Gardeners with pleasure grow honeysuckle on their personal plots. It is not only used as a decorative plant for vertical gardening - decoration of pergolas, arbors. Honeysuckle is also valued for very tasty and healthy berries. This is one of the most winter-hardy crops, bearing fruit even in risky areas of agriculture - in the Urals, Altai, and Siberia. The Nymph variety has been recognized as unsurpassed in its characteristics to date.
Nymph Variety History
The genus of honeysuckle (lonicera) has more than 200 species, most of which grow in the northern hemisphere. In Russia, 50 species are found in nature. Residents of Siberia and the Far East have long been collecting wild berries. The first information about honeysuckle with sweet edible fruits is contained in Skasky, Russian V. Kamchatka Researcher Atlasova (end of the 17th century). Selected forms of honeysuckle, found by locals in the taiga, began to grow in the gardens of Eastern Siberia. In the middle of the XIX century, plant breeders drew attention to the plant, as a result of numerous experiments at the beginning of the XX century, cultivated honeysuckle appeared. I.V. Michurin considered this plant a valuable berry crop.
Honeysuckle Nymph - one of the best varieties of Russian selection
Nymph - a variety created at the Pavlovsk Experimental Station named after N.I. Vavilova (Saint-Petersburg). Breeders M.N. Plekhanova and A.V. Kondrikova received it as a result of pollination of the cultivar Leningrad giant. Honeysuckle, also called Gamma, was introduced into the State Register in 1998 and recommended for cultivation throughout Russia.
The nymph is not afraid of even severe frosts, so it is grown without problems in the northern regions
Description
Honeysuckle Nymph is one of the best varieties. Appreciated for sweet fruit. In addition, the variety has high frost resistance. Shoots withstand cold up to -50 ° C, roots up to -40 ° C. Buds, flowers and ovaries do not lose viability at -8 ° C. Therefore, the culture can be cultivated in regions with harsh winters.
Characteristic
A variety of medium early ripening. It forms a vigorous (up to 2.5 m) slightly spreading bush with strong, straight, pubescent shoots of light green color. The leaves are large, dark green, elongated oval. The leaf blade is straight, with a wide-round base.
Honeysuckle Nymph forms a vigorous, slightly spreading bush
Blooms in large pale-colored bell-shaped flowers. The main advantage of the variety is the delicious fruits ripening in June. Berries weighing 0.8 g are elongated, fusiform, with a tuberous surface. Peel of medium thickness, bluish-blue tone. The fruits are sweet, aromatic, taste rating - 4.7 points out of 5.
The main value of the Nymph variety is sweet fruits.
The variety gives an average of 2 kg per bush, with good care - more. Honeysuckle begins to bear fruit in the 3rd year, maintains good productivity until the age of 25-30 years, and often up to 40 years. Shedding of ripe fruit is average. Culture is rarely sick, weakly affected by aphids. As a disadvantage, thickening of the crown is noted if timely cutting of the bush is not carried out.
The nymph is self-infertile; to get the crop, it is necessary to plant other varieties nearby. The best pollinators are Amphora, Chosen One, Pavlovskaya.
Landing Features
The development and productivity of the berry shrub largely depends on the right place and the health of the seedlings.
Seat selection
Honeysuckle is a winter-hardy culture, it is not afraid of cold winds, so it can be planted in an open area, but under the condition that most of the day it will be well lit and warmed up by the sun. The nymph will grow in the shade, but the lack of light will negatively affect the yield and taste of the berries.
Honeysuckle should be planted in well-lit areas
The variety is unpretentious to soil conditions, but still prefers loamy, organic-seasoned soils with neutral acidity. On acidic soils, the shrub slowly dies. You should not plant the crop in low-lying moist places with close occurrence of groundwater: excess moisture leads to rotting of the roots.
Landing time
The best time for planting seedlings on the site is from August to the end of October. Spring planting is undesirable since the honeysuckle begins the process of vegetation very early. In mid-March, the buds swell, and the transplant at this time will negatively affect the plant: it begins to hurt, it does not take root well.
Only in certain areas, in the absence of snow in the spring (until March 15), can berry bushes be planted by transshipment.
Selection of seedlings
Garden centers now offer a wide range of cultivated honeysuckle. There you can choose exactly those varieties that are zoned to local conditions, get expert advice on growing crops. In nurseries, seedlings are usually sold in containers - the lands planted with a lump of soil, they quickly and painlessly take root. It is best to purchase 2-3 year old plants.
It is better to purchase honeysuckle seedlings with a closed root system - they will take root painlessly and grow
Healthy seedlings should have flexible branches with buds, the root system is developed, with no signs of rot. When choosing gardeners' plants, the scaly bark often confuses. However, this feature of this berry culture has nothing to do with the low quality of the seedling.
Landing rules
The place is prepared 2-3 weeks before planting. They dig the earth, remove weeds, dig holes 40 cm wide and deep. A layer of drainage from pebbles or expanded clay is laid on the bottom, a part of the fertile soil mixed with 20 l of humus, 60 g of superphosphate and 500 g of ash is poured on top (500 g can be added instead of ash chalk).
An hour before planting, the seedling is lowered into a solution with Kornevin, which stimulates root formation.
Step-by-step process:
- In the center of the pit a mound of fertile land is formed.
- The seedling is placed, spreading the roots well. Plants from the container are planted with the ground.
For a honeysuckle seedling, you need to dig a hole 40 cm deep
- Sprinkle the seedling so that the growth bud is 5 cm below the soil level.
- Be sure to shake the plant so that voids do not form, tamp the soil.
The land is compacted after landing so that there are no voids left
- A round hole is formed and 10 liters of water are poured there.
- After absorbing moisture mulch the soil with hay, humus.
Honeysuckle seedlings are recommended not to be pruned immediately after planting - shortening the shoots leads to a delay in fruiting.
Agricultural technology
Nymph honeysuckle care includes regular moistening of the soil, fertilizing, weeding, pruning, and preventive measures against diseases.
Watering and loosening
In the first 2 years, only watering and weed removal are carried out. Culture loves moisture, but does not tolerate wetlands. Honeysuckle is watered 4-6 times per season with 10-15 liters of water per bush. The culture is especially in need of moisture during flowering and fruit formation. The lack of water negatively affects the taste of berries and the size of the crop.
The berry berry especially needs moisture during flowering and fruit formation
To improve pollination and attract bees to the garden, during the appearance of buds, experienced gardeners advise spraying the honeysuckle with a solution of sugar or honey (2 tbsp. L. 10 l).
After rain or watering, carefully loosen the soil. Since the roots of honeysuckle are located close to the surface, loosening is carried out to a shallow depth of 8 cm. A layer of mulch with a thickness of 10 cm also allows keeping the soil moist and inhibiting the growth of weeds. Hay, straw, sawdust, humus are used as the mulching material.
A layer of mulch around the honeysuckle bush helps retain moisture and inhibits weed growth.
Top dressing
In the first two seasons, honeysuckle is not fed, it lacks the nutrients introduced during planting. In the third year in the spring, the berry is fertilized with ammonium nitrate (30 g 10 l). When the buds open up under the bush, 10 kg of humus are added, at the end of August - 400 g of ash. Before the onset of cold weather, preparing the shrub for wintering, fertilize the soil with 5 kg of compost, 100 g of ash, you can add 40 g of superphosphate (per 1 m2) Every three years at the end of the season, it is recommended to feed the honeysuckle with potash fertilizers (15 g m2), increasing the resistance of plants to diseases.
Before flowering, it is useful to carry out foliar top dressing with HB 101 natural fertilizer (1 ml 20 l m2) This drug is produced from plantain, pine, cypress and Japanese cedar, contains silicon and is a growth activator, strengthens plant immunity.
Wood ash - an effective natural fertilizer containing potassium, phosphorus, calcium and other essential honeysuckle minerals
Video: Honeysuckle Care
Pruning
The first three years do not spend the formation of a bush. In subsequent seasons, dry, diseased and broken branches are removed in the fall. From the age of 6, anti-aging pruning is necessary. Cut 2 old branches at the base and leave 3 young shoots. Gradually, by the age of 15, the bush is completely rejuvenated.
Pruning allows you to get a well-lit and ventilated bush
With a strong growth of honeysuckle, the crown must be thinned out. This is necessary so that the sun evenly illuminates the entire berry, and pollinating insects easily penetrate to the middle of the bush.
Breeding methods
Honeysuckle can be grown from seeds, cuttings, layering and by dividing the bush.
- The seed method is quite laborious and is used mainly for selection experiments.
- It is easy to propagate honeysuckle by dividing the bush. A well-developed bush is divided into parts with a root, skeletal branches and young shoots. A divider with branches shortened to 45 cm is planted on a prepared place.
- Most often, the propagation of berry culture using the method of cuttings. The lignified cuttings are harvested at the end of the season: the annual growth is cut into 15-centimeter segments and stored in the basement until spring. At the end of March, they are planted in a greenhouse, leaving one kidney above the surface. The earth is regularly moistened, the greenhouse is aired. A month later, roots form on the cuttings.
Honeysuckle cuttings are cut in the fall and stored in the basement until spring
- When propagated by green cuttings in early summer, the shoots are divided into parts 12 cm long and planted in containers with a nutrient soil mixture, watered, covered with a film, regularly airing and moistening the soil. Rooting occurs within a month. Cuttings are planted in a permanent place next fall.
- Honeysuckle is propagated by apical layers. The top of the shoot is buried in a groove under a bush, fixed with a bracket and watered. The layer takes root in a month, but it should be separated and planted in the fall of next season.
A fairly simple way to reproduce honeysuckle - apical layers
Video: honeysuckle propagation by green cuttings
Winter preparations
Honeysuckle is a cold-resistant plant, not without reason in nature it lives mainly in the northern latitudes. Therefore, the culture does not need warming. On the eve of cold weather they only carry out water-charging irrigation and mulch the soil with humus. In very severe winters, the tips of the shoots, which are removed in early spring, can be slightly damaged by frost.
Disease prevention
Honeysuckle Nymph has good immunity. But under adverse weather conditions, signs of damage to the bush by diseases can appear. Timely preventive measures will prevent the appearance of pests.
Table: Honeysuckle Disease
| Disease | Symptoms | Prevention | Treatment |
| Powdery mildew | The leaves are covered with white coating, dry, the winter hardiness of the culture decreases. |
| Spray the bushes before flowering with 1% Topsin-M, 0.2% Fundazole, 0.4% Tsineba. |
| Soot fungus | A dark coating forms on the foliage. With a significant lesion, the plant quickly withers. | Remove fallen leaves. | Before flowering, twice with an interval of 7 days, treat with 1% Bordeaux mixture, 1% Fundazole, Tsineba (8 g 10 l). |
| Tuberculosis | On the shoots, red-brown tubercles form, in which fungal spores develop. |
| At the beginning of the growing season, spray with a 1% Bordeaux mixture. |
Photo Gallery: Diseases That Can Affect Honeysuckle
- Long rains contribute to the development of powdery mildew on honeysuckle
- Honeysuckle affected by soot fungus quickly loses strength
- With increased humidity, optimal conditions are created for the development of spores of the fungus tuberculosis
Table: Honeysuckle Pests
| Pests | Manifestations | Prevention | Measures |
| Shield | Larvae of the scale insect, appearing early in the spring, stick to the shoots, covering them with a dense shield. Eating plant juice, pests lead to drying and death of the bush. |
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| Honeysuckle tick | The appearance of the pest contributes to the thickened or shaded planting. A tick sucks the juice of foliage, fruits. Leaves curl and fall. | Thin out the bush. |
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| Goldfish | Beetle larva gnaws branches from within, shoots dry out. |
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Photo Gallery: Honeysuckle Pests
- Scorpion larvae stick to the honeysuckle shoots
- Honeysuckle ticks develop rapidly in wet conditions
- Goldfish larvae climb inside branches
Honeysuckle berries like birds. In order to protect the crop from birds, when ripening the fruit, shrubs should be covered with a protective net.
Harvesting
Nymph honeysuckle berries ripen at the beginning of summer at the same time. Fresh fruits are stored in the refrigerator for only 2-3 days, therefore, to preserve the healing berries for a longer period, they are frozen, dried, sorbet, fruit drink, compote are prepared, added to desserts and pastries.
Jam with strawberries is especially tasty.
Honeysuckle fruits are consumed fresh, dried, compotes are prepared from them, jam
Honeysuckle contains many vitamins and minerals, so it is advised to include it in the diet of people with diseases of the heart, blood vessels, eyes. Juice is treated for lichen and ulcers. And from the dried leaves of honeysuckle, medicinal teas are prepared, recommended for skin diseases and kidney diseases.
Reviews
Honeysuckle is a berry with bitterness, so choose new varieties that are not bitter and high-yielding. Nymph - very tasty, sweet, without bitterness at all.
Lyudmila//www.babyblog.ru/community/post/ogorod/3142501
Honeysuckle is generally low yielding, 1-2 kg from a very large bush - this is probably a record. Of my seven varieties, the Nymph was the sweetest. Almost no acid, despite the bad weather in May-June.
LenaRya//www.websad.ru/archdis.php?code=47401
I counted 13 honeysuckle bushes at home. Pollinated in different ways. Best of all - Nymph, Leningrad giant, Bakcharskaya, Vitamin. The sweetest is the Nymph.
Vitaya//www.sadiba.com.ua/forum/showthread.php?p=903974
Honeysuckle Nymph is an unpretentious and durable plant that maintains productivity for many years. The cold-resistant culture easily tolerates the harsh Russian winters, and its fruits ripen in mid-June. Gardeners are also attracted by the decorativeness of Nymphs - bushes are often used to decorate the landscape and erect hedges.
