Sibiryachka is a variety of edible honeysuckle, characterized by high productivity and resistance to various adverse factors. We learn how to create optimal conditions for growth, development and good fruiting of the bush.
Grade of a honeysuckle "Sibiryachka"
Sibiryachka berries are among the most delicious and sweet among edible honeysuckles
the fruits of the Siberian honeysuckle are well attached to the branches, so they can come off with damage
Grade history
Sibiryachka honeysuckle was bred in the northernmost nursery of Western Siberia - Bakcharsky strong point (Tomsk region), now better known as FSUE Bakcharsky.
As a result of breeding work with varieties of honeysuckle Kamchatka and Turchaninov, in 1972, nursery specialists obtained a type of berry, which can be grown in any climatic zone of the Russian Federation. The Siberian honeysuckle was included in the Russian State Register in 2000.
Main characteristics
Sibiryachka variety is unpretentious, without consequences tolerates significant temperature fluctuations during flowering. Bushes can be used as a decorative component in the arrangement of the local area, when landscaping park areas.
Characteristics / Parameters | Description / Meaning |
Ripening time | Early, ripens in the beginning - the middle of June. |
Productivity and fruiting | Fruiting annually, begins in the 2-3rd year after planting. In the early years, the yield is about 0.5 kg per bush, at the age of 8-13 years - 3.2-3.7 kg. A maximum of 14-15 years is 4.5 kg (15 t / ha). |
Frost / drought resistance | High frost resistance, withstands winter temperatures up to -50º C, flowers are not afraid of spring frosts to minus 4-7º C. The variety is drought tolerant. |
Regional | All regions of Russia. |
Disease and pest resistance | Rarely affected by pests, almost not sick. Fungal infections are possible with excessively heavy irrigation. |
Taste | The flesh of the berry is tender and juicy, sweet, aromatic, tastes good (tasting grade - 5 points). |
Pollinators
Although the flowers of honeysuckle are bisexual, the variety is self-fertile, it needs cross-pollination. Good pollinators for the Sibiryachka are all at the same time blooming varieties and hybrids of the honeysuckle of Altai, Kamchatka and Turchaninov. The best of them are recognized: Tomichka, In memory of Gidzyuk and Narymskaya.
The more different varieties of honeysuckle grows in one area, the more generous the crop. When several plants of the same variety are planted, the yield will be negligible, even if abundant flowering was observed.
Description of the Siberian honeysuckle
The following botanical characteristics are characteristic of the variety:
- Bush. Slightly spreading, medium-tall, 1.4-1.7 m high. Crown of medium density, hemispherical, 2.5-3 m in diameter. Leaves of medium size, oval in shape. The flat light green leaf plate has a blunt-pointed apex and a heart-shaped or rounded base. The petiole is thin and short.
The shoots are curved, slightly pubescent. The bark of young branches is green; as the bush grows older, it acquires a reddish-brown color. - Inflorescences reduced honeysuckle, two-flowered. The flowers are medium sized, pale yellow.
- Fruit large, dark violet with a blue coating, elongated, teardrop-shaped, spindle-shaped, slightly curved, 2.5-4.0 cm long, weighing 1.0-1.5 g. Medium-sized peduncle.
The degree of attachment of the fruit is high, the separation is dry. Sibiryachka refers to non-shedding varieties. Slight flaking of berries can occur with a lack of moisture during the ripening of the crop.
The video below provides an overview of the Siberian honeysuckle:
Pros and cons
Advantages of the Siberian honeysuckle:
- stable annual fruiting;
- high productivity;
- resistance to severe frosts (up to -50º C) and spring frosts;
- large-fruited;
- high palatability, sweeter fruits than other honeysuckle varieties;
- early ripening;
- resistance to diseases and pests, they are practically not affected;
- easily tolerates drought;
- the best option for the climate of the middle zone and the northern regions.
Cons of the variety:
- a high probability of repeated flowering in a warm climate;
- a rather thin peel of the fruit eliminates the possibility of long-term transportation, in which ripe berries will hesitate;
- curved shoots make harvesting difficult.
Placing on a site
With the right choice of seedlings and a site for planting, honeysuckle will successfully develop and bear fruit in one place for 15-30 years.
Selection of planting material
A quality 2-3-year-old seedling should have 2-4 elastic and flexible shoots with a height of about 40 cm. In the Sibiryachka variety, they are curved. The root system of a healthy seedling is branched, has many small light roots.
When buying planting material is carefully inspected. The seedling should not have excessively elongated shoots, dry and long roots. Pay attention to the presence of buds on the shoots, if they are not there, the bush for planting is unsuitable.
If the bark exfoliates on the shoots, you should not worry. This is a biological feature of both seedlings and adult honeysuckle bushes. Exfoliated bark does not need to be removed from the branches.
Choosing the right place and conditions
Honeysuckle grows well and bears fruit in places protected from the wind and illuminated by the sun. Lowlands flooded with meltwater, with stagnation of moisture and accumulation of cold air, are not suitable for landing. Shadow and partial shade is also an inappropriate option. Fruits in such conditions will be small.
The culture is undemanding to soil, but grows poorly on light sandy and heavy clay lands. Honeysuckle prefers fertile loam, water-intensive, with neutral acidity.
Step-by-step landing instructions
Honeysuckle is planted in autumn, at the end of September - the first half of October, and in spring - as early as possible, before flowering. 2-3-year-old seedlings are planted, the distance between them is at least 1.5 m.
Honeysuckle landing step by step:
- Dig holes 60x60x50 cm in size.
- In each, add up to 10 kg of organics (compost, manure, humus), 40-50 g of potassium salt and superphosphate, 0.5 l of ash. Mix the fertilizer well with the soil.
- Trim long roots to 30 cm.
- Dip them in an earthen chatterbox. To do this, first dig a hole in the aisle, fill it with water, and pour in the earth there, then mix until a sour cream is obtained.
- Place the seedling in a hole on a previously formed mound, spread the roots evenly and cover with soil. The root neck should be at ground level or slightly lower, no more than 3 cm.
- Tamp the soil around the bush, water abundantly.
- Mulch with a layer of 1-2 cm using humus, peat or loose earth.
Honeysuckle cultivation
Sibiryachka quickly takes root in a designated place, and all that a plant needs in the future is proper care.
Young plant care
The first one or two years, honeysuckle grows slowly. This time is spent on the formation of a developed root system of the plant. All care for young plantings comes down to the timely removal of weeds, watering as the soil dries and loosening to a depth of not more than 5-8 cm.
We recommend reading an article on how to care for honeysuckle in the autumn.
Adult Plant Care
Subsequent care for the Siberian honeysuckle is the same, but measures such as top dressing and pruning are added.
Top dressing. It is recommended to do from 3-4 years after planting, when the bush gives at least 0.5 kg of berries. Organic fertilizers are mulched. Sooner or later in the fall, in the fall (once every 1-2 years), 0.5-1 buckets of peat mixture or compost are scattered under each bush with the addition of 0.5-1 l of wood ash.
Read an article on when and how to fertilize honeysuckle in each season of the year.
Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is combined with good watering, and is carried out according to the following scheme:
Top dressing | Composition | purpose |
The first (during the period of mass blooming of the kidneys) | 25 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 square. m | increased shoot growth |
The second (after flowering) | 10 g of ammonium nitrate + potassium salt and double superphosphate - 15 g per square. m | shoot ripening, their preparation for wintering |
The third (in autumn, with embedding in the soil to a depth of 5-8 cm) | potassium salt - 15 g, double superphosphate - 15 g | growth and development of the root system, increasing frost resistance of the bush |
Watering. Honeysuckle does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, but likes moderate watering, especially in the hot season. Under an adult plant, 3 buckets of water are poured, evenly distributing in the near-trunk circle.
It is especially important to saturate the soil with moisture during the flowering period and at the beginning of the mass ripening of berries. In the absence of watering at this time, the plant loses up to 50% of the crop.
Pruning
Honeysuckle is prone to thickening the crown, cut it according to the following rules:
- The first 6-10 years, the plant needs only sanitary pruning. Remove broken, frozen, dried and weak, as well as branches growing down or inside the bush.
- After several years of fruiting, strongly thickened bushes are thinned, cutting out part of the old skeletal branches (more than 8-10 years) at the base. If you leave a stump of 7-8 cm, then next year substitution shoots will appear from it. Such pruning is carried out every 2-3 years.
For an adult fruiting bush, the presence of no more than 15 skeletal branches of different ages is optimal. Leave the most powerful shoots, the rest are removed.
- By about 20-25 years, the fruiting of honeysuckle is running out. Practice anti-aging pruning of old bushes. In autumn, all skeletal branches are cut, leaving stumps 15-20 cm high, on which young strong shoots will grow in the spring of next year. After a year, the plant is restored, and the fruiting period is extended for another 5-10 years.
Wintering
Due to its high frost resistance, Sibiryachka does not need to bend branches and shelter with snow for periods of severe cold.
Breeding methods
Honeysuckle is propagated in several ways:
- Layering. Use young (annual) branches of the plant, tilted to the ground. In early spring, the shoots are weighed down, pinned, and sprinkled with nutritious soil, and then watered. By autumn, layering will give roots. Plants are separated and planted.
- The seeds. A rather laborious and lengthy process with an unpredictable result, since seed propagation does not guarantee that the varietal qualities of the plant are preserved.
- By dividing the bush. In the fall or early spring, 3-5-year-old bushes are dug up, and divided by the number of skeletal branches that have their own rhizome, and then they are planted.
- Green cuttings. The best time is mid-June to early July. Choose strong shoots of the current year with the capture of old wood (cut with a heel). They are kept in the solution of the root stimulant, and then they are planted in a loose, moist soil mixture (compost, peat, sand). Cover with a film and on top with a spanbond for shading.
Growing problems
Honeysuckle has no predisposition to disease; in rare cases, powdery mildew may be affected in cold and damp summers. They treat the culture from fungal diseases with the help of the corresponding fungicide, for example, the biological product Fitosporin is used.
In addition, there is a possibility of repeated flowering of honeysuckle in a warm, protracted autumn (late October - early November). A plant may bloom a second time if, after a short decrease in temperature below 0º C, a prolonged warming occurs.
The reason for the second wave of flowering may be a thaw in the winter, which is not uncommon in the European part of the Russian Federation. In such conditions, apical buds bloom, honeysuckle blooms. Subsequent cooling leads to the death of blossoming buds, which significantly reduces the yield.
Buds immediately after detection is recommended to be removed. To reduce damage, in the affected honeysuckle bushes in early spring, all damaged branches are cut, which contributes to the growth of new shoots. And to increase their growth activity during flowering, they are fed twice (with an interval of 10-12 days) with nitrogen fertilizers.
Harvest
The simultaneous, ripe fruit ripening allows you to collect the entire crop at a time. The collection is only manual, i.e. the fruits hold on to the branches rather tightly.
Fruit storage and processing
The berries of the Siberian honeysuckle are tender, with a thin skin, so they are not intended for long-term storage. Typically, the collected fruits are consumed fresh and used for preservation: stewed fruit, jam, juice, jam, and other types of processing.
Reviews about the variety of honeysuckle Siberian
Anna G., 46 years old, summer resident, Crimea. In addition to Sibiryachka, 5 more Bakchar honeysuckle varieties are planted on my site. I grow in partial shade. Watering is not enough, but they withstand the heat. Toward August, some of the leaves turn brown and fall, but still in the spring the bushes bloom and bear fruit. I wanted to check, I doubted that our climate would withstand, but they live here!
Sergey, 44 years old, driver, Khabarovsk Territory. I’ve been growing honeysuckle in the country for more than 8 years. Sibiryachki planted bushes in the fall of 2011 on the sunny side, they went well in growth, unpretentious. The largest berries are about 3.5 cm, elongated, the taste is sweeter than that of the Bluebird and Silginka.
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Siberian will grow and bear fruit in any region, but it should be borne in mind that the natural conditions for this culture are frosty winters and short summers. In a warm climate, the Siberian can bloom repeatedly in the fall.