Climbing honeysuckle attracts gardeners with its plasticity. By making timely pruning and gartering of bushes, you can decorate a fence, gazebo, pergola or other garden structure with these vines.

Curly decorative honeysuckle will allow you to disguise an unsightly wall of a structure: a barn, a bathhouse, or hide it under liana-like bushes country toilet. In general, the use of these vines in the garden is limited only by the imagination of its owner.

A honeysuckle bush frames a metal arch

In the presented photo, climbing honeysuckle originally hides the metal arch. You won’t even immediately understand which side of the structure the vine has its roots on, and where the top is. This property of these plants is widely used in landscape design.

Species diversity

Currently, there are more than two hundred and fifty varieties and forms of climbing honeysuckle. In order to cover this diversity, you will need a thick illustrated reference book. We will try to talk about some of the most popular representatives of this extensive line of plants.

Honeysuckle

Fragrant honeysuckle, or honeysuckle, lat. Lonicera caprifolium, is a perennial deciduous vine that, with proper care, can grow up to six meters in length. This type of plant is the most popular in our gardens, it is where the passion for honeysuckle began decorative varieties many gardeners.

Over the course of a season, this vine is capable of giving a two-meter growth and easily entwining a pergola or climbing high along the wall of a gazebo or country house. Honeysuckle is frost-resistant; only the very tips of the shoots are susceptible to freezing.

Oddly enough, a warm winter can harm this honeysuckle more than a cold one. Frequent thaws cause swelling of the buds, which may die after the onset of frost. But even honeysuckle frozen in such conditions can be reborn from root buds that produce offspring.

Honeysuckle blooms in early summer with bright colors for 15-20 days. The outer part of the buds is colored in orange-red tones and white-yellow inside.

Honeysuckle blossoms

But even after flowering, the climbing honeysuckle of the honeysuckle species continues to delight with its decorative effect. The berries, greenish at first, gradually turn red, and a rather picturesque picture appears before our eyes.

Honeysuckle berries

Honeysuckle German, lat. Lonicera periclymenum, similar to the previous species, but differs in the color variety of buds: from white to purple. Flowering in this species is longer and sometimes lasts until September. The fruits of German honeysuckle are dark red in color.

Attention! The berries of decorative climbing honeysuckle are inedible!

German honeysuckle flowers

Brown

Brown's honeysuckle, lat. Lonicera brownie, is distinguished by the carrot color of its buds, which appear twice per season: first in June-July, and again in August. Preferring sunny areas without drafts, this variety tolerates winters well, and if it freezes a little, it quickly recovers.

Brown's honeysuckle

Henry

This honeysuckle, lat. Lonicera henryi is a semi-evergreen species, that is, it does not completely shed its leaves for the winter, but some of them remain on the bush. It is significantly inferior in height to other forms, barely reaching two and a half meters. It has brown-red, tubular buds that produce a wonderful scent in mid-July. Black berries are also decorative and ripen by September.

Honeysuckle curly Henry

Gecrotta

This hybrid of American and evergreen honeysuckle, lat. Lonicera heckrottii, bears almost no fruit. But Gecrotta can bloom for almost four months - from mid-June to October. Bud colors: yellow, cream, orange-pink. The vine grows up to four meters in length.

Honeysuckle Gecrotte

Primorskaya

Honeysuckle seaside or Serotina, lat. Lonicera serotina, practically repeats the popular honeysuckle in everything, only its flowers are brighter, and the vine itself looks more compact, although it stretches almost five meters in length.

Primorska honeysuckle - Serotina

Gerald

Gerald's honeysuckle, lat. Lonicera giraldii, unlike other species, is evergreen. Its leaves remain on the vine all winter. In the most severe frosts, they curl into a tube, but continue to hang on the branches, decorating your garden with greenery.

In spring, old leaves fall off under the pressure of fresh buds that open. The flowering aroma is comparable to the smell of mock orange jasmine, and the color of the buds changes from white to lemon yellow.

Jaerald's Honeysuckle

Belgica select

Honeysuckle climbing belgica select blooms twice during the season. The first line of buds begins to bloom in May on last year's shoots, the second - from the beginning of July on this year's growth. The liana reaches a length of three meters with an annual growth of one meter. The flowers have purple hues.

Honeysuckle variety Belgica select

Agricultural technology

Reproduction

Decorative climbing honeysuckle is propagated mainly by two vegetative methods:

layering;

cuttings.

In order to get a seedling in the first way, in early spring after the snow has melted and the soil has thawed, select a well-developed branch at the bottom of the plant and bend it to the ground, after which it is pinned with a wire staple or simply pressed with a piece of board or stone. During the season, roots form at the point of contact of the branch with the soil, after which in the fall or spring of next year the seedling can be separated and transplanted to permanent place.

Honeysuckle cuttings are carried out in mid-July. In this case, cuttings are cut with two or three internodes, leaving only a couple of upper leaves on them. The chibouks prepared in this way are planted in a greenhouse or cuttings.

Advice! The simplest cuttings can be easily made from everyone’s favorite plastic bottle by cutting off the bottom. When covering the stalk without a bottom, do not forget to unscrew the plug to let air inside.

Landing

Planting climbing honeysuckle and caring for it begin with preparing holes in a certain planned place. Depending on the type of plant, you need to choose a sunny or shaded place. In addition, you need to immediately decide what the vine will rely on during its growing season.

The distance between plants depends on varietal characteristics and location in the garden: for a continuous fence, planting is done tightly, for individual structures - looser.

It is more convenient to grow climbing honeysuckle directly with some kind of support; this makes it easier to care for and trim. The holes are made measuring 50 by 50 centimeters in plan and the same size in depth. They are filled halfway with drainage and nutrient mixture, after which the seedlings are lowered into them and the remaining nutrient soil is added to the edge of the hole and watered.

Advice! After planting, be sure to mulch the root circle and tie the young vine to a support!

Care

Caring for climbing honeysuckle comes down to several agrotechnical measures.

Many owners of private houses and summer cottages have begun to pay great attention to landscaping their gardens. There are many ways to decorate a site and one of them is vertical gardening garden Using this method, you can divide the area into separate zones and create shadow. For this purpose, perennial and annual plants are most often used.

Hedges have also become a very popular technique in creating landscape design for a personal plot. Recently they have often become used as a hedge. climbing honeysuckle. One of the many types of honeysuckle will be discussed in the article.

Honeysuckle honeysuckle photo, description of the species

There are many types of honeysuckle, their total number reaches 200 varieties. Conventionally, they can be divided into three main categories:

• trees,
• shrubs;
• creepers.

There are no more than 10 types of honeysuckle that are most suitable for growing in your garden. Shrub and climbing varieties are very popular in the country. Honeysuckle honeysuckle is among the most common for planting in the garden. This look can decorate any part of the territory:

Most gardeners love this plant for its easy care and fast growth. With its abundant decorative foliage and beautiful fruits, as well as its wonderful aroma, it is capable of give beauty to any area of ​​the site.

Honeysuckle belongs to liana-like plants, a type of climbing honeysuckle. It grows as a bush, which is what made it so popular. It has beautiful pale green leaves, with beautifully colored inflorescences up to 50 mm in size. The photo shows that the flowers can have different colors;

• red-violet;
• white;
• yellow.

IN summer time The liana-like bush blooms and a wonderful aroma comes from the flowers. As evening approaches, the scent of flowers intensifies. The flowers of this type of honeysuckle have far protruding stamens. They are collected in bunches of 5–6 pieces and located in lush thickets foliage. The bush has a short flowering period, about three weeks. A single flower lives for 3 days and fades. Many bees always gather around the flowering bush; they are attracted by the aroma of honeysuckle flowers. Ripe small fruits have a bright red color.

The branches of the vine can grow up to 2 meters in one season. Its lifespan can reach 30 years. The plant is frost-resistant and even shoots damaged by frost tend to recover.

A distinctive feature of this type of honeysuckle is its leaves. They acquire a bluish-green color and remain in this form until late autumn.

Liana care

Honeysuckle honeysuckle is undemanding in care, so it is suitable for beginner gardeners. Plant for normal development you need to have support. If it is not possible to build a support nearby, then Honeysuckle should be planted near the wall of a house or gazebo. Any vertical surface is suitable as a support. The vine needs support so that its branches can crawl upward. The height of the support will allow it to grow more and more. Garden culture usually grows to a height of 4–5 meters. The vine can reach this size 5 years after planting.

The shoots of the vine have small roots that, as they grow, can cling to a rough surface. When there is no support, the branches spread across the surface and the propagation process is solved without problems.

Honeysuckle is usually planted in the spring. To do this, young shoots with buds that are capable of producing healthy shoots during growth are selected. How well and actively the bush will grow in the future will depend on them. Liana not so much responds well to transplantation, so it’s better to immediately decide on a permanent landing site. The soil for planting should be loose and well moistened. A more lush shrub will be obtained if 2–3 or more buds are used per plot. The buds will give young shoots to the vine, they will proper care will create hedge.

If honeysuckle is planted through a hole, the shoots will soon form a bush. The method of planting in a trench will ultimately result in vertical gardening. They will create rows of honeysuckle. Plant loves well-lit places and this must be taken into account when planting. The abundance of flowers on honeysuckle will depend on the light level of the place where it grows. If you choose a shaded place, the vine will produce good and healthy shoots, but will not bloom luxuriantly.

Plant nutrition

In order for the plant to actively develop and delight the eye with its color and bright fruits, it is necessary to add fertilizer to the soil before planting. Suitable for this purpose:

Any of these components are combined with the soil for planting and honeysuckle buds are planted in the prepared soil mixture. First p the leaves after planting can be seen in late May or early June. At good care shoots can grow up to 2 meters in one year of life.

In the future, honeysuckle honeysuckle also needs periodic feeding. It responds well to nitrogen and potassium fertilizers and humus for 2–3 years. You can use vegetable fertilizer from your site. Experienced gardeners They use fertilizer that they prepare themselves. On every summer cottage There is a compost pit where all plant waste goes. They should be periodically sprinkled with peat and after a year you can use your own peat compost.

Honeysuckle Reproduction

Honeysuckle Honeysuckle

The simplest way to propagate this type of plant is to plant seeds. To do this, seeds are selected, they are germinated and then the sprouts are planted in the ground. There is another popular method of propagation - cuttings and offshoots.

Cuttings are usually planted in spring, summer or autumn. If cuttings are done in the fall, then it is necessary to select strong shoots 10-15 cm long. They should have at least 4-5 eyes. Their planted in prepared loose soil and well-moistened. Only 1 bud remains on the surface. The planting site must be mulched with leaves.

Planting is also done in the summer, after the honeysuckle has bloomed around the end of July. To do this, select cuttings that have 2 internodes and remove lower leaves. They are placed in a greenhouse, in a place protected from direct sunlight. The distance between cuttings is approximately 15–25 cm, with a depth of 2–3 cm. It is best to cover them with glass and remove it after new leaves appear.. The kidneys need to be moistened several times daily. For the winter they are mulched with peat, left until spring and then transplanted into open ground.

Propagation by seeds is a lengthy process if you prepare the seeds yourself. They are selected immediately after honeysuckle honeysuckle blooms at the end of July. They must be selected, thoroughly washed and dried, and stored in a dry place. In February, prepared seeds are mixed with wet sand and keep in the refrigerator for 2 months. After this they are ready for sowing into the soil. After their germination, you should monitor the soil moisture, loosen it and remove weeds. Ready seedlings are usually planted in a permanent place in autumn or early spring.

Pruning and shaping the bush

In order for the plant to decorate the garden area, it must be monitored. Correct and timely pruning will help form the honeysuckle vine. Honeysuckle cannot become a full-fledged element of landscape design without pruning.

A well-chosen support, strong and high, is of great importance. The material can be used as a support made of wood, metal or simply nylon mesh. Honeysuckle branches must be guided manually in the right direction. They grow quickly and need proper distribution to create a beautiful and well-groomed appearance.

When the honeysuckle has reached the required height, its top is cut off. Immediately after this, side shoots begin to intensively develop. In vines of this species, the lower branches usually fall off, so you should pay attention to this. To hide such a defect, you can plant another plant nearby, covering the shoots without leaves.

Almost all types of honeysuckle have beneficial features. Honeysuckle is no exception; its leaves, flowers and stems are considered medicinal. Decoctions and tinctures of them are used for the prevention and treatment of many diseases..

Thanks to such healing properties Honeysuckle should grow in every garden. A beautiful and well-groomed bush will give off its aroma during the flowering period. He will create beautiful composition in garden landscape design- a cozy corner, a vertical arch or a hedge.

Many attractive plants can be grown on your own without much difficulty. personal plot. And when correct selection flowers, you can make your garden truly amazing and unforgettable. So, excellent plants For decoration, climbing ornamental vines and shrubs can be used, which can be used to create arches, trellises, camouflage old walls and cover fences. Such crops include climbing honeysuckle, the care and planting of which will be discussed below, as well as its varieties.

Planting climbing honeysuckle in the garden

This attractive plant is very light-loving. It is best to plant it in a sunny area, and it is advisable to give preference to a place protected from drafts. Honeysuckle thrives on lands rich in humus and organic matter. An excellent choice would be loamy or sandy soil with neutral acidity, but planting on alkaline or acidic soil is allowed.

In the photo, Tatar climbing honeysuckle

In order to acquire an attractive shrub, you need to choose the right seedlings of climbing honeysuckle. Their age should be two to three years. Young plants should have a massive root system, and their cuttings should have awakened buds. The optimal period for planting climbing honeysuckle is the beginning of autumn or the end of spring.

To plant seedlings in the soil, it is necessary to prepare a hole fifty centimeters in size - both in depth and in breadth. The soil extracted from the hole should be combined with a bucket of organic matter, one hundred grams of superphosphate and fifty grams potash fertilizer. If the soil is highly acidic, it would be a good idea to add one hundred grams of lime to the mixture.

In the central part of each hole it is necessary to build a mound of soil mixture, then pour it into the hole warm water and place a seedling in it. Its roots need to be carefully distributed over the mound, then sprinkled with the prepared soil mixture, compacted carefully but well and watered. In this case, the root collar of the climbing honeysuckle should remain above the surface of the earth. After planting, you need to mulch the soil around the plant using peat or humus.

Features of caring for climbing honeysuckle

This plant is considered quite moisture-loving. For each square meter area you need to use twenty-five liters of water, this will ensure complete soil moisture by ten centimeters. In very dry weather, watering should be done twice a week. In order for this procedure to be as practical as possible, readers of Popular About Health should build a wide hole near the bush. Proper watering is extremely important at the stage of budding and subsequent flowering of climbing honeysuckle.

One of the stages of caring for such a plant is considered to be loosening the soil. So the surface of the earth after watering must be loosened. This will help prevent the formation of a dense crust. Loosening is carried out with a hoe or garden fork, and they act very carefully, not going more than six centimeters deep, so as not to damage the surface roots.

In order to prevent the appearance of weeds and avoid unnecessary evaporation of moisture, it is worth mulching trunk circle peat or humus. You need to cover the ground five to eight centimeters with such materials, and the mulch, by the way, will become an additional organic fertilizer.

When weeds appear, you should immediately pull them out from under the climbing honeysuckle bushes along with the roots.

For the development and decorativeness of such a plant, you need to provide it with strong support. Also, after the first year of life, the plant begins to be pruned to stimulate branching and abundant flowering. Pruning is usually partial, but periodically it is necessary to carry out global strong pruning to rejuvenate the bush.

It is advisable to carry out such formative procedures in early spring or autumn, when there is no foliage on the bush. Although in general, minor shaping haircuts can be carried out throughout the season.

In spring you need to feed climbing honeysuckle organic fertilizers– humus or compost; use a bucket of fertilizers per bush. Throughout the entire growing season (twice or three times per season), it is worth using complex mineral fertilizers.
For the winter, climbing honeysuckle needs to be protected from frost with fallen leaves, compost or spruce branches. This plant is not frost-resistant, but can quickly recover after winter. If the lashes are not covered, they will freeze. In this case, they will need to be cut off close to the ground in the spring. Experienced gardeners advise removing the lashes from the supports, pressing them with brackets to the ground and covering them with spruce branches.

Varieties of climbing honeysuckle

There are several varieties of this plant that you can grow in your garden. Thus, honeysuckle honeysuckle can reach a height of up to six meters, has fragrant red-yellow flowers and bright orange-red fruits.

Brown's honeysuckle reaches five meters in height, can bloom long and profusely - for three weeks, with orange-red flowers.

Maak honeysuckle grows up to three meters in height and has large white flowers.

Honeysuckle Vegetable is especially unpretentious; it produces many not bright flowers. Highly decorative The black fruits are different.

Also known varieties of climbing honeysuckle are Serotina, Graham Thomas, Munster, Harleguin, Dropmo Skrlet, Hekrota, Korolkova, Gerald and Tatarskaya.

Types and popular varieties

The genus Honeysuckle includes up to 200 species of shrubs and vines, including crops with edible fruits. In gardening, preference is given to decorative climbing species. Their densely leafy stems rise high, the flowers are unusually beautiful and often fragrant. The fruits are colored bright colors. In climbing vines they are often poisonous.

• The most ancient and famous cultural species honeysuckle is f. Honeysuckle (or fragrant). This vine blooms earlier than others, in June. Cream or pink-yellow lush flowers bloom in the late afternoon and fill the entire garden with their aroma, attracting butterflies. From mid-summer the flowers darken, even to brown shades. In autumn, honeysuckle is strewn with brightly colored fruits, turning red in a ring of large fused leaves. This species is winter-hardy.

Honeysuckle Honeysuckle

• Much more heat-loving and. Curly(German, Lithuanian). Its white, pink or purple flowers - excellent honey plants, and the purple fruits are poisonous. The most striking variety of this species is “Serotina”. The vines of this variety are decorated with crimson flowers.

Honeysuckle Climbing

• North American species and. Brown V middle lane requires shelter for the winter. It has very decorative foliage, dove-blue below and bright green above. Large tubular flowers are carrot-colored. The variety "Dropmore Scarlet" is interesting because of its orange-colored flowers.

Brown's honeysuckle

• The hardiest species is and. Tatar. In May, the entire bush is covered with small white or pink flowers. Varieties "Amold Red" and "Morgen Orange" - with red, "Elegant" - with striped bright red flowers.

Honeysuckle Tatarian

• Abundant flowering famous and. Korolkova. Its soft pink flowers cover the bush so tightly that neither branches nor foliage are visible.

Honeysuckle Korolkova

• Unlike other types, and. Gerald does not shed its leaves for the winter. In the spring, when young shoots begin to grow, last year's foliage falls off. The yellow flowers are very fragrant.

Gerald's Honeysuckle

Reproduction techniques

Like other climbing vines and ornamental shrubs Honeysuckle reproduces by seeds and vegetatively.

Most reliable way reproduction - cuttings of green shoots. Escapes current year cut into cuttings with two or three internodes. Broken off side shoots with a “heel” also take root well.

Important! Cuttings are taken during the period when green fruits appear on the bush. Shoots ready for cuttings are fragile and break with a bang when bent.

The cuttings are immediately planted in light soil for rooting in a shaded place. If there is no greenhouse or greenhouse on the site, where is it easier to maintain high humidity, cuttings can be covered with trimmed plastic bottles without cover.

Honeysuckle seeds

Subject to optimal conditions, the cuttings will take root within 10 days.

Advice. Rooted cuttings need to be transplanted to a permanent place in the spring.

Seeds They must be stratified (maintained at temperatures up to +3º for several months) and sown in early spring. Stratified seeds produce uniform shoots; without this procedure, a minority of seeds germinate, and seedlings develop slowly. Seedlings bloom after 5 years.

Important! At seed propagation The varietal properties of the plant are not preserved.

By digging up honeysuckle branches in the spring, you can get a good planting material -layering. Honeysuckle also produces shoots used for propagation.

Planting and care

Decorative honeysuckle is planted on the south side of the house. It grows and blooms well in sunny areas and in partial shade. The plant will also grow in shade, but the flowering will not be as abundant.

A young honeysuckle bush should immediately be tied to a support

Decorative honeysuckle does not grow in sandstone and clayey wet soils. All other soils are quite suitable for growing it. The plant prefers loose, fertile soils with a neutral alkaline reaction and good drainage.

Advice. When choosing a place for planting, it is worth remembering that decorative honeysuckle grows quickly and requires strong support.

Planting is carried out in early autumn, possibly even at the end of August. Planting pits generously filled with organic matter and minerals. The roots of the seedling are trimmed, straightened and carefully sprinkled with earth. The root collar is not deepened. It should remain at ground level. The planting site should be watered and mulched abundantly.

Advice. It is advisable to plant several types of honeysuckle on the site at the same time. This way the plants will be better pollinated and bloom more abundantly.

Further care behind the climbing honeysuckle is extremely simple. It comes down to abundant watering several times during the summer, loosening the soil and removing weeds, and pruning the vines. They loosen the soil under the honeysuckle deeply, 20 cm. Honeysuckle responds very well to sprinkling.

It is very important to water honeysuckle in a timely manner.

Pruning is carried out in March or after the leaves fall. Formative and sanitary trimmings are needed annually, rejuvenating once every 2-3 years. When rejuvenating, old trunks are cut out, leaving 5-6 younger and well-developed ones. Old bushes are periodically completely rejuvenated. To do this, pruning is carried out “under the stump”, leaving several shoots of 50 cm each.

Important! It is not advisable to shorten young shoots, since their tops contain many flower buds.

Application of fertilizers and fertilizers

Abundantly flowering plants require fertilization. Decorative honeysuckle is no exception. When planting, well-fertilized soil can provide the plant with nutrients for several years. In this case additional fertilizing Not needed.

Every year in the spring honeysuckle needs to be fed

Subsequently, in early spring and after flowering, complex mineral fertilizer is applied to the honeysuckle. If development is weak, possible foliar feeding phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. In the fall, rotted manure or compost and wood ash are added to the digging.

Dangerous diseases and pests

At favorable conditions When growing, decorative honeysuckle is rarely affected by diseases and pests. However, in too rainy summers, the development of fungal and phytoviral diseases such as cerposcora, rust, powdery mildew, etc. is possible. The affected leaves become stained, and over time they wither and fall off.

Powdery mildew on honeysuckle

Among the pests that are dangerous to the plant are: honeysuckle aphids and mites, scale insects, whiteflies, and finger rollers. The first signs of trouble should serve as a signal for spraying with special equipment.

Decorative climbing honeysuckle is very loved by gardeners for its lush flowering And fragrant aroma. It is unpretentious in cultivation and is capable of decorating large areas in a short time, weaving around a gazebo or arch.

Decorative honeysuckle: photo

In addition to the famous honeysuckle, Serotina honeysuckle is great for landscaping the area. In 2-3 years, the tenacious vine will wrap its elegant vines around everything that can be grabbed onto - a gazebo, arch, terrace, fence. And the scent in the evenings will be so fragrant that all the neighbors will be jealous! It is not simple beautiful bush, he is luxurious. The plant has so many advantages that it justifies all the worries and troubles associated with its care.

In the photo - climbing honeysuckle variety Serotina

Primorskaya, Lithuanian, German? In general, the guest

Among the nearly 200 species of honeysuckle, the climbing varieties are the most decorative. They came to us from Western and South-Eastern Europe, and are found in northern Africa, the Mediterranean, and Asia Minor. Hence the abundance of “geographical” names for culture - German, coastal, Lithuanian.

There are several varieties adapted for cultivation in Russian conditions, the most striking of which is honeysuckle Serotina - the beauty shown in the photo above.

What does it look like?

The ornamental shrub is a deciduous vine. It reaches 4–5 m in length, growing by about a meter annually. The plant is formed in different ways:

• they let the lashes onto the support, and they wrap around it vertically;
• they don’t tie it up, and the honeysuckle spreads along the ground;
• grown as a bush.

Liana gives at the same time a large number of thin weaving shoots, decorated with thick leaves located opposite. Leaf plate painted dark green with a gray “lining” on the reverse side.

But the shrub appears in full glory during flowering. First, honeysuckle “inflates” buds - large, burgundy in color, collected in capitate inflorescences of 25-30 pieces. From them dark crimson flowers with a yellow-cream core and long anthers bloom in turn. Outwardly, they look like exotic butterflies - just as fragile and exquisite. During the day flowering shrub it smells like linden honey, and intoxicated bumblebees circle in groups above it, diving every now and then into the tubular corollas. As evening approaches, the aroma intensifies, attracting nocturnal pollinating insects.

Unlike honeysuckle honeysuckle, climbing Serotina blooms not for 3-4 weeks, but from May to mid-August. Bright red fruits appear in place of faded corollas. They are not edible, but against the background of dark green foliage they look very impressive. Coral beads remain on the bush until the end of October, after which they fall off or are eaten by birds.

If you pick off wilted honeysuckle flowers in a timely manner, preventing the plant from setting fruit, you can extend the flowering of the bush until September. The second condition for prolonged flowering is abundant watering, especially on hot summer days.

After blooming, honeysuckle flowers turn a little pale, diluting the burgundy palette with creamy shades

What is it valued for?

The climbing honeysuckle of the Serotina variety, as follows from the description, has many advantages.

• The liana grows quickly. Planted at the foot of a support, over the course of several years it “fulfills” the task set by the gardener - it turns into a living wall, takes the shape of an arch, entwines a gazebo, disguises an unsightly building, etc.
• The shrub blooms for a long time and remains decorative before and after flowering.
• The flowers smell very pleasant, attracting bees and bumblebees to the area. And since the flowering period of honeysuckle is extended, insects along the way manage to pollinate other garden and vegetable crops.
• The plant is unpretentious in care, despite its southern origin, and is quite hardy. In regions where the thermometer does not fall below 15⁰ below zero, it does not need to be covered.
• If the above-ground part is damaged by frost, the vine very quickly gives new growth and restores the vegetative mass.
• The Serotina variety is also valued for its strong immunity and high resistance to diseases and pests.

The weak side of this shrub is its insufficient frost resistance for harsh Russian winters. To protect the vine from freezing, it is better to cover it, which means removing it from its support, which is not always convenient.

In addition to Serotina honeysuckle, there are many others climbing varieties, but they are even more tender and heat-loving. The 'Graham Thomas' beauty is a stunning specimen with creamy yellow flowers. The honeysuckle with the terrifying name Monster has a soft pink color with white streaks along the petals. The variegated Harlequin is decorative not only pink flowers, but also foliage, decorated along the edge with a white border.

For which regions is it suitable?

Seaside honeysuckle Serotina is a heat-loving shrub. It can be grown without shelter in the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region, Crimea, and southern Ukraine. Here it is widely used for shading terraces, verandas, and weaving gazebos, since the vine overwinters on a support and the integrity of the vertical structure is not compromised.

But the plant feels great throughout the middle zone, in St. Petersburg and the Moscow region. There is experience in growing climbing honeysuckle in the Urals, Far East. Of course, here it needs to be covered for the winter, so using the vine to decorate gazebos, pergolas, and complex arches is impractical. It is better to plant the bushes near the fence, let the vines run along a trellis or net, so that they can be removed for the winter.

Honeysuckle shoots are equipped with special “suction cups”, with the help of which they rise along the support. They hold on so tenaciously that they literally grow together with her. Therefore, it is not recommended to tear off the lashes every time to cover them. In this case, it is better to consider the option of a vertical shelter, and mulch the bottom and cover it with spruce branches.

Option for planting climbing honeysuckle as a bush

Planting climbing honeysuckle

The plant is so elegant that it deserves to be visible, in the center of the landscape composition. It is better to plant it on the sunny side, in regions with dry summers - in partial shade, but so that Serotina honeysuckle receives its portion of sunlight, preferably in the morning.

It would be useful to protect the heat-loving vine from the north and northeast wind, which is especially dangerous in winter. When planting seedlings, select secluded places for them, fenced on the leeward side by the walls of the house, a fence, or curtains of trees.

Honeysuckle is unpretentious and will grow on loam and sandy loam soil, but the soil must be sufficiently fertile and loose. Liana loves moisture, but not stagnant water, so if the groundwater rises high, drainage must be provided when planting.

Planting methods

There are several options for planting Serotina honeysuckle.

1. If you want to make a continuous curtain or hedge from a beautifully flowering shrub, the seedlings are planted in a trench at a distance of 0.5–0.7 m.
2. To form bushes cascading flowers from a support, prepare planting holes at a distance of 2–3 m, and install a net nearby (metal, wood) along which the vine will climb.
3. On alpine slide climbing honeysuckle can be used as a ground cover plant. In this case, the vine is placed in the upper part of the composition, directing the lashes downward, and wrapping them around large boulders. If there are several bushes, the distance between them should be at least 1.5 m.

Regardless of the planting method, prepare a fertile substrate. A drainage of crushed stone, broken brick (5–7 cm), and a layer of fresh organic matter ( large stems weeds, small branches, corn cobs). A mixture of turf soil (3 parts), flavored with humus (1 part) and peat (1 part) is poured on top. Add 2 cups here wood ash and 100 g full mineral fertilizers. This “refueling” will prevent rapid depletion of the soil, because honeysuckle grows in one place for 25 years or more.

Note! Planting decorative vine, spill the soil generously with water, and mulch the top root zone with dry soil or peat. Trim large roots so they will form faster fibrous system. Make sure that the root collar remains at soil level. After landing aboveground part don't cut.

Boarding time

More the right time Autumn is considered for planting. Honeysuckle wakes up early in the spring, and if it is planted in September-October, it manages to take root and take root by this time.

If you purchase a seedling in a container, you can plant it in the spring by transferring it into the soil with a lump of earth. This way the plant suffers minimally.

Subtleties of care

Honeysuckle Serotina after planting requires competent and attentive care. What should you pay attention to first?

Shrub formation

The liana begins to form in the 2nd year after planting. Since the shoots grow quickly, without thinning pruning and gartering, they will weave into an untidy, thick tangle.

In the spring, as soon as the buds hatch, pruning is carried out.

• Remove dried and frozen stems.
• Living shoots are shortened by 25–30 cm, stimulating branching.
• Thin out the bush, removing branches that thicken the crown.

Conservation of soil moisture

Honeysuckle Serotina is moisture-loving. To maintain the required level of humidity, watering and mulching are used.

Water the crop from 1-2 to 5-6 times a month - depending on the weather. The first watering occurs during budding and continues during flowering. The minimum amount of water for a bush is 4–5 buckets, so that the soil is wet by at least 10–15 cm.

Mulch will help retain moisture and protect the roots from drying out. Sawdust, tree bark, peat, expanded clay, which are poured in a layer of 5–8 cm, are suitable for this purpose. Sod holds moisture well, so you can sow lawn grass under the bushes.

Fertilizers for abundant flowering

Budding and flowering are the times of the most intense consumption of nutrients. For seaside honeysuckle Serotina, this period is extended, so feeding is required for it.

In spring, the shrub prefers organic matter. To do this, the bushes are sprinkled with humus in the fall, and in the spring nutrients along with melt water seep into the soil. The second option is to do liquid fertilizer mullein solution or chicken manure(proportions 1:10, 1:20, respectively). A bucket of ready-made fertilizer goes to the bush. It won’t hurt if you add 40–50 g of superphosphate to this solution.

If the bush experiences a lack of moisture or nutrition, the buds will wither without blooming

Frost protection

The most important element of care for climbing honeysuckle Serotina is protecting the shoots and root system from freezing.

In regions with warm winters, it is enough to cover the roots of the bush. This is done using mulching materials - compost, humus, fallen leaves, sawdust. If it happens that the vines freeze, they are cut off in the spring, and they quickly recover.

In the middle zone and Moscow region, climbing shrubs must be removed from their support. The lashes are carefully laid on a layer of leaves, the protruding branches are pressed to the ground using staples. The top is covered with coniferous spruce branches and wrapped in film.

The shelter is removed when the danger of severe frosts has passed, around mid-April.