Honeysuckle Azure

Honeysuckle Lazurnaya is an interesting, hardy and unpretentious culture, famous for its large, aromatic fruits that give off sweet blueberries in the aftertaste. In addition, it has a number of other advantages that greatly simplify its care.

The mid-season crop was obtained by a group of NIISS employees M. A. Lisavenko (Barnaul) Z. P. Zholobova, I. P. Kalinina and Z. I. Luchnik by selecting seedlings by free pollination of the Start variety honeysuckle growing in Kamchatka. The most productive sowing of seeds was carried out in 1965. In 1983, it was accepted for State tests, but was not included in the list of the State Register, which nevertheless did not affect the significant growth in the popularity of the plant. By its purpose, culture is universal.

The bushes are medium-sized (up to 1.7 m), medium-spreading, thickened. The crown is of a rounded configuration, inversely conical. Shoots are thin, not pubescent, painted in light green tones. During intensive development, their color from the sunny side acquires pinkish tints. Leaves are large, elongated-oval, slightly pubescent, with a convex base. Stipules are small, located at the top of the shoots.

The main advantages of Lazurnaya include:

• large-fruited;

• excellent taste;

• low level of fruit shedding.

Minuses:

• low yield parameters in the first years of fruiting.

• partial self-fertility.

The fruits of the culture are large (0.9-1.2 g), elongated, oval-conical in configuration, with some thickening in the middle part and with pointed tops. The color of the berries is dark blue, with a bluish tinge. The peel is firm, with an intense waxy coating. The peduncles are elongated, not thick. Half-open cups. The berry fastening strength is average. The consistency is delicate, with fibers. The degree of shattering of fruits is small.

By chemical composition, berries include: sugars - up to 3.04%, acids - up to 1.85%, vitamin C - up to 22.7 mg%, vitamin P - up to 1010.0 mg%.

The fruits are used fresh, they are good in jam, compotes, wines and juices.

By taste, the berries are sweet, without sourness and bitterness, with a magnificent blueberry aroma. Tasting score in points - 4.5.

The initial fruiting of bushes begins at 3-4 g of growth. Early maturation. The berries ripen synchronously in the second decade of June, with an annual fruiting frequency. During fruiting, the culture takes on a wonderful decorative appearance, richly decorating the site.

The crop is high-yielding - the harvest of fruits on average from 6-7 year old bushes is up to 2.3 kg per bush (7.0 t / ha), in 14-year-olds - about 13.3 t / ha.

The culture is self-fertile in part (up to 27%). As the best pollinating neighbors they use: Cinderella, Blue Spindle, Long-fruited, Gerda, Bluebird.

The main aspect when planting a crop is a slight deepening of its bushes into the soil. Excessively buried bushes will lag behind development, give fewer berries.

The recommended distance between the bushes should also be strictly adhered to. The proper planting scheme is at least 1.5-2 m. A more saturated planting leads to competition between the bushes for water and food, and this negatively affects the level of yield and size of berries.

We advise you to plant the crop near fences and structures used as protection from the cool northerly winds. Groundwater should not be located closer than 1.5 m to the edge of the ground. It does not tolerate stagnant water, therefore, drainage of the planting depressions is mandatory.

It is recommended to buy planting materials at specialized retail outlets. Pick up trees with healthy roots, no more than 1.5 m in height. Root necks of plants should be clean, without spots and any growths. The culture is planted both in the spring (mid-April) and in the fall (September-October).

Planting recesses are prepared with dimensions of 0.4x0.4x0.4 m and a distance between them of 1.5-2 m, and between rows - 2-3 m. The planting mixture includes humus, phosphate, wood ash and potassium sulfate. During planting, the root collars are deepened no more than 5 cm. Post-planting watering is carried out in a volume of 8-10 liters of water. Mulching is performed with humus, peat or soil.

Irrigation is required systematic, but moderate. Excessive irrigation leads to root rot. The optimal frequency of irrigation is 1-2 times every 7 days, at a rate of one bucket of water per bush.

Nutritional supplements for honeysuckle bushes are carried out both in the spring and in the fall. Initially, organic matter and mineral fertilizers containing nitrogenous and potassium compounds - humus, horse humus, superphosphate, potassium salt - are used in top dressing. In the fall, a certain amount of wood ash is added to the soil. In this case, the use of nitrogenous additives is permissible only before the beginning of fruiting. After setting the fruits, the necessary changes are made to the composition of the feeding.

Periodically, the crop needs to be pruned to increase the yield of the bushes and increase the size of the fruits. Initially, the shoots are shortened before planting the bushes so that they branch better. Annual pruning is carried out in the spring, during the budding period. Bushes can be formed in the fall.

Pruning the bushes is also necessary before the first frost appears.

The pruning procedure is performed in such a way that processes of 30-40 cm in length remain. Weakened, drying out or deformed shoots are subjected to pruning. Branches growing inside the bushes are also removed, so as not to bring the bushes to thickening.

Like most types of honeysuckle, this culture is very rare. It is characterized by a high degree of resistance to pathogens of various diseases. Malicious representatives of insects also do not greatly favor the plant with their attention. Aphids and honeysuckle are a certain danger to culture.However, they are relatively easy to deal with with typical industrial insecticides. The procedure for spraying the bushes is carried out after picking the fruits, since they can absorb substances that are clearly not useful for the human body.

Although the culture has a high level of winter hardiness, young bushes should be covered before the onset of winter cold weather. For this purpose, the peri-stem space is mulched with the help of horse humus. Young bushes are additionally covered with straw and coniferous spruce branches, which protects the roots from severe frosts in snowless winters.

The culture is not very demanding on the soil composition, giving preference to illuminated places. Nevertheless, it grows more productively on light and slightly acidic soils. Low podzolic and loamy soils are also suitable. In shaded areas, the flavoring properties of berries deteriorate, they become sour.