Detailed Monthly Management Techniques for Japanese Honeysuckle

Family and genus: Caprifoliaceae, Lonicera.

Scientific name: Lonicera japonica.

Common names: Japanese honeysuckle, honeysuckle vine, yuanyang vine, silver flower.

Habit: Japanese honeysuckle is native to China and widely distributed across the north and south. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen climbing shrub, vigorous and highly adaptable. It is strongly cold-hardy and can withstand low temperatures of -26°C. It likes sunlight and is also very shade-tolerant. It also tolerates drought and waterlogging. It is not demanding about soil, but prefers moist, fertile, deep sandy loam.

January: in the dormant period, pay attention to measures such as mounding soil for cold protection.

February: seedlings begin to sprout. Bare-root transplanting and field planting can be done; well-rotted compost should be applied in the planting hole as a base fertilizer, and after planting, firm the soil with the feet and irrigate. Planting for vertical greening arrangements should be sparse.

March: cultivate and loosen the soil. Thin out dense branches and old branches. For division propagation, dig and divide immediately; separate the suckers around the root crown together with the root mass and replant them. If branches are too dense, thin or shorten them one year earlier to promote new buds and new shoots before dividing and replanting. Do a good job with watering and other management of planted seedlings.

April: for seed propagation, take out stratified seeds and soak them in 25°C warm water for 24 hours. Before sowing, mix the seeds with fine sand and place them indoors to keep moist and promote germination. Sow when 30%-40% of the seeds begin to split. After sowing, cover with grass to retain moisture, and seedlings can emerge in about 10 days.

Remove the covering grass.

May: enters the flowering period; apply a topdressing to benefit flower opening. It is susceptible to aphid damage, so attention should be paid to control.

June: for cutting propagation, select 1-year-old sturdy branches, remove the lower leaves, cut them 15-20 cm long, and insert them 2/3 into the bed soil. After inserting, water thoroughly and keep moist; roots can form in 2/3 weeks, and after transplanting the following year they can bloom. Layering propagation can be carried out. From June to August, cut well-developed branches into 20-30 cm lengths. Dig a cultivation trench about 20 cm deep, apply base fertilizer at the bottom of the trench, spread a layer of river sand on top, water thoroughly, then lay the branches horizontally in the trench, cover with 5-7 cm of soil, and water again after half a month, after which they can sprout quickly. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, cut the horizontal branches apart, generally dividing them into 3-4 plants. After 1 week, water and fertilize; they can become seedlings in the same year. Pay attention to cultivation, weeding, and pest and disease control.

July: continue cutting and layering propagation. Do a good job with plant management.

August: do a good job with artificial guiding to facilitate climbing growth.

September: remove faded flowers and dead leaves to keep the nursery area clean. After autumn, mow once each month; new branches sprout the following year, and that year's branches can grow 1-3 m.

October: harvest the berries, wash away the flesh with water, and after the seeds are dried in the shade, store them in stratified sand.

November: enters the dormant period; remove dead branches and fallen leaves, and prune overly dense and overly long branches.

December: do a good job with nursery area cleanliness and cold protection.