Cold-resistant honeysuckle variety Blueberry with sweet and sour fruits

Bilberry is an edible honeysuckle of domestic selection. The bushes are characterized by a decorative appearance, unpretentious care and high yield. We will tell you in detail about the features of the variety, its advantages and disadvantages.

Description of the variety of honeysuckle Chernichka

100 g of fruit contains up to 37 mg of ascorbic acid, 70 mg of potassium, 35 mg of sodium and phosphorus, 21 mg of magnesium, 0.38 mg of iron, 8.5 g of sugars and up to 810 mg of p-active substances (flavonoids).

Honeysuckle helps to strengthen immunity, it is useful to use it with high blood pressure, metabolic disorders and malfunctions in the digestive system.

Breeding history

This variety of edible honeysuckle was bred by Russian breeders in the 80s. XX century... in the South Ural Research Institute of Fruit and Vegetable and Potato Growing as a result of free pollination of Smolinskaya honeysuckle. It was included in the State Register in 1994.

Characteristics, description of appearance, taste

Bushes are medium-sized, no more than 1.5 m in height, moderately spreading, with powerful, thick, erect, slightly curved purple shoots and a dense cone-shaped crown.

Leaves are small, light green, lanceolate with thin but noticeable veins. In mid-May, small pale yellow flowers appear on the bushes.

Elongated, slightly flattened berries reach 2 cm in length and weigh 0.75-1.7 g. Covered with a thin blue skin with a layer of wax bloom.

Sweet and sour pulp, with a delicate aroma and blueberry flavor.

Application features

Berries are eaten fresh, freeze or dried... Honeysuckle fruits are suitable for processing and harvesting: compotes, preserves, jams.

Ripening period, yield and fruiting

The variety is mid-season - the harvest ripens in mid-July... Bushes bear fruit within 15-20 days, starting 3-4 years after planting.

Average yield - 45 c / ha, maximum - 57 c / ha.

Disease and pest resistance

Blueberries are resistant to diseases and pests, but with improper care or cultivation in the wrong place, bushes can infect:

• powdery mildew;
• brown spotting;
• rash mosaic virus;
• spider mites;
• aphid;
• sawfly honeysuckle.

Cold and drought resistant

Bushes tolerate frost down to -50 ° C, young buds and inflorescences withstand a short-term temperature drop down to -8 ° C.

Lack of moisture negatively affects yields culture and taste of fruits, and excessive watering and waterlogging of the soil lead to decay of the root system of plants.

Growing regions and climate requirements

The variety prefers a warm and temperate climate, but due to its unpretentiousness and high degree of frost resistance, it is suitable for growing in all regions of Russia.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The main advantages of Blueberry:

• abundant productivity;
• decorative type of bushes;
• high degree of frost resistance;
• attractive appearance, pleasant taste, fruit benefits;
• lack of tendency to shedding berries after ripening;
• immunity to disease;
• regular fruiting;
• unpretentiousness.

Cons of the variety:

• the need for pruning;
• the need for pollinating varieties;
• the presence of sourness in the taste of berries;
• average fruit size.

Difference from other varieties and hybrids

Comparison of Blueberry with other mid-season honeysuckle varieties presented in the table:

Agrotechnics

For the bushes to develop and bear fruit regularly, the plants are provided with proper care., and the landing site is chosen in accordance with the requirements.

Choosing a place in the garden and preparing holes

The bushes are planted in a lighted place, protected from drafts and cold gusty winds.... The permissible groundwater level is at least 1.5-2 m from the earth's surface.

Reference. Lack of light leads to a decrease in yield and a deterioration in the taste of berries, and due to waterlogging of the soil, the roots of plants rot.

The site is dug deep in advance, cleaned of plant residues and weeds... Manure or peat is introduced if the soil is sandy, lime or dolomite flour into the soil with high acidity.

Ground requirements

The variety prefers loose, fertile, moderately moist water and air permeable soil with medium or neutral acidity.

Preparation of seedlings

Seedlings suitable for planting have flexible, intact roots and strong shoots. Immediately before planting on the site, they are examined, all dry and damaged areas of the root system are cut off, healthy shoots are shortened to 25-30 cm and the roots are soaked in a solution of a growth stimulator ("Kornevin", "Heteroauxin") for 2-4 hours.

Timing, scheme and landing rules

Blueberries are planted spring, late March - early April, or in autumn, before frost starts (in October).

Landing scheme:

1. In the prepared area, every 3 m, dig planting holes with a diameter of 60 cm and a depth of 40 cm.
2. Lay a drainage layer of rubble or pebbles on the bottom of each.
3. Form in the center of the hole a hill of nutritious soil mixture (dug soil, 2 buckets of compost, 1 liter of wood ash, 50 g of superphosphate), install a seedling on it, straightening the roots.
4. Cover the plants with soil, deepening the root collar by 2 cm.
5. Water the planting at the rate of at least 10 liters of water per 1 seedling.
6. Mulch the trunk circle with peat or humus.

Growing features

Under favorable weather conditions and sufficient rainfall plants are watered no more than 3 times per season. If the summer is dry, they are guided by the state of the upper layer of the soil - watering (5-6 buckets of water per bush) is carried out as soon as it dries out completely.

After watering or rain, the soil is loosened to improve its moisture and air permeability... At the same time, weeds are removed, which takes nutrients from the soil and creates favorable conditions for the development of diseases and harmful insects.

Fertilizers begin to be applied 3-4 years after planting:

• early spring - 30 g of ammonium nitrate;
• after flowering - 40 g of superphosphate and potassium salt;
• autumn - 50 g of complex mineral fertilizers (“Ammophos”, “Diammofoska”, “Ammofoska”, “Nitrofoska”).

Within 3 years after planting, a formative pruning to give the correct shape to the crown of bushes and prevent the development of diseases and pest attacks. Bushes 4 years old and older only need annual sanitary and thinning pruning.

2 years after planting the seedlings, all shoots on them are shortened to 30 cm, after 3 years, no more than 5 strong shoots are left on the bush, coming from the base of the shoots, from 4 years only the branches that grow inside the crown, underdeveloped or located close to each other, are cut off.

At the 8-9 year of the life of the bush, they carry out anti-aging pruningremoving old and stalled branches.

Reference. Forming, thinning and rejuvenating pruning is carried out in the fall after the foliage has fallen, sanitary - in March.

Pollinators

Blueberry is a self-fertile cultivar that requires pollinators for fruiting... Therefore, 2-3 other varieties of honeysuckle are planted nearby, which coincide in terms of flowering.

Best pollinators for Blueberry:

• Enchantress;
• Sweetheart;
• Berel;
• Cubic zirconia.

Disease and pest control

Diseases and peststhat can hit Chernichka in case of violation of the rules of care and cultivation, are presented in the table:

Preparing for winter

Only young plants need protection from frost... They are covered with spruce branches at the end of autumn.

The rest preparing honeysuckle for winter consists in cleaning the trunk circle from debris and plant residues, mulching the ground around the bushes with peat and tying branches and shoots with a special net that protects the plants from rodents.

Reproduction

Blueberries are propagated vegetatively - by cuttings or dividing the bush.

You can root cuttings several times per season.:

1. Late March - early April. Cuttings 15-17 cm long are cut from branches with a thickness of 7-8 mm, the cut site is treated with Kornevin and planted in the ground at an angle, deepening by about 10 cm so that at least 2 buds remain on top.
2. After flowering. Annual shoots with fresh growth are used as cuttings. They are planted to a depth of 5-7 cm.
3. At the end of June. For reproduction, green cuttings are used, which are cut off with the apical bud and planted in the ground, deepening by 10 cm.

The method of dividing the bush is only suitable for plants over 8 years old... The bush is dug out of the ground and divided into several parts so that each has at least 3 shoots and a part of the rhizome with a length of 40 cm.

Reference. When propagated by seed, the plant does not inherit varietal traits.

Growing difficulties

Problems you can face when growing Blueberries:

• the yield is low, the berries are small and sour - the bushes grow in the shade, they do not have enough light;
• a white bloom has appeared on the bushes, the berries do not ripen or do it late - symptoms of powdery mildew;
• bushes do not develop, deteriorate and die - signs of root rot due to excessive watering or the proximity of groundwater.

Harvesting

The harvest begins in mid-July... The berries ripen unevenly, so the collection is carried out in several stages, focusing on the ripeness of the fruits, which should turn blue.

The berries are picked by hand or shake the bush, having previously spread a film under it or the tissue on which the honeysuckle will fall.

The harvested crop is sorted out and examined... Only elastic berries without cracks and rot are suitable for storage. They are placed in a dry, shallow container and stored in a dark, cool (about 0 ° C) place. In such conditions, the harvest is stored for up to 5 days. The damaged specimens are discarded or put aside for consumption.

Advice and feedback from experienced gardeners

Experienced gardeners recommend:

• to minimize the risk of disease and pests, spray the bushes with a solution of Bordeaux liquid before flowering;
• mulch the ground with humus or manure to retain moisture and prevent weed growth.

Gardeners speak positively about the variety.

Maria, Lodeinoe Pole: “Chernichka has valuable advantages - frost resistance and immunity to diseases. But most of all I like the taste of berries - sweet, with a slight acidity and blueberry flavor. The whole family likes it ".

Elena, Moscow region: “Chernichka has been growing on my site for a long time. The first years of the harvest were not, but now I can’t get enough of it - there are a lot of berries, they are tasty and healthy. The bushes have never hurt, and this despite the fact that I do not do preventive treatments ".

Conclusion

Blueberry is an unpretentious variety of honeysuckle, which can be grown even by novice gardeners. Among its advantages are abundant yield, frost resistance, immunity, high commercial qualities and a pleasant taste of the fruit.