Variety Leningrad giant - for its productivity and unpretentiousness has become widespread and recognized among gardeners. In this article, we will try to get to know this honeysuckle closer and reveal the features of planting, growing and preventing the plant from pests.
honeysuckle variety "Leningrad giant"
the impressive sugar content of the fruits provides them with an amazing dessert taste
one of the promising varieties of honeysuckle for industrial cultivation is "Leningradsky Giant"
Origin
The variety was obtained at the St. Petersburg Pavlovsk Experimental Station. In the third generation, a selected seedling of wild-growing Kamchatka honeysuckle.
Description
The Leningrad giant has the following features:
- A medium-sized bush 1.6–2 m high with a rounded crown with a diameter of up to 1.5 m.
- The leaves are dark green, slightly pubescent, oval-elongated.
- The matured bark is dark, mature - it easily leaves the trunk.
- The flowers are pale yellow.
- The berries are dark blue, elongated-cylindrical with a sharp nose, large, slightly tuberous, weight up to 5 g, length up to 3.5 cm. On the skin - a bluish coating, no pubescence.
Qualitative varietal characteristics of the Leningrad giant
The variety has a number of features:
- Versatility - berries are suitable for processing into preserves and jams. Thanks to the dense skin, it tolerates storage and transportation.
- Ripening period - medium (late June - early July).
- Yielding - a young plant gives from 1 to 3 kg per bush, in subsequent years, under favorable conditions, it can give up to 5 kg.
- Fast-growing - the first fruits appear already in the second, third year and retains a good yield for 25-30 years.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any variety, the Leningrad Giant has its own strengths and weaknesses.
The advantages of the variety include:
- The berries are sweet and large, with no bitterness at all, so the variety is considered elite and is used as a donor to create new varieties.
- Resistant to powdery mildew and pests.
- The berries are collected in bunches for easy harvesting.
- Due to its frost resistance (up to -40 degrees), it grows well in open areas without additional fences.
- Resistant to repeated blooming.
- Weak grazing of berries - ripe berries last longer on the stem; crop losses are reduced.
- The bush keeps its shape well and does not decay.
The disadvantages are:
- The variety is self-fertile, needs pollinators (Blue Spindle, Memory of Kuminov, Morena, Malvina, Start and Blue Bird).
- The berries ripen unevenly.
- Weak aroma.
Landing rules
The variety grows well in the middle lane and in the north-west of Russia.
Where to plant?
It is advisable to place the bushes in a sunny area, since in the shade the yield is significantly reduced.
It is not too picky about the soil, loose fertile soil with weak acidity, or sandy loam soil is better suited. The plant feels worse on sandy ground, and also does not like areas where there is a high level of groundwater.
On acidic soil, foliage loses color saturation, and yield decreases significantly.
Landing dates
Planting seedlings is carried out during the dormant period of the plant. For honeysuckle, this is the period from late July (when fruiting ends) - early August to November. Awakening begins in honeysuckle in spring, so in the spring months, survival rate drops by 20%.
Seedlings selection
To choose good, viable seedlings, when buying, you should give preference to bushes grown in containers. The plant must have a certificate describing the variety, age and pollinators.
Carefully inspect the seedlings and select those in which:
- Age 2-3 years old.
- Height is up to 40 cm.
- 2-3 flexible branches.
- Living kidneys.
- Equal internodes.
Large plants are not worth buying, they tolerate transplanting worse, and later enter fruiting.
Landing subtleties
Since the crown of the honeysuckle of this variety is large, then plant bushes at a distance of at least 2.5-3 meters from each other.
When planting, branches do not need to be shortened, as this will delay growth and fruiting.
Landing rules:
- Dig a 50x50 cm hole three weeks before disembarkation.
Lay drainage and earth in it, consisting of:- 20 liters of humus;
- 30 g superphosphate;
- 30 g of potassium salt (500 g of ash).
- 2 hours before planting, to wake up and saturate with moisture, dip the roots of the plant in water (it is possible with a growth stimulator).
- Fill the landing pit with water. When the liquid is absorbed, in the middle of the hole, form a hill out of the ground, lower a bush on it.
- Spread out the roots carefully.
- Sprinkle the seedling, deepen the root neck by 5 cm, tighten the ground.
Pour 10 liters of water under the bush. - Cover the trunk circle with hay or straw about 10 cm thick.
Agrotechnical measures
Watering and loosening
Honeysuckle loves watering, so it is important to monitor soil moisture in the near-trunk circle:
- Water a young seedling regularly, preventing the earthen coma from drying out.
A bush requires 10-15 liters of water. And in a hot and dry period up to 30 liters. - When the earth dries up from above, loosen it, but not deeper than 5-8 cm, since the honeysuckle has a superficial root system and you can damage the roots.
- Water an adult bush only during periods of severe drought.
- Loosen the tree circle and remove weeds regularly.
- Honeysuckle also loves sprinkling, especially at the time of fruit setting - in the second half of May, but not during the flowering and ripening of berries. Water can knock down pollen from flowers and the crop will be scarce.
Top dressing
Since when planting the seedling the necessary fertilizers were laid in the pit, for the first couple of years it is enough to pour in the spring a solution of ammonium nitrate (urea) - 10 liters per bush.
Then, the nutrient reserves in the soil are depleted, and from 3 years the plants need additional top dressing:
- In early spring, while the snow has not melted yet, add nitrogen-containing fertilizing.
- In the summer, after fruiting, feed with complex mineral fertilizer.
- In the beginning of autumn, add potassium-phosphorus fertilizer (per 1 sq. M: 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium salt), every 3-4 years it is advisable to add rotted compost or humus.
Pruning
From the age of three, in the fall, during the dormant period, only sanitary pruning is carried out, in which only weak, broken, thickening crown, leaning to the ground and diseased branches are removed.
At the age of 6-7 years, the bushes are rejuvenated once, for this, 2-3 old shoots are gradually cut out over several seasons, leaving as many young ones in return.
Further, up to 15 years, only sanitary scraps are enough.
In subsequent years, old branches are cut down each season. And after 20 years (if the harvest has decreased significantly), the bush is cut off, leaving hemp of 15-20 cm.After such a cardinal rejuvenation, honeysuckle will bear fruit for another 10 years.
We recommend that you read the article on how to care for honeysuckle in the fall.
Preparing for winter
The Leningradsky Giant is a frost-resistant variety (up to -40 degrees) therefore does not need a winter shelter. It is enough to remove all fallen leaves and residues of mulch in the trunks after the fall.
Reproduction
Honeysuckle can be propagated in three ways:
- Dividing the bush - the simplest, carried out only with a plant 6-7 years old and older. The bush is dug up and divided. The halves are seated in the landing pits. Honeysuckle will begin to bear fruit in the second year.
- Reproduction by layering - The lower branches bend to the ground and drip. The next year, when these branches give roots, they are separated from the parent bush and transplanted to a permanent place. It bears fruiting for 3 years.
- Propagation by cuttings - this method is not very productive, since the cuttings are difficult to root and they need certain conditions. For cuttings from a 2-year-old bush (and older), a branch 15 cm long is cut off, from which the crown is removed.
The stalk is placed in a growth stimulator for 2-3 hours. Further, they are planted in wet sand under a film for 3-4 weeks. Rooted cuttings for wintering are taken to the garden, and in the spring they are planted in a permanent place. - Seed propagation - The parental properties of honeysuckle are not transmitted, and the result will be unpredictable, so it is interesting only to breeders. Seeds are sown in a container, and in the spring planted in a ridge. After a year, the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place. Fruiting for 3-4 years from the date of sowing.
Prevention of diseases and pests
The Leningrad Giant is resistant to pests and diseases. For prophylaxis, the plant is treated with special preparations.
Bushes can be sprayed with pesticides only during the dormant period and in the spring before the leaves dissolve. And during fruit setting and fruiting, all treatments with fungicides are prohibited, therefore, organic drugs are used to combat fungi and parasites during this period.
Table of the main diseases and pests of honeysuckle, ways to combat them:
Pests and diseases | Signs | What to do? |
Caterpillars | Leaves and shoots are eaten by larvae. The leaves on the branch are small and dry. | Treat with appropriate insecticides or biological products (Decis, Intra-Vir, Eleksar). With a severe defeat, cut the branches at the base and burn. |
Aphids | Small insects are visible on the branches - aphids, the shoots wither and turn yellow. | Treat with bioinsecticides (fitoverm, tobacco-garlic infusion), or in early spring before bud break with Aktelik, Rogor, Confidor preparations. |
Shields | Growths appear on the branches that do not separate from the branch - these are larvae. | Cut and burn the affected branches, and spray the plant with phytoverm, or Aktelik, Rogor, Confidor preparations. |
Honeysuckle tick | Leaves curl and fall. | Treat with insecticides. |
Nematode | A speckled pattern appears on the leaves. | Tear and burn all damaged leaves |
Fingerwing | The fruits become lethargic and shriveled. | Infusion of tomato and potato shoots. Treat the bush with a 0.2% chlorophos solution. To destroy the larvae of the "Rogor" 0.2%, as well as the Intra-Vir. |
Powdery mildew | On sprouts and leaves, a white cobweb-shaped plaque. | Bushes are treated with insecticides and biological products (Skol, Topaz, Fundazol). Affected shoots are cut and burned. |
Mosaic rash virus | The internodes are sharply reduced. There is an active growth of lateral shoots from the axillary buds. The plant dries up and dies. | Choose plants carefully when purchasing. If the shoots were broken by frost in winter, they should be cut so that the virus does not enter the plant through the wounds. |
Harvesting
The berries are picked as they ripen.
In honeysuckle, the berries ripen in stages: the fruits are first ripened on the top of the head, then deep in the bush, and the bottom berries are ripened last.
Overripe berries crumble to the ground, therefore, before starting the collection, it is advisable to lay a dense material under the bush, on which the crumbled berries will fall. Fruits that do not come off the stalk are not plucked, leaving them to ripen. After harvesting, the berries from the fabric are gently poured over to the rest of the crop.
Reviews about honeysuckle Leningrad giant
Elvira, 43 years old, Member of the Club of Winegrowers and Gardeners, Turaisky Garden, western Bashkiria. The variety grows slowly, but the berries are sweet, tasty and even larger than the honeysuckle Bakcharsky giant. Many berries are double, apparently, due to local heat.
Andrey, 38 years old, amateur gardener, Moscow Region.The bush has been growing for 10 years, already 2 meters in height. The berry is tasty, but not as large as expected, and the harvest is not great. I still like the variety, I advise.
Hide
Add your review
The honeysuckle variety "Leningradsky Giant" is well suited for novice gardeners and will delight you with sweet fruits and a good harvest for many years. Moreover, it requires minimal maintenance and is resistant to most types of diseases and pests.