Honeysuckle planting and cultivation techniques
Answer questions for netizens about honeysuckle planting and cultivation techniques, as well as the experience of honeysuckle maintenance and management in green plant care. Details are as follows:
Honeysuckle, also known as double flower and Japanese honeysuckle, belongs to the family Caprifoliaceae, genus Lonicera. It is a commonly used Chinese herb, with unopened flower buds and vines leaves used as medicine. It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind and reducing swelling, and is mainly used to treat symptoms such as wind-heat cold and sore throat. Honeysuckle is not strict about soil requirements and can be planted on barren hillsides.
－ Overview
Honeysuckle, also known as double flower and Japanese honeysuckle, belongs to the family Caprifoliaceae, genus Lonicera. It is a commonly used Chinese herb, with unopened flower buds and vines leaves used as medicine. It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind and reducing swelling, and is mainly used to treat symptoms such as wind-heat cold and sore throat. It is mainly produced in Shandong, Henan, Hunan and other provinces, with the best quality from Shandong. 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. It is not strict about soil requirements and can be planted on barren hillsides.
(II) Cultivation Techniques
1. Propagation methods: Honeysuckle can be propagated by seed and cutting methods.
(1) Seed propagation: Collect mature fruits when seeds are mature in autumn, rub them in clean water, remove the peel and impurities, pick 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 method to overwinter, and then sown after the ground thaws in spring. Make a furrow with a width of 10 cm on the seedbed, evenly sprinkle the seeds into the furrow, cover them with 3 cm of soil, press them down, and seedlings will emerge in about 10 days. Field management should be strengthened during the seedling stage. The seedlings can be transplanted to the production field in autumn of the same year or spring of the following year. The sowing amount per mu is about 1-1.5 kg.
(2) Cutting propagation: Honeysuckle vines can be propagated by cutting during the growing season. Select vigorous branches, cut them into cuttings about 30 cm long, each with at least 3 nodes, remove the leaves, cut the lower end diagonally, tie them into small bundles, soak the cutting ends in plant hormone IAA 500 mg/kg (500PPm) solution, and plant them fresh. The spacing between plants is 150 cm x 150 cm. Dig holes, insert 3-5 cuttings per hole, leaving 1/3 of the stem above the ground, at least one bud exposed above the soil, press down tightly, water thoroughly, and roots and sprouts will emerge in about one month. Cuttings can also be grown into seedlings first and then transplanted to the field.
2. Field Management
(1) Hoeing and weeding: After transplanting and surviving, hoeing and weeding should be done 3-4 times a year. After 3 years, when the vines are vigorous, the frequency of weeding can be reduced depending on the weed situation.
(2) Topdressing: Topdressing should be combined with weeding in spring and autumn each year. Organic and chemical fertilizers can be used. Apply 30-40 kg of urea per mu under the plants, and apply soil around the plants to protect the roots.
(3) Pruning and shaping: For honeysuckle plants 1-2 years old, the vines grow irregularly and in a disorderly manner, requiring pruning and shaping to facilitate tree crown growth and flowering. The specific pruning method is to mainly cultivate a straight and strong main stem in the first 1-2 years. When the main stem is 30-40 cm tall, cut off the top to promote the growth of side buds. In the spring of the second year, select 4-5 strong branches from the upper part of the main stem as main branches, with two layers of branches. From the primary branches, keep 5-6 pairs of buds, 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, honeysuckle plants change from winding growth to a umbrella-shaped shrub with distinct branches, uniform distribution, good ventilation and light transmission, and a thick and upright main stem, which is beneficial for the formation of flowering branches and the growth of flower buds. Pruning and shaping of honeysuckle can greatly increase yield, generally 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. Additionally, a fungicide spray of rust prevention solution (1500 times) can be applied to the leaves. Other diseases and pests can be controlled using conventional methods.
(III) Harvesting and Processing
Honeysuckle begins to bloom in the third year after transplanting. The first batch of flowers is usually picked in late May and early June, with the second and third batches picked one month apart. The harvesting period must be before the flower buds open, when the buds turn from green to white, the top swells, and the bottom is green. The harvested honeysuckle is called "two-white flowers"; when the buds are completely white, they are called "big white needles." The harvested buds should be dried or dried in time and not stacked to prevent mold. The general yield per mu is about 150 kg, with dry, no mixed leaves, correct color, and fragrant odor being the best quality.
Cultivation techniques for field-grown honeysuckle:
1. Land preparation: Choose sandy loam soil that is loose, fertile, and well-drained, with convenient irrigation and a water source. After selecting the land, deeply turn the soil more than 30 cm, break up soil clumps, level and refine the soil, and apply sufficient base fertilizer. Then, make high ridges 1.3 meters wide for seedling or cutting propagation. For planting land, use fallow slopes, edges of fields, ditches, and areas around houses for planting. First deeply turn the land, 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 land, dig holes with a row spacing of 150 cm and a plant spacing of 120 cm, 30-40 cm wide and deep, and apply 5 kg of soil manure mixed with bottom soil to each hole. Then, plant 1 strong seedling in each hole, fill with fine soil, press down, and water thoroughly to set the roots. After surviving, shape and prune the vines to form upright dwarf shrubs, increase branching, expand the crown, and change from 1 harvest per year to 3-4 harvests per year, which can significantly increase yield.
Strengthening the field management of honeysuckle is a major aspect of high yield. Field cultivation management generally includes reasonable arrangement of population structure, hoeing and weeding, fertilizing and watering, and disease and pest control. Relevant contents such as dense planting in the early stage, pruning and shaping, and conventional hoeing, weeding, and fertilizing and watering are provided for producers to use in field management.
1. Reasonable dense planting: The rationalization of honeysuckle population structure is generally achieved through dense planting in the early stage and pruning and adjustment in the later stage, so that the competition for light, temperature, water, gas, and fertilizer within the population is adjusted to maximize overall benefits, thereby improving the population's ventilation, light transmission, and water and fertilizer utilization, and achieving rationalization of plant population structure and density. Reasonable dense planting generally refers to dense planting in the early stage.
2. Hoeing and weeding: Hoeing and weeding should be done 3-4 times a year after transplanting and surviving. The first time is when new leaves sprout in spring, the second in June, the third in July-August, and the fourth in late autumn and early winter. After hoeing and weeding, apply soil around the plant roots for overwintering. Hoeing should be shallow near the plant roots and slightly deeper away to avoid root damage, which can affect the growth of the plant roots. After the third year, the frequency of hoeing and weeding can be reduced depending on the weed growth.
3. Topdressing: Topdressing should be done after germination in early spring and after each harvest of flower buds. Apply decomposed animal manure or chemical fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and urea around the plants, and cover the fertilizer with soil after application. In winter, apply 5-10 kg of decomposed manure or compost, 100 g of ammonium sulfate, and 200 g of superphosphate around the flower墩, apply it in a circular trench around the flower墩, cover the fertilizer with soil, and apply soil to a thickness of 5 cm.
4. Pruning and shaping: After transplanting and surviving, keep only 1 strong plant per hole, and prune and train it to form an umbrella-shaped upright small shrub. The specific pruning method is to mainly cultivate a straight and strong main stem in the first 1-2 years. When the main stem is 30-40 cm tall, cut off the top to promote the growth of side buds. In the spring of the second year, select 4-5 strong branches from the upper part of the main stem as main branches, with two layers of branches. In winter, keep 5-6 pairs of buds from the primary branches, cut off the top. Then, from the secondary branches, keep 6-7 pairs of buds, 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 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 umbrella-shaped shrub with distinct branches, uniform distribution, good ventilation and light transmission, and a thick and upright main stem. 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. Winter pruning should be done from frostfall to before freezing, and also cut off withered, diseased, weak, and crossed branches that disturb the tree shape, allowing nutrients to focus on producing new branches and forming flower buds. Summer pruning is also done after each harvest of flowers. Topdressing should be done after each pruning.
5. Drainage and irrigation: If it is dry or rainy during the flowering period, it can cause a large number of flowers to fall, rot, or break. Therefore, timely irrigation and drainage should be done.
6. Overwintering management: Honeysuckle can naturally overwinter in most parts of China. However, in cold areas such as Jilin, attention should be paid to protecting old branches from freezing. If old branches are frozen, new branches will grow the following year, resulting in fewer flowers and low 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 grass, and then cover the grass with soil. This can ensure safe overwintering. Remove the covering material before germination in the spring.
This article shares the specific introduction of honeysuckle planting and cultivation techniques and honeysuckle maintenance and management, hoping to bring some knowledge of flowers to green plant enthusiasts.