When and how to transplant honeysuckle: rules and terms
Honeysuckle is a fruit shrub, distinguished by the excellent taste of berries, endowed with medicinal properties. But a certain disadvantage of some varieties of this culture is its strong growth. Because of this, the plant has to be transplanted to another place, but this must be done correctly, otherwise you can lose a good harvest.
Transplant dates
The main mistakes of inexperienced gardeners is to place honeysuckle in swampy or shady areas where it lacks sunlight, and moisture can cause diseases. This can greatly slow down the growth of the crop, the development of its root system, which will lead to inhibition of the appearance of above-ground green mass and subsequent flowering. All these factors affect the fruiting of the plant, that is, the quality and quantity of the crop. And then it is necessary to transplant the bush to a new place.
Another problem is planting bushes too close next to each other or other neighboring garden trees. At the same time, honeysuckle bushes can grow up to one and a half meters in breadth, which is also unacceptable and requires a transplant. In this regard, the question of when to transplant becomes especially important.
It is known that in the spring honeysuckle buds wake up very quickly - any short-term thaw can wake up this process. Even when frozen during night frosts, the buds begin to bloom again after a while, this happens several times without harm to the culture.
Bearing in mind that the first fruits appear already at the end of May, it is clear why it is better not to touch the plants at this moment - there is always a threat of damage to the roots and branches.
In addition, it is inconvenient to carry out transplant work before awakening and sap flow of honeysuckle, because at this time there is still snow in the garden. In summer, in August, the annual life cycle of the plant slows down until it hibernates. It turns out that in the fall, in the middle or end of September, the most favorable moment comes for transplanting and circumcision.
Transplantation is possible only in relation to young plants up to the age of five, later it is not recommended to transfer old bushes to another place, this will destroy them.
The plant can instantly drop foliage and get sick. In the most extreme cases, a summer transplant of young shoots is possible - in June after the crop has already been harvested. But this will be associated with additional watering, mulching the stem circle and obligatory shading.
Transplant Features
The cultivation of honeysuckle is associated with some subtleties that involve the cultivation of certain varieties in the middle lane. This is especially true of the northern regions, where the berries ripen much later - in June. Adult three-year-old shrubs grown in containers, that is, with a closed root system, are more suitable for the harsh climatic features of the North for planting. They are optimally adapted to such conditions and take root quite quickly, giving a good harvest in the first season. In this case, the planting hole is prepared in the spring, and the plant is planted a month before the temperature drops below zero degrees.Therefore, initially it is worth choosing suitable plants, otherwise transplanting will not affect the improvement of the crop.
In general, transplantation is not much different from the first landing of layering and provides for the same strictly sequential actions.
- First of all, it is necessary to choose a place that is optimal for the shrub - with a chaotically located crown of some varieties, it is good if the branches inclined downwards are in the shade, and stretching upwards - in the sun. This will ensure a rich and high-quality harvest.
- Suitable soil is the second prerequisite for the rapid ripening of berries. Honeysuckle loves mixed sandy and loamy soils, light, loose, well-permeable to moisture and air, non-acidic.
- First, a landing hole is prepared - it should be larger in size than during the first landing - with a depth and diameter of 70 cm. Any necessary drainage is laid at the bottom - cardboard, pebbles, newspapers, expanded clay. A layer of nutrient soil is poured on top, fertilized with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus mixtures, compost, humus, and other organic matter; manure is not used in its pure form, as it leads to burns of the roots. Wood ash and superphosphate will require twice as much as when planting seedlings.
- Immediately before transplanting, an adult bush is cut off, removing damaged and dry branches growing inside, the remaining shoots are shortened so that the height of the culture does not exceed 50 cm.
- Next, you should dig up the honeysuckle so as not to damage the root system. First, they water the ground, then they begin to dig far beyond the trunk circle, about half a meter from it. The whole point of this action is to remove the plant from the earth with an earthy clod.It is allowed to cut individual roots that go beyond the coma.
- Honeysuckle is placed on a tarpaulin or a dense film, after which the plant is tightly wrapped with this cloth and tied with a rope over the neck of the root. For delivery to a new location, the crop can be loaded into a garden cart or dragged.
- When placed in the prepared recess, the roots of the plant should be positioned in the most natural way - they should not be broken or bent. The root neck should be in line with the ground or be buried in it for a couple of centimeters. Filling the lower part with earth, they make a watering rim around with hands or rakes for better water retention.
- After that, honeysuckle is well watered, and the ground in the root zone is mulched with sawdust, straw or foliage. This is a protective measure that allows you to save the bush from severe cold in winter. In the spring, the mulch will serve as a fertilizer, and on hot days it will prevent the soil from drying out.
Helpful Hints
In order to qualitatively plant honeysuckle, it is necessary to adhere to some rules - this will ensure good survival and intensive development of roots and crowns. The recommendations of experienced farmers will help to competently carry out all the necessary work:
- experienced gardeners are advised to start transplanting when the shoots of the plant turn brown, which means that it is fully ripe;
- to make it easier to remove the bush from the ground for transplanting, you can use any object as a jack by bringing it under an earthen clod - so it will remain monolithic and will not be damaged;
- lump must be formed with a shovel in the form of a cone directed downward;
- it is important to maintain in a new place such a direction of the branches of the shrub in relation to the cardinal points, as it was in the old site;
- you can’t cut honeysuckle that has already been transplanted - you can only remove shoots injured during transportation;
- adult bushes can be transplanted from the second half of September to mid-November;
- we must not forget to keep a distance of one and a half meters or more between transplanted and neighboring plants;
- as for spring planting, it is impossible to transport honeysuckle in this case, it can only be handled with a large earthen clod (unfortunately, such plants often get sick and develop poorly due to the early appearance of buds).
Sometimes the reason that the growth and fruiting of a culture is delayed is an undesirable neighborhood. And due to the fact that honeysuckle has just begun to spread in the gardens of the middle lane, not everyone knows how well honeysuckle is compatible with apple, quince, pear, cherry, gooseberry, plum and black currant. These crops do not suppress the vital activity of the plant when active biological components are released into the soil.
Luckily, honeysuckle doesn't need to be repotted often, and the plant can produce wonderful crops for decades. And with the right approach, even old bushes can be planted without harm to their viability and fruiting.
For information on how and when to transplant honeysuckle, see the following video.