How to plant Honeysuckle to ensure its survival
Today's focus is on introducing how to plant Honeysuckle to ensure its survival and the related experience of Honeysuckle cultivation and management. It will definitely help you, let's learn about it together!
Honeysuckle is a multi-year semi-evergreen twining and creeping shrub of the Caprifoliaceae family, also known as Jin Yin Hua, Honeysuckle Vine, Silver Vine, Two-color Flower Vine, Er Bao Vine, You Zhuan Vine, etc. Honeysuckle can climb trellises, fences, and walls. The flowers have a pleasant aroma, especially the four-season Honeysuckle, which blooms from spring to autumn. If cultivated in the courtyard, it can be appreciated for both its flowers and fragrance. Enjoying the cool shade under the Honeysuckle trellis during the hot summer is endless fun. Honeysuckle prefers a warm and humid climate, is adaptable, and can tolerate cold, drought, and flooding. It is not strict about soil requirements but grows best in deep, fertile, and well-drained sandy loam. It sprouts twice a year, in spring and summer. The root system is dense and developed, with a strong germination ability; the stems take root when they touch the ground. It thrives in sunny and mild, humid environments, is cold and drought-resistant, and grows poorly in shaded areas.
I. Propagation methods: There are cutting propagation, seed propagation, root division propagation, and layering propagation methods for Honeysuckle.
Cutting Propagation Method: Cuttings can be taken all year round, from the beginning of spring before new buds sprout to mid-October. Choose 1-2-year-old healthy branches, cut them into lengths of 30 cm with at least 3 nodes, remove the lower leaves, leave 2-4 upper leaves, cut the lower end near the node into an oblique surface, bundle 50 cuttings together, soak them in a rooting hormone solution, then slightly dry them before immediate planting.
Direct planting: On well-prepared land, dig planting holes with a spacing of 1.5 meters or 1.1 meters between rows and 1.5 meters or 1.7 meters between plants. The diameter and depth of the planting holes are both 40 cm. Loosen the bottom soil, add 5 kg of decomposed manure to each hole. Insert 3-5 cuttings into each hole. The depth of the soil should be one-half to two-thirds of the cutting length, then fill in fine soil and press down with the feet, water once, keep the soil moist, and it can take root and sprout in about a month.
Seed Propagation Method: Collect the ripe berries when they turn black before and after the first frost. Rub the mature berries in water, collect the plump seeds that sink to the bottom, and dry them for storage. You can also plant them immediately after collection. If planting in the spring of the following year, soak the seeds in 40°C warm water for 24 hours 40 days before planting, then mix them with three times the amount of wet sand to germinate. When half of the seeds have cracked open, they can be planted.
Make horizontal trenches 20 cm apart on the ridge, 3-5 cm deep, with a width of 10 cm. Sprinkle the germinated seeds evenly in the trench, cover with soil, press down, mulch with straw to keep warm and moist, and seedlings can emerge in about 10 days. Remove the mulch after the seedlings have emerged and strengthen the routine management of the seedbed.
Root Division Method: dig up the mother plants during the dormant period of Honeysuckle in winter, prune the roots and above-ground stems appropriately, divide them, plant 1-2 plants per hole, and they can bloom the following year.
Layering Propagation: In the fall and winter dormant period of Honeysuckle or early spring before germination, select 3-4-year-old mother plants that have bloomed and are healthy. Bend the one-year-old branches near the ground and bury them in the soil. Injury the part of the branch that enters the soil, cover it with 10-15 cm of fertilizer soil, secure it with branches, and keep it tight, leaving the tip of the branch exposed. Water and fertilize regularly after pressing. They can be transplanted in the spring of the following year.
II. Cultivation of Honeysuckle: Honeysuckle is usually cultivated in the open field and rarely in pots. After the cuttings take root, they are usually transplanted before the early spring germination or during the autumn dormant period. To plant Honeysuckle well and ensure vigorous growth, select a sunny, fertile, deep, and well-drained location according to the ecological habits of Honeysuckle. Dig holes with a spacing of 1.5 meters between rows and 1.2 meters between plants, 30-40 cm wide and deep. Add 5 kg of soil manure to each hole and mix it with the bottom soil. Plant one plant per hole, ensuring minimal root damage. Dig a good hole, add fertilizer and mix it with soil, place the Honeysuckle seedling in the center of the planting pit, spread the roots, fill the soil to half the pit, then slightly lift and shake the plant, tamp down the soil, and plant it not too deep, keeping the rootstock level with the ground. Too shallow will affect survival, and too deep will affect the growth of Honeysuckle after transplanting. Water thoroughly after planting.
III. Water and Fertilizer Management: Top-dress after germination each year and after flower harvesting. Use decomposed animal manure or nitrogen fertilizers such as phosphorus sulfate ammonium and urea in spring and summer, applying them in shallow trenches near the plants and covering them with soil. In winter, apply 5-10 kg of compost, 100 grams of ammonium sulfate, and 200 grams of superphosphate around the plants, apply in shallow trenches, cover with soil, and hill up. Water promptly during dry periods to prevent flower and bud drop.
IV. Management: Till and remove weeds 3-4 times a year, in spring during germination, in June, in August, and in late autumn. Combine tillage with hilling. The main diseases and pests that harm Honeysuckle include powdery mildew, coffee borer beetles, and aphids. Prevent and control them using conventional methods. After planting, set up a trellis to guide the Honeysuckle stems to climb.
V. Pruning: In the first 1-2 years after planting, mainly cultivate a straight and sturdy main stem. When the main stem reaches a height of 30-40 cm, cut off the top bud to promote the germination of side buds. In the second spring, select 4-5 sturdy branches as main branches from the upper part of the main stem, arranged in two layers. In winter, retain 5-6 pairs of buds from the first-order branches and cut off the top. Then, retain 6-7 pairs of buds from the second-order branches and cut off the top. Finally, remove the hook-shaped tender tips from the flowering branches. Through pruning, Honeysuckle changes from a twining growth habit to a branched one, evenly distributed, with good ventilation and light. Note that after each pruning, apply a top dressing.
Have you understood the detailed introduction of how to plant Honeysuckle to ensure its survival and the cultivation and management of Honeysuckle provided above?