What season to plant honeysuckle
Share with everyone the season for planting honeysuckle and some small experiences in plant cultivation such as the planting and management techniques of honeysuckle. Next, the editor will introduce to the netizens.
Honeysuckle, also known as double flower and Japanese honeysuckle, belongs to the genus Lonicera of the honeysuckle family. It is a commonly used Chinese herb, with unopened flower buds and vines leaves used in medicine. It has the function of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing wind and reducing swelling, and is mainly used to treat wind-heat cold, sore throat, and other conditions. Honeysuckle is not strict in soil requirements and can be planted on barren hillsides.
－ Overview
Honeysuckle, also known as double flower and Japanese honeysuckle, belongs to the genus Lonicera of the honeysuckle family. It is a commonly used Chinese herb, with unopened flower buds and vines leaves used in medicine. It has the function of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing wind and reducing swelling, and is mainly used to treat wind-heat cold, sore throat, and other conditions. It is mainly produced in provinces such as Shandong, Henan, and Hunan, with the quality from Shandong being the best. Honeysuckle prefers a warm, humid, and sunny climate, has strong adaptability, and is cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and flood-resistant. It can be cultivated in plains and mountains, and is not strict in soil requirements, allowing for planting on barren hillsides.
(II) Cultivation Techniques
1. Propagation methods Honeysuckle can be propagated by seed or cutting.
(1) Seed propagation Collect mature fruits when the seeds are mature in autumn, rub in clear water, remove the fruit skin and impurities, take out the full seeds that sink to the bottom, dry and store them for future use. They can be planted immediately in autumn. If sown in spring of the following year, the seeds can be treated with sand storage for overwintering, and then planted in spring after the ground thaws. Make a row spacing of 10 cm wide furrows on the seedbed, evenly spread the seeds in the furrows, cover with 3 cm of soil, press down, and seedlings will emerge in about 10 days. Field management should be strengthened during the seedling stage, and the seedlings can be transplanted to the production field in the autumn of the same year or the following spring. The seeding rate is about 1-1.5 kg per mu.
(2) Cutting propagation Honeysuckle vines can be propagated by cutting during the growing season. Select vigorous branches, cut into cuttings about 30 cm long, each with at least 3 nodes, remove the leaves, cut the lower end diagonally, tie into small bundles, dip the cut ends into plant hormone IAA 500 mg/kg (500PPm) solution, and plant immediately. The plant spacing is 150 cm x 150 cm, dig holes, plant 3-5 cuttings per hole, leaving 1/3 of the stem above the ground, at least one bud exposed above the soil, press down firmly, water thoroughly, and roots will emerge and sprout in about one month. The cuttings can also be grown into seedlings first and then transplanted to the field.
2. Field Management
(1) Cultivation and weeding After transplanting, cultivate and weed 3-4 times a year. After three years, when the vines grow lush, the frequency of weeding can be reduced depending on the weed situation.
(2) Topdressing Combine weeding with topdressing in spring and autumn each year. Organic and chemical fertilizers are both suitable. Apply 30-40 kg of urea per mu under the plants and apply soil around the roots to protect them.
(3) Pruning and shaping For honeysuckle plants that have grown for 1-2 years, the vines grow irregularly and are disordered. Pruning and shaping are needed to promote the growth of the canopy and flowering. The specific pruning method is to mainly cultivate a straight and strong trunk in the first 1-2 years after planting. When the trunk height is between 30-40 cm, cut off the top to promote the germination of side buds. In the second spring, select 4-5 strong branches from the upper part of the trunk as main branches, with two layers of growth. From the primary branches, keep 5-6 pairs of buds, and cut off the top buds. Then, from the secondary branches, keep 6-7 pairs of buds, and remove the hook-shaped tender tips from the flowering branches. Through such pruning and shaping, the honeysuckle plants change from winding growth to a clear, evenly distributed, ventilated, and light penetrate, with a straight and strong main trunk, umbrella-shaped shrubbery, which is conducive to the formation of flowering branches and the growth of flower buds. Pruning and shaping of honeysuckle has a significant impact on yield increase, generally increasing yield by more than 50%.
(4) Disease and pest control Powdery mildew can cause significant damage to honeysuckle leaves. Pruning and shaping should be done to improve ventilation conditions. Additionally, a 1500-fold solution of myclobutanil can be used for foliar spraying. Other diseases and pests can be controlled with conventional methods.
(III) Harvesting and Processing
Honeysuckle begins to bloom in the third year after transplanting. Generally, the first batch of flowers is picked in mid-to-late May, with the second and third batches picked one month apart. The harvesting period must be before the flower buds open, when the flower buds turn from green to white, the top swells, and the bottom is green. The harvested honeysuckle is called "two white flowers"; when the flower buds turn completely white, they are called "large white needles." The harvested flower buds should be dried or dried in a timely manner to prevent mold. The general yield per mu is about 150 kg, with the best quality being those that are dry, free of impurities, have correct color, and have a fresh aroma.
Cultivation techniques for field-grown honeysuckle:
1. Land preparation and selection Choose loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam soil and areas with convenient irrigation and water sources for seedbeds. Deeply turn the soil more than 30 cm, crush soil clumps, level and refine the soil, and apply sufficient base fertilizer. Then make high ridges 1.3 meters wide for seeding or cutting propagation. For planting sites, you can use barren slopes, edges of fields, ditches, and areas around houses. First deeply turn the soil, apply sufficient base fertilizer, level and refine the soil, and make high ridges or high mounds for planting.
2. Transplanting Perform transplanting before germination in early spring or during the dormant period in autumn and winter. On the prepared planting site, dig holes 150 cm apart in rows and 120 cm apart in plants, 30-40 cm wide and deep, and apply 5 kg of soil manure mixed with bottom soil to each hole. Then, plant one strong seedling in each hole, fill in fine soil, press firmly, and water thoroughly to settle the roots. After the plants have survived, shape and prune them to form upright, single dwarf shrubs. Increase branching, expand the canopy, and change from one harvest per year to 3-4 harvests per year, which can significantly increase yield.
Strengthening the field management of honeysuckle is the main link for high yield. Field cultivation management generally includes reasonable arrangement of population structure, cultivation and weeding, fertilization and watering, and disease and pest control. Relevant contents of close planting, pruning and shaping, and conventional cultivation and weeding, fertilization and watering, etc., are provided for producers to apply in field management.
1. Reasonable close planting The rationalization of the honeysuckle population structure generally goes through close planting in the early stage and adjustment in the later stage to adjust the competition of plants within the population for light, temperature, water, and fertilizer to maximize overall benefits, improve the ventilation and light penetration of the population, and achieve rationalization of plant population structure and density. Reasonable close planting generally refers to close planting in the early stage.
2. Cultivation and weeding After transplanting and surviving, cultivate and weed 3-4 times a year. The first time is when new leaves sprout in spring; the second time is in June; the third time is in July-August; and the fourth time is in late autumn and early winter. After cultivation and weeding, apply soil around the plant roots to help them overwinter. When cultivating, keep it shallow near the plant roots and slightly deeper away to avoid damaging the roots, otherwise, it will affect the growth of the plant roots. After three years, the frequency of cultivation and weeding can be reduced depending on the growth of weeds.
3. Topdressing After early spring germination and after each flower bud harvest, topdressing should be done. Apply decomposed animal manure or chemical fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and urea in spring and summer, apply them in shallow furrows around the plants, cover the fertilizer with soil after application; in winter, apply 5-10 kg of decomposed manure or compost, 100 grams of ammonium sulfate, and 200 grams of superphosphate around the flower墩, apply in a circular furrow, cover with soil and apply soil to a thickness of 5 cm.
4. Pruning and shaping After transplanting and surviving, keep only one strong plant per hole, and prune and shape it into an umbrella-shaped upright small shrub. The specific pruning method is to mainly cultivate a straight and strong trunk in the first 1-2 years after planting. When the trunk height is between 30-40 cm, cut off the top to promote the germination of side buds. In the second spring, select 4-5 strong branches from the upper part of the trunk as main branches, with two layers of growth. In winter, keep 5-6 pairs of buds from the primary branches and cut off the top. Then, keep 6-7 pairs of buds from the secondary branches and remove the hook-shaped tender tips from the flowering branches. If there are no such tender tips, do not remove them. Generally, in spring, the dense and short internodes and fine leaves on the secondary branches or the original old flowering branches are flowering branches and should be retained. Through pruning and shaping, honeysuckle changes from winding growth to a clear, evenly distributed, ventilated, and light penetrate, with a straight and strong main trunk, umbrella-shaped shrubbery. Since honeysuckle has the characteristic that new branches can develop into flowering branches in the same year, the above pruning measures can promote the growth of new branches and the formation of flower buds, thereby increasing yield. Pruning is done from frostbite to freezing in winter each year, and also after each batch of flowers is harvested in summer. After each pruning, topdressing should be done.
5. Irrigation and drainage During the flowering period, drought or excessive rainfall can cause a large number of flowers to fall, rot, or young flowers to break. Therefore, irrigation and drainage work should be done in a timely manner.
6. Overwintering management Honeysuckle can naturally overwinter in most parts of China, but in cold areas such as Jilin, it is necessary to protect the old branches from freezing. If the old branches are frozen, new branches will grow the following year, resulting in fewer flowers and lower yield. The specific method is to lay the old branches flat on the ground before the ground freezes, cover them with 6-7 cm of wormwood, and then cover the grass with soil. This can ensure safe overwintering. Remove the covering material before germination in the following spring.
The above sharing of the season for planting honeysuckle and the comprehensive knowledge explanation of honeysuckle planting and management techniques hope to help you.