Honeysuckle "Lakomka": characteristics and agricultural technology

Now there is a fairly large selection of honeysuckle varieties, of which Lakomka deserves special attention. It belongs to the early ripening plants. V. A. Fefelov was deservedly recognized as the author of this variety of berry bushes.This honeysuckle has earned the love of gardeners for their tasty and rather large fruits that have a delicate aroma. Berries are not only a delicacy, but also a medicine, as they contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients.

Honeysuckle "Gourmet" is a medium-sized bushes, whose height at the age of ten reaches 140 centimeters, although the first 3-4 years shoots grow quite slowly. This compact representative of its type has a semi-sprawling oval crown. The shoot is straight and thin, and the elongated long leaves are oval and light green in color.

Weigh berries up to 0.9 grams and reach three centimeters in length. The shape of the fruit is oval, slightly flattened. The skin is colored blue and covered with a waxy coating. The taste of the pulp is sweet with sourness and without the presence of bitterness. Honeysuckle fruits are beneficial and rich in vitamins C, P, as well as natural sugars. This variety can be used both fresh and in processed form.

Fruit ripening occurs in mid-June, during this period the berries can crumble. The plant is skoroplodnoe and gives high yields (3-5 kg ​​from a bush), begins to bear fruit by the fourth year of life. "Gourmand" is frost resistant and resistant to diseases and parasites.

This type of honeysuckle is self-infertile, because it needs cross-pollination. For this purpose, “neighbors” of other varieties are placed at close range (preferably 3-5). "Gourmand" is very fond of light and moisture, in preference for honeysuckle loamy and sandy soil. Often this look is used to create a hedge. The benefits of shrubs include the following:

• with proper care from one bush, you can collect about five kilograms of berries;
• The fruits are universal in their purpose, they are used just picked from a bush, frozen, processed, used to make decoctions and medicinal tinctures;
• variety tolerates frost, resistant to thaws and the return of cold weather;
• quickly begins to bear fruit, it happens in the third or fourth year of life;
• early ripening of fruits, already thirty five days after flowering.

The berries of this shrub are dietary, so they are often used for proper nutrition. Reviews show only one drawback of "Gourmet" - fall-off of its ripe berries.

Honeysuckle can be planted at any time of the year (except, of course, winter). In spring time - before buds bloom, in summer - after completion of the growth phase. The most favorable is sometimes considered August-September. The plant prefers well-lit places and negatively perceived shading, dry and too wet soil. If the soil is sour, then it is necessary to add lime to it.

The site that is chosen should begin to be prepared two to three weeks before the start of the landings. Initially, it is worth removing perennial weeds, after making the application of mineral and organic fertilizers. You need to dig up the ground to the depth of the shovel bayonet. The size of the pit should be with the parameters of 0.4 * 0.4 * 0.4 meters. Plants should be no closer than two meters from each other.

The rate of fertilizer to be applied to the well will determine the fertility of the soil. The approximate dose of the nutrient is as follows:

• from eight to fifteen kilograms of humus;
• 0.15-0.22 kg of superphosphate;
• about forty grams of potassium salt.

The prepared mixture should be mixed and moistened, then straighten the roots of a young plant in a pit, sprinkling it on top with fertile soil. The degree of penetration of the base - seven centimeters from the surface. After that, the soil should be properly compacted and pour water.

"Gourmet" can not be attributed to the capricious plants, which is why to care for her is quite simple. Be sure to maintain an optimal level of moisture in the soil. This moment is especially important when the berries are poured and ripen.The bush needs watering three times per season, with one bucket of water per plant will be enough. Of course, these are average indicators, since soil moisture is highly dependent on the amount of rain during growth and fruiting, this factor must be taken into account.

For the formation of the crown pruning is not needed. Cut worth the branches that have dried out or broken. When the honeysuckle is at least five years old, you can thin the plant. The area around the circle needs constant removal of weeds and loosening. Mulching the soil around the plant will only benefit, while you can use peat and foliage. Thus, the roots will be reliably protected from cold and drying, as the mulch also retains moisture.

To get a good harvest you need to know what diseases and pests can attack the honeysuckle "Gourmand". Often in the gardens you can find the following diseases of the plant.

• Monilioz. With the defeat of the foliage is immediately cut off a sick escape. Place the cut treated with a preparation that contains copper. As a prophylactic until the buds swell, the stems can be sprayed with Fitoflavin.

• Mealy dew. To overcome the disease, you can use tobacco dust, a mixture of copper sulphate and soap, diluted in water, dissolved wood ash.

• Cercospora which makes itself felt the appearance of brown spots on the foliage and the formation of the rim. In order for the plant not to be attacked by this infection, it is worth carefully thinning the shoots. In the autumn, you need to engage in sanitary pruning and destruction of the affected leaves. Spraying with cuprum-containing preparations effectively helps.

• Tuberculosis, which is manifested in the drying of the shoots and the appearance of tufts of brown color on the branches. The only treatment for honeysuckle in this case is pruning of the affected part and its destruction. As a means of prevention is used spraying of copper sulphate.

Honeysuckle "Gourmet" - a unique variety with edible berries. To please the plant, do not have to try hard, because this shrub requires minimal care. The result of the work of each summer resident, who will plant "Gourmet" on his plot, will be a rich harvest of tasty and very useful berries.

For honeysuckle care, see the video below.