How to Grow Honeysuckle? The Latest Technical Method Tutorial Is Here
Honeysuckle, also known as silver flower, double flower, second flower, and erbao flower, is a perennial vine of the Caprifoliaceae family. Its medicinal part is the flower bud. It is mainly produced in Henan and Shandong, and is distributed across most parts of the country, growing on hills, in valleys, and at forest edges. Since ancient times, honeysuckle has been widely renowned for its medicinal value. Its main effects are clearing heat and detoxifying, and it is mainly used to treat seasonal febrile diseases with fever, heat-toxin bloody dysentery, and carbuncles, sores, and toxic swellings.
Growth Habits of Honeysuckle
The growth and development process of honeysuckle can be roughly divided into three periods: the bud-swelling and leaf-unfolding period, the bud-appearing and flowering period, and the growth stagnation period:
1. Bud-swelling and leaf-unfolding period: leaf buds begin to swell in late March, and leaves unfold and grow in early April.
2. Bud-appearing and flowering period: buds begin to appear in late May and flowers open 15 days later. The first flush of flowers opens from Xiaoman to Mangzhong (late May to early June), accounting for 80%-90% of the annual yield. The second flush of flowers opens from late July to early August, accounting for 15%-20% of the annual yield. The buds are green at first, then turn white, and open at 4-5 p.m.
3. Growth stagnation period: after the second flush of flowers opens, the plant sets fruit, and the fruit ripens in September. After Frost's Descent in late October, some leaves wither and the plant enters the overwintering state.
After 3-5 years of planting, honeysuckle gradually produces more flowers; after 7-8 years it enters the high-yield period, and only after 20 years does it gradually decline and need renewal. Honeysuckle likes sunlight and a mild, humid environment. The optimum growth temperature is 20-30 degrees. It is cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant and is not strict about soil, being able to grow in both acidic and saline-alkaline land.
Planting Techniques for Honeysuckle
1. Site selection and land preparation
For raising seedlings, choose loose, fertile sandy soil with good drainage and a place with convenient irrigation and a water source. After selecting the site, plow the soil deeper than 30 cm, break up the clods, level and harrow it fine, and apply sufficient base fertilizer. Then make high beds 1.3 m wide for sowing and raising seedlings or for cutting propagation. For the planting site, scattered plots such as barren slopes, field edges, ditch sides, and the areas in front of and behind houses can be used. First plow the land deeply, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and level and harrow it fine to make high beds or high ridges for planting.
2. Propagation methods
Cutting propagation is the main method, but seed propagation and root division and layering propagation can also be used. Cutting propagation is divided into two methods: direct cutting and cutting for seedling raising.
① Cutting time: it can be done in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In spring, it is best before new buds sprout; in autumn, from early September to mid-October.
② Selection and treatment of cuttings: choose vigorous, plump 1-2-year-old branches and cut them into cuttings about 30 cm long, each with at least 3 nodes. Then remove the lower leaves, keep 2-4 leaves on the upper part, cut the lower end near a node into a smooth slant, tie every 50 cuttings into a small bundle, quickly dip the lower slant into a 500-fold indolebutyric acid solution for 5-10 seconds, let them dry slightly, and then insert them immediately.
③ Direct cutting: on the prepared planting site, dig holes at a row spacing and plant spacing of 150×150 cm or 170×170 cm, with a hole diameter and depth of 40 cm each. Loosen the subsoil at the bottom, and apply 5 kg of decomposed barnyard manure or compost into each hole. Then spread the cuttings evenly, insert 3-5 cuttings per hole, with the insertion depth being 1/2-2/3 of the cutting, fill with fine soil and press firmly with the feet, then water thoroughly once and keep the soil moist. Roots and sprouts will appear in about 1 month.
④ Cutting for seedling raising: on a leveled and finely harrowed cutting bed, draw lines at a row spacing of 15-20 cm, and every 3-5 cm make holes in the bed surface with a small wooden stick or bamboo chopstick. Then insert the cuttings obliquely into the holes to 1/2-2/3 of their length, press firmly, and water once immediately. If cuttings are taken in early spring at low temperature, build an arched plastic film tunnel on the cutting bed to keep warm and moist. In about half a month, they will take root and sprout new buds; then remove the plastic film and carry out seedling-stage management. Spring cuttings are lifted and planted in the same year's winter or the next spring. Summer and autumn cuttings for seedling raising are transplanted the following spring. Cutting for seedling raising obtains a large number of vegetative seedlings in a short period.
3. Transplanting techniques
Carry this out before sprouting in early spring or during the dormant period in autumn and winter. On the prepared planting site, dig holes at a row spacing of 150 cm and a plant spacing of 120 cm, with a width and depth of 30-40 cm each, and apply 5 kg of farmyard manure mixed evenly with the subsoil into each hole. Then plant 1 strong seedling per hole, fill with fine soil, press and firm it, and water thoroughly to settle the roots. After survival, through shaping and pruning, make the creeping vine form an upright dwarf shrub with a single plant. Increase branching, expand the crown, and change from 1 flush of flowers per year to 3-4 flushes per year. This can greatly increase the yield.
Field Management of Honeysuckle
1. Cultivation and weeding: after transplanting and survival, cultivate and weed 3-4 times each year. The first time is when new leaves sprout in spring; the second time in June; the third time in July-August; and the fourth time in late autumn and early winter. After cultivation and weeding, soil should also be banked around the plant roots to help overwintering. When cultivating, keep it shallow around the plant roots and deeper farther away to avoid damaging the roots, otherwise it will affect the growth of the plant's root system. After the third year, depending on weed growth, the number of cultivation and weeding times can be appropriately reduced.
2. Topdressing: after sprouting in early spring each year and after each harvest of flower buds, topdressing should be carried out once. In spring and summer, apply decomposed human and livestock manure water or nitrogen fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and urea in shallow furrows beside the plants and cover with soil after application; in winter, apply 5-10 kg of decomposed barnyard manure or compost, 100 g of ammonium sulfate, and 200 g of superphosphate per clump in a ring-shaped furrow around the flower clump, then cover with soil and bank the soil to a thickness of 5 cm.
3. Shaping and pruning: after transplanting and survival, keep 1 strong plant per hole, and prune and train it into an upright corymb-shaped dwarf shrub. Shaping and pruning methods: within 1-2 years after planting, the main task is to cultivate an upright, thick main trunk. When the main trunk height is 30-40 cm, cut off the top shoot to promote lateral buds to sprout into branches. After sprouting in the second spring, select and keep 4-5 thick branches on the upper part of the main trunk as main branches, arranged in two layers. In winter, from the first-order branches growing from the main branches, keep 5-6 pairs of buds and cut off the upper part. Later, from the second-order branches growing from the first-order branches, keep 6-7 pairs of buds and cut off the upper part. Then, from the flowering branches growing from the second-order branches, remove the tender tips of hooked and vigorous shoots. Generally, after the beginning of spring, young branches with dense, short nodes and fine leaves that sprout from the second-order branches or the original old flowering branches are all flowering branches and should be retained. Through shaping and pruning, honeysuckle changes from the original twining growth to a corymb-shaped shrubby flower clump with sparse, evenly distributed branches, good ventilation and light transmission, and a thick, upright main trunk.
Honeysuckle has the characteristic that new shoots of the current year can develop into flowering branches. Through the above pruning measures, it can promote more new branches and more flower buds, thereby achieving the purpose of increasing yield. Winter pruning is carried out each year from after frost to before the soil freezes, and dead old branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, thin and weak branches, and long branches that cross and disrupt the tree shape should also be cut off, so that nutrients are concentrated on producing new branches and forming flower buds. After each flush of flowers is picked, summer pruning is carried out at the same time. After each pruning, topdressing should be applied once. The pruning steps are as follows:
① Trunk determination: in the same year for spring planting or the second year for autumn planting, carry out trunk determination when the branches are about 33 cm long. For the main trunk, generally choose an upright, thick branch and cut off the upper end about 16 cm-27 cm above the ground. The second step is to select and retain lateral branches: on the main trunk, select and retain 3-5 thick branches that are evenly distributed and do not shade each other, and cut off two-thirds of their tips. After trunk-determination pruning, apply 50 g of urea and 100 g of superphosphate per clump, and carry out cultivation and weeding regularly.
② Winter pruning: carry out one winter pruning after the beginning of winter. This is mainly to cut off branches growing from the main trunk and to retain a small number of mother branches on the main branches that can flower the next year.
4. Drainage and irrigation: during the flowering period, if there is drought or excessive rain, it will cause a large number of fallen flowers, soaked flowers, and cracked young flowers. Therefore, irrigation and drainage work should be done in a timely manner.