What are the advantages of multiplying honeysuckle by layering and how to carry out the procedure correctly
Honeysuckle is so unpretentious to care for that even a novice gardener can grow it. Its decorative appearance and useful berries make this plant popular in all regions of the country. Competent reproduction of honeysuckle allows you to get large yields, form a beautiful garden area or hedge. Consider how to propagate honeysuckle so as not to harm the bush and get high-quality planting material.
The content of the article
What are layering
Shrubs are propagated in different ways. One of them is layering. These are rooted shoots of the aerial part of the plant. Until its own roots and vertical branches appear, the cuttings remain part of the parent bush.
Important! Honeysuckle easily tolerates frosts down to -50 ° C, so it is grown in almost all climatic zones.
Features of reproduction of honeysuckle by layering
Plants are distinguished by good survival rate and fast growth. Layers are the easiest way to get from one bush to 40-50 seedlings.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Vegetative propagation of honeysuckle by layers is used when they want to keep a good variety or quickly get new plants.
Advantages of the method:
- does not injure the mother bush;
- young seedlings quickly bear fruit;
- obtaining decorative varieties.
Minuses:
- the complexity of the method;
- a new seedling runs the risk of getting an infection from the parent bush.
On the territory of our country, there are 14 species of wild honeysuckle, and often gardeners simply transplant forest shrubs into their garden.
Propagation by root layers
To obtain quality seedlings, choose healthy, powerful honeysuckle bushes. All work is carried out in early spring, immediately after the snow melts. For the middle zone - in March, for Siberia and the Urals - in early April.
Horizontal
The soil around the parent honeysuckle bush is carefully dug up to make a circle 1-1.2 m in diameter. Then make radial grooves 1 cm deep. Healthy, strong lower shoots are carefully bent down, lowered into the grooves and fixed with wooden or metal pins in this position. Sprinkle the branches with earth on top, leaving only the top free - 4-5 cm.
For successful survival, the layers are not watered abundantly once a week. Twice during the growing season, the parent bush is fed with complex fertilizers. Emerging young shoots on layering are spud up to ¼ of the height.
By the end of summer, the cuttings will form strong roots. The branches are separated from the mother bush and cut with shears according to the number of shoots. The seedlings are immediately rooted in the prepared area and watered.
Important! Edible honeysuckle has long been used in folk medicine. Moreover, all parts of the plant have healing properties.
By air
If the honeysuckle does not have lower horizontal branches, the layers are made on the vertical ones. To do this, choose healthy adult shoots and cut grooves in the bark 2-3 cm below the buds with a sharp knife. A plastic cup is cut in half and each half is filled with peat. Then both parts of the cup are applied to the branch, wrapping them around the groove made. From above they are fastened with tape or wire.Peat is kept moist throughout the growing season. In autumn, the shoot is separated, the cup is carefully removed and the branch is cut below and above the formed roots. Immediately planted in a permanent place.
When to replant layers - in spring, summer, autumn
Horizontal and air layering is done in early spring, after the snow melts. They develop roots and shoots throughout the summer season. In the fall, the layers are separated from the parent bush and planted in a prepared area.
Important! The scent of honeysuckle flowers and fruits relieves stress, improves mood and increases appetite.
Mistakes to Avoid
If certain rules for breeding large yields of honeysuckle are not followed, the gardener will not receive. To preserve the varietal qualities of the bush, mature, healthy branches are chosen. If the cuttings are watered a little, the root system will form weak, with an excess of moisture it will rot. Most honeysuckle varieties bear fruit only when different varieties are planted in the same area.
A well-lit area for plants is chosen, the bushes are planted not in an ordinary way, but in a curtain. In the southern regions, the layers are immediately planted in a permanent place. In the middle lane, in the Urals, in Siberia, young seedlings are grown in a greenhouse and only a year later are moved to a permanent place.
Other ways to breed honeysuckle
Layering is the easiest way to grow a shrub. Although there are vegetative and generative ways of breeding honeysuckle.
By cuttings
This method is a little more complicated than layering propagation. Cuttings made from green or lignified shoots. In the fall, a powerful, healthy branch is divided into parts as follows:
- the cut off part must have at least two internodes;
- the lower cut is at an angle of 45 °, the upper cut is horizontal.
The cuttings are wrapped in a wet cloth and stored in a cool place. With the onset of spring, they are planted in prepared soil and covered with a cut plastic bottle to create a greenhouse effect.
By dividing the bush
Only adult honeysuckle is propagated in this way. The bush is dug in from all sides and carefully removed from the soil, shaking off the ground. Large honeysuckle is divided into 3-4 parts, evenly dividing the roots and shoots.
Growing shoots
If the honeysuckle has given shoots from the basal bud, they are allowed to grow for a year, then they are separated from the parent bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
Important! The best time to reproduce by shoots is autumn, after leaf fall. In this case, the bush is less injured and tolerates separation from the mother bush well.
Seeds
The generative method has one significant drawback - it is impossible to predict the varietal qualities of the variety. Honeysuckle is propagated by seeds in spring, autumn or summer.
In early spring, planting material is sown in seedling boxes to a depth of 1 cm and covered with foil or glass. Within a month, shoots will appear, and the shelter is removed. Honeysuckle is grown in boxes for a year, then transplanted into open ground.
In summer, seeds are sown immediately after picking berries. By the fall, they will give shoots. For the winter, they are covered with mulch or film. In the spring, the growing season will continue.
The best period for seed propagation of honeysuckle is autumn. The seeds will not have time to hatch, but they are well stratified and hardened. In the spring, these seeds will give powerful shoots.
Features of the reproduction of edible and decorative honeysuckle
All of the above methods are applicable to any type of shrub. Decorative honeysuckle has dozens of varieties. It looks great in group and single plantings. Curly honeysuckle braiding arbors and trellises. Decorative varieties are also beautiful as a hedge.
Regardless of whether honeysuckle is edible or not, it is propagated vegetatively (by layering, cuttings, dividing a bush, shoots) and generatively (seeds).
It is interesting:
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Conclusion
Propagating honeysuckle is not difficult at all. For beginner gardeners, it is better to use layering. Experienced people can handle any method with ease. The best breeding time for honeysuckle is early spring for vegetative methods and late autumn for generative ones.