardeners recommend:

• despite the resistance of the variety to unfavorable climatic conditions, do not neglect the mulching of the earth in the trunk circle, preferably use a mixture of horse humus and fertile soil for this;
• change your honeysuckle planting site every 20 years.

Farmers speak positively about the Gerda variety:

Elena, Bryansk: "I have been growing Gerda for about 10 years. At first, the variety did not please with its yield, after five years it became better, but still I wanted more berries. Then she began to look for information about this honeysuckle and realized that she needed pollinators. I planted a couple more bushes of other varieties and now I cannot get enough of it - the yield is excellent, the berries are very tasty. "

Victoria, Samara: “I chose the early ripening variety so that the berries could be eaten while other crops are not yet bearing fruit. The neighbors at the dacha told Gerd, I listened and planted several bushes. I have never regretted it - I like both the yield and the taste of berries. And the bushes are beautiful, I planted them along the fence, they look great. "

Conclusion

Gerda is an early ripening variety of edible honeysuckle. The bushes are decorative and frost-resistant, begin to bear fruit already two years after precipitation and form tasty sweet and sour berries, suitable for universal use.