Content
Description of the variety, photos and reviews of Honeysuckle Zest are of great importance today. Considering that the culture was recently bred, it has already gained wide popularity, since it has established itself as a good choice for a gardener. Zest is distinguished by excellent tolerance to cold and heat, unpretentious care, as well as high resistance to diseases and pests.
Edible variety of honeysuckle Zest is distinguished by high quality characteristics
Description of edible honeysuckle Zest
Judging by the photo and description, the variety of honeysuckle Raisin has the following characteristics:
- Fruiting quite early, in mid-May.
- The bushes grow up to almost 1.5 m with dense foliage.
- The leaves of the honeysuckle Zest are oval, slightly “closed”, sharpened at the tip.
- Shoots are slightly curved, colored brown with a purple or lilac tint.
- It blooms with white "bells", and this honeysuckle looks spectacular during the period, for which it is often used for decorative purposes.
- Fruiting with long berries up to 3 cm of gray color.
- The skin is bumpy to the touch, dense, but not hard, has a pale coating.
- The weight of one berry of the Raisin variety reaches 1.5 g.
- About 1-2 kg of berries are harvested from one bush.
The fruit tastes sweet and sour, slightly spicy, the pulp has a fibrous consistency. They are often used in preparations for the winter - jam, jam, etc. Honeysuckle berries are also consumed fresh, besides, it has pronounced useful properties, has a beneficial effect on pressure stabilization.
Honeysuckle has a good winter adaptability. She is not afraid of sudden repeated cold weather, when, like other plants, they can slow down in flowering. It is noteworthy that new seedlings give the first berries after 3 years, after 6 years, fruiting is even more abundant.
Planting and caring for honeysuckle Zest
When choosing new honeysuckle seedlings of the Izuminka variety, it is worth focusing on the shoots - they must be healthy, without damage. It is worth giving preference to specimens with closed roots, that is, those that are in pots, containers. It is believed that such seedlings quickly adapt and take root in the new land. If you had to purchase plants with open roots, they must be soaked in a solution that promotes growth.
Excess moisture Honeysuckle Zest does not like, also acidic soil. The landing site should be as illuminated as possible, not shady. If the land on the site is highly acidic, the place for the seedlings is mixed with ash or dolomite flour. If groundwater is available, a drainage system will have to be created.
Honeysuckle bushes are planted in autumn. Spring planting is not recommended, because during this period the plant begins to actively grow, the seedlings will not have time to get used to it. In August, Kamchatka Raisin honeysuckle goes into a dormant state, so there will be enough time for adaptation. The land is prepared in advance by mixing organic fertilizers - humus, wood ash, superphosphate. Minerals are undesirable.
Honeysuckle pollinators of the Raisin variety
Honeysuckle variety Izuminka has an interesting feature - it needs pollinators in the form of other varieties of the same culture. Moreover, the group should contain 3 different copies of the bushes.In this case, it is important to observe a couple of conditions:
- You need to purchase varieties that bloom at the same time;
- You should not take those bushes that bear fruit at a similar time.
Thus, for Honeysuckle Zest, the following varieties are considered ideal options:
- Altair variety is a medium-sized bush with a dense spherical crown. Berries are medium-sized, sweet with juicy pulp. Fruits well, does not crumble.
The type of crop is very resistant to pests and diseases.
- Viola variety good in that it does not get sick and does not attract pests. Rounded dense bush with large oval fruits, narrowed upwards.
The skin of the berries is thin, the flesh is tough, fibrous, ripe fruits hardly fall off
- Variety Sorceress medium-sized, with straight strong branches. The fruits are large, long, oval with a thin skin. It tastes sweet.
Ripe berries hardly crumble, and the variety itself is drought-resistant
Reproduction
The best breeding option for honeysuckle Raisin is cuttings. The blanks are made around the end of May, during the formation of fruit ovaries. Suitable branches are checked by bending: soft unbreakable stems will not fit, they still have little strength, they will not survive; a twig that has broken with a crunch is ideal.
The stalk should be up to 12 cm long with several internodes - with a bud and a leaf. The lower leaves are removed, the rest are cut in half. The stem itself is cut from below at an angle of 45 °. The top is cut at a right angle so that a length of about 1.5 cm remains from the kidney.
The seedling is ready to plant when it has a stable root system
Then the stem is dipped in water, preferably with the addition of a mixture that promotes root growth, bought at a flower shop. When the roots are lowered, the cutting is transferred to the ground - purchased soil or mixed independently: peat (1) and sand (3).
They create greenhouse conditions with high humidity and an air temperature of + 20-25 ° С. In the same year or next spring, a small seedling is transferred to the main planting site.
They also resort to dividing the bush. To do this, dig up one plant entirely, shake off the soil from the roots, separate several branches. Then a part of the root with branches is cut off with a disinfected pruner or garden saw. Sprinkle the slices with wood ash.
When breeding, it is important to follow the scheme of dividing the bush so as not to damage it
The bush is transplanted to a new place, which is regularly watered, the soil is loosened, fertilized if necessary.
Diseases and pests
Like most plants, honeysuckle is susceptible to several diseases and pests. Its main enemy is aphids, the signs of the appearance of which are reflected in the appearance of the bush. The foliage turns yellow, curls, becomes covered with spots. The parasite sucks out the juices of the plant, it noticeably weakens, naturally, fruiting suffers.
The methods of struggle are varied:
- Mechanical - pruning of some of the most affected branches, which are then treated with clay, garden pitch and other mixtures.
- People's - the most common option, for which laundry soap is dissolved in water, then foliage and stems are sprayed. But it is suitable in the early stages of infection or as a prophylaxis.
- Chemical - a dangerous, although the most effective way to combat diseases and pests of honeysuckle. But they have limitations - processing is carried out in early spring before the buds begin to bloom, or after collection.
Conclusion
Description of the variety, photos and reviews of honeysuckle Zest - common among gardeners. The plant is very popular among gardeners due to its unpretentiousness, productivity and even decorative properties. The berries are sweet and sour, large, and have a medicinal effect on the human body.The bushes themselves are beautiful, often used in landscape design. The culture is one of the most unpretentious, resistant to cold and disease.
