Introduction to the Large Mao Hua Variety, a Superior Cultivar of Honeysuckle
The scientific name of honeysuckle is Lonicera japonica, a semi-evergreen perennial twining shrub of the vine type. It is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicinal herb and is praised as a natural broad-spectrum antibiotic. In recent years, with the expansion of the application fields of honeysuckle, its cultivation has shifted from extensive management to intensive management, and from one flower crop per year to four flower crops per year, greatly increasing yields and significantly improving cultivation benefits. At present, many places are introducing or expanding planting, but if attention is not paid to variety selection, the results will be contrary to expectations.
Among traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, honeysuckle is divided into Mi Yin Hua, Dong Yin Hua and Shan Yin Hua. Mi Yin Hua is mainly produced in Xinmi, Henan, and is a historically famous brand; Dong Yin Hua refers to products from Shandong, while Shan Yin Hua generally refers to wild honeysuckle from the southern provinces. The above are not names of cultivated varieties of honeysuckle, but commodity names based on place of origin.
Cultivated varieties of honeysuckle are divided into two types: Mao Hua (hairy flower) and Xian Hua (linear flower). Hongtiao Yin Hua of the Xian Hua type grows prostrate, has long internodes and low yields, and can produce only one flower crop per year, so it is an eliminated variety in production. Da Mao Hua of the Mao Hua type is one of the best varieties successfully promoted in production. The characteristics of Da Mao Hua are: young branches green, internodes short, strong upright growth, obvious main stem, leaves thin, leathery, leaf blades ovate to oblong-ovate, leaves densely hairy, flower buds slightly curved, corolla 5-5.5 cm long, apex with rough hairs, bracts broadly ovate.
Da Mao Hua has strong upright growth, tolerates pruning, and has the habit of flowering multiple times. In field cultivation it can grow into a "honeysuckle tree", producing four flower crops per year, also called "four-season honeysuckle". In the Zhengzhou area below 500 m altitude, Da Mao Hua begins its first flowering around May 13, and after pruning, it flowers again every 35-39 days (average effective accumulated temperature 560°C), continuing until late September.
Da Mao Hua grows rapidly. At 333 plants per mu (spacing 1 m x 2 m), the trunk of a 3-year-old plant can reach 3.5 cm in diameter, with a crown width of more than 1 m, plant height 1.3-1.5 m, coverage rate 80%, and dry flower yield per mu of 100-150 kg.