Detailed Explanation of Key Points on Honeysuckle Planting and Management Techniques

Honeysuckle has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, and can treat plague fever, heat-toxin bloody dysentery, wind-heat common cold, sore throat and erysipelas and other diseases. It is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, proprietary Chinese medicine production and export.

Honeysuckle has strong drought resistance and tolerance to barren soil, and does not demand much from the soil. Mountain areas and river beaches are both suitable, and it can also be planted in courtyards, beside forests and rivers, on field ridges and on returned farmland on hillsides and other places. It can be planted in both spring and autumn.

I. Seedling raising

Honeysuckle can be cultivated by seed, root division or cutting propagation. Cutting propagation grows relatively fast, and it can bloom in the autumn of the same year, and reach the full-production period in the second and third years.

1. Selection of strong branches: Select healthy, disease-free 1-year-old vines with many flowers, and cut them into small sections 15-20 cm long. Each section should retain at least 3-5 buds. Remove the lower leaves and use them as cuttings for propagation.

2. Land preparation and bed making: Select a small plot of land, apply base fertilizer, work the soil fine, and make low beds or high beds 1.2 m wide. For seedling raising, the row spacing is 10-15 cm and the plant spacing is 5-8 cm. Raising 5000 seedlings on 1 fen of land is enough for 8-9 mu of land.

3. Cutting time and method: Cutting is best done in April-May, preferably two or three days after rain. In dry conditions, water in advance to keep the soil moist. Make holes and insert 3/4 of the cutting into the ground, leaving 2-3 buds above ground, and press the gaps firm. Water immediately after cutting to help survival.

4. Management during seedling raising: After cutting, cover with plastic film or a shade shed to preserve soil moisture. Sprinkle water once every 3-5 days, but not too much. After one month, the sprouts and seedlings can grow well, and the plastic film can be removed. In the same year, the seedlings can grow to 1-2 m high and have 2-3 branches, ready for transplanting in the autumn of the same year or the spring of the next year.

II. Planting and management

1. Fertilization and watering: Honeysuckle is best planted in pits, with 2-3 plants per pit, 500-600 pits per mu, row spacing 1.5 m and plant spacing 1 m. Apply 2 kg of farmyard manure per pit. Apply topdressing 2-3 times each year, 1 wintering fertilizer and 2 flower-picking fertilizers, with 1-2 kg of soil fertilizer. In dry conditions, water and fertilize at the same time.

2. Trellising: Honeysuckle is a semi-woody vine and needs a trellis to climb on, which can increase flower yield. The trellis should be 1.2-1.5 m high, sturdy and neat, for many years of use.

3. Pruning time: Carry out pruning from December in winter to February of the following year. During the growing period, prune immediately after flower picking. In winter, heavy pruning is appropriate. During the growing period, prune immediately after flower picking. In winter, heavy pruning is appropriate; during the growing period, light pruning is appropriate. Cut off twining branches, crossing branches, diseased branches, weak branches and downward-growing branches.

4. Pruning and shaping methods: In spring, the axillary buds of honeysuckle first produce primary branches, and the primary branches then produce secondary branches. In one year, it can differentiate into fourth- to sixth-order branches. The axillary buds of new branches then differentiate into fruiting branches, on which inflorescences and flowers form. Cutting off long vegetative branches before budding will quickly produce secondary fruiting branches and increase the number of times flower bud differentiation occurs. Generally, flower buds on first- to fourth-order branches can form flower buds. Branches above the fourth order cannot develop into flowering branches because the temperature drops in late autumn. Pruning must be carried out early. When the plant grows to 30-40 cm in the year of planting, remove the top to form a main stem, on which 3-5 vegetative branches are produced. They spread out in three climbs or five fists as primary branches. When the primary branches grow to 5-6 leaves and 15-20 cm long, they are still cut off to promote the growth of secondary branches. Remove weak branches and duplicate branches among diseased branches, so that it forms third- and fourth-order branches again.

5. Pest and disease control: The common disease is leaf spot, which can be controlled with a 400-fold Bordeaux mixture solution, or with a 100-fold Baiqingshui solution, spraying once a week for three consecutive weeks. The main pest is aphids, which can be killed by spraying with a 1:800-fold dimethoate aqueous solution.