The Nymph variety is recognized today as the best representative of edible honeysuckle. It has excellent technical characteristics and excellent fruit taste. We will learn how to plant and grow this novelty on our site.
Honeysuckle variety "Nymph"
slight bitterness of the "Nymph" honeysuckle berries does not spoil the taste at all
variety "Nymph" is an unpretentious plant that retains productivity for many years
The history of the discovery of the variety
The variety is obtained by free pollination of honeysuckle Leningradsky Giant. They took him out to the Pavlovsk Experimental Station. Vavilov in 1992. The variety was added to the State Register in 1998. The nymph can be grown in all regions of Russia.
Description of the bush and berries of the Nymph
Brief Botanical Description of Honeysuckle Nymph:
- Bushes. High, slightly spreading. The branches are thick, straight. Annual shoots are light green, covered with villi.
- Leaves. Large, oblong-oval, dark green with slight pubescence. The height of the bush is up to 2.5 m.
- Flowers. Large, bell-shaped, pale-colored.
- Fruit. Weight - 0.8-1.1 g. Shape - elongated fusiform, surface - bumpy. The skin is moderately thick. Coloring - blue-bluish. The taste is sweet, with a spicy bitterness. The pulp has a pleasant aroma. The variety received a high tasting score - 4.7 points out of 5.
Main characteristics
The nymph is a novelty of the Pavlovian selection, endowed with all the best characteristics of honeysuckle. Let's take a closer look at the qualities of "Nymph", and find out why gardeners appreciate it.
Regionality
Nymph is suitable for regions with harsh winters, short and cool summers. It is not suitable for areas with high summer temperatures. Growing in the middle lane is acceptable.
When does it ripen?
The readiness of the fruit depends on the growing region. In the middle lane, the fruits ripen in June. The variety belongs to the mid-early category. But in practice, ripening can take a whole month.
Productivity and fruiting
The yield is moderate, up to 2 kg of fruits are harvested from the bush. The average yield is 1.3 kg per bush. With industrial cultivation, 35-38 centners of berries are obtained from 1 hectare. Fruiting begins at 3-4 years of planting. The plant bears fruit for 20-25 years. If you rejuvenate the bush in time, then the plants can maintain productivity for up to 40 years.
The need for pollination
Nymph is a self-fertile variety. To harvest, other varieties of honeysuckle are planted nearby. Honeysuckle blooming at the same time as the Nymph will do - you can plant, for example, "Amphora", "Chosen One". "Pavlovskaya".
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of the Nymph variety:
- Delicious fruits. Dessert taste is the main plus of Nymph honeysuckle.
- High frost resistance. The plant is able to survive in the most extreme conditions. Doesn't need winter shelter.
- Stable yield. Bears fruit annually and abundantly.
- No need for a transplant. Throughout the entire cultivation period, it retains the characteristics of the fruit.
- High immunity to disease. There is no need to treat with chemicals - the fruits are environmentally friendly. The culture is almost not sick, aphids are practically not affected.
Disadvantages:
- Part of the fruit falls off after ripening. The shedding tendency of this variety is defined as medium.
- Self-infertility. The need to plant pollinating varieties.
- Excessive thickening of the crown - you have to regularly thin it out, otherwise the yield falls.
Watch the video about the advantages and disadvantages of the "Nymph" honeysuckle:
Landing features
Honeysuckle is renowned for its endurance and unpretentiousness, but the gardener's job is to get the most out of each crop. How strong and productive the plant will be depends largely on the correct planting.
Seat selection
The only condition necessary for the growth and fruiting of honeysuckle is good light. She needs a site that will be well lit and warmed by the sun. The lack of light is bad for the taste of the berries and their quantity.
Other aspects of growth are not a problem for honeysuckle - it is not afraid of cold winds and grows in almost any soil. But best of all, this culture grows on loamy soils.
Unacceptable conditions for honeysuckle:
- acidic soils - here the bush is slowly dying;
- lowlands with high groundwater levels - high humidity causes root rotting.
Disembarkation dates
Honeysuckle is very frost-hardy, nothing threatens it during autumn planting - the seedlings survive the winter without problems, intensively growing into growth in the spring. In autumn, planting occurs in August-late October. The exact timing depends on the onset of frost in the region. A month and a half should remain before them.
Spring planting is done early - in the first half of March, if the snow melts. In the spring, the seedlings are planted by transshipment - the seedling with a clod of earth is moved into the prepared hole.
Selection of seedlings
Tips for choosing planting material:
- Buy seedlings in garden centers and nurseries - here you can buy varietal honeysuckle.
- Choose varieties that are zoned in your area - then you will not have problems with growing a crop.
- Give preference to seedlings in containers - with closed roots. They take root easier and faster.
- Pay attention to the external data of the seedlings:
- branches must be flexible;
- roots - developed, free from defects and rot.
Peeling bark is a normal condition for honeysuckle. If the bark on the seedling peels off, and all other signs are positive, the seedling is healthy.
Landing rules
Start preparing the site a couple of weeks before disembarkation:
- Dig up the ground. Remove the roots of the weeds while digging.
- Dig a cube-shaped hole. The side of the cube is 40 cm.
- Fill the hole with hard material such as pebbles, rubble, or other hard material. This will be the drainage layer.
- Pour nutritious soil over the drain. Prepare it from a fertile soil layer mixed with humus (20 L), superphosphate (60 g) and ash (500 g). You can replace the ashes with the same amount of chalk.
After 2-3 weeks, the soil will settle and you can start planting. Honeysuckle planting procedure:
- An hour before planting in the ground, dip the roots of the seedlings into Kornevin's solution.
- While spreading the roots, place the seedling in the hole. If the roots are in a container, place them together with a clod of earth.
- Cover the roots with soil. Shake the plant periodically - while covering the roots with earth. This will remove all the voids between the roots. Trample the soil thoroughly and shape the hole.
- Pour 10 liters of water under the root.
- Once the water is absorbed, sprinkle the soil around the trunk with hay, peat, humus, or other mulch.
Features of planting honeysuckle:
- The root collar of honeysuckle, unlike other fruit crops, is buried into the soil to a depth of 5 cm.
- It is not recommended to prune edible honeysuckle immediately after planting - pruning delays fruiting.
- The distance between adjacent bushes is 1.5-2.5 m.
Ways to care for a Nymph
Honeysuckle is easy to care for. Since the plant is unpretentious, a minimum of time and effort is spent on the maintenance of this culture.
For information on caring for honeysuckle in the fall, click here.
Watering and loosening
At first, the seedlings are watered weekly - 1-2 buckets under the bush. Then the plant is moistened about 5 times per season. Honeysuckle loves moisture, but does not tolerate excess water. Adult shrubs are watered in case of prolonged droughts. A special need for moisture is during flowering and fruit formation.
Water deficiency negatively affects the taste of the fruit - they begin to taste bitter.
After rains and watering, the soil is loosened. The roots of the plant are close to the surface. Loosening depth - up to 8 cm. The use of mulch reduces the amount of watering and loosening, prevents the growth of weeds.
Top dressing
For the first two years, honeysuckle is not fed. Then, every 3 years, mineral fertilizing is applied.
Terms of top dressing:
Application period | Fertilizers for 1 sq. m |
Early spring | Ammonium nitrate - 15 g, or urea solution - 1 tbsp. l per 10 l of water. |
Bloom | A solution of wood ash is introduced - 1 kg per 10 liters. |
Fall | Introduce 100 g of wood ash and 5 kg of compost. It is useful to add 2 tbsp. l superphosphate. |
Pruning
Sanitary pruning is done in the spring or fall. In the fall, remove excess shoots that thicken the crown, in the spring - dry and damaged branches. Pruning begins as the crown thickens - 3-4 years after planting. Thanks to pruning, the rays penetrate to the shoots, and the plant bears fruit better.
Wintering
The nymph tolerates extreme temperatures well. To help the plant survive the harsh winter as safely as possible, a mixture of compost (5 kg), ash (100 g) and superphosphate (40 g) is added to each trunk circle before winter.
If the plant is weakened, and the frosts are strong, the tops of the branches may freeze in the honeysuckle.
Preventive actions
To protect the plant from diseases, preventive spraying with Bordeaux liquid is carried out before flowering and after flowering. If the shrub is attacked by aphids, mites or other pests, use insecticides. But they are not used during the ripening of the fruit, otherwise the poisons will accumulate in the fruit.
Common diseases of honeysuckle and their treatment:
Disease | Symptoms | Prevention | Treatment |
Sooty fungus | A dark bloom appears on the leaves. With severe damage, the plant weakens. | Remove fallen leaves. | Two treatments with 1% Bordeaux liquid - before flowering. The interval between sprays is a week. Or treatment with Fundazol 1% or Tsineboi (for 10 l - 8 g) |
Powdery mildew | There is a white bloom on the leaves, they dry out. The winter hardiness of the plant decreases. | Avoid thickening of plantings and waterlogging of the soil. | Spraying with Topsin-M 1%, Fundazol 0.2%. |
Tuberculariosis | Red-brown seals with fungal spores appear on the shoots. | Pruning in time. Destroy damaged shoots. | At the beginning of the growing season - spraying with Bordeaux liquid 1%. |
Breeding options
By propagating the culture by cuttings and dividing the bush, you can save on the purchase of planting material. Seed propagation is less popular - you have to wait too long for the result.
Seeds
Honeysuckle has small seeds that can be used for propagation. Disadvantages of the method:
- A plant grown from seed bears fruit in 5-6 years.
- Varietal qualities, including the taste of the fruit, may be lost.
Seed propagation is suitable for honeysuckle planted for decorative purposes.
Breeding order:
- In early spring, bury the seeds 1 mm into the substrate.
- Cover crops with glass or foil.
- After three weeks, when shoots appear and two true leaves grow, dive the seedlings into individual containers.
- In the fall, plant the shoots in open ground.
Dividing the bush
This method is suitable for those who have mature honeysuckle bushes. The best option is 5-7 years. Very old bushes are not suitable for propagation. Lignified bushes are dug up and divided into parts using a hacksaw or an ax. Each shrub that is planted should have two skeletal branches with a good root system. The length of the roots is 20-30 cm.
Cuttings
This is the simplest breeding method for honeysuckle. Cuttings are harvested in autumn.
Instructions for propagation by cuttings:
- Cut segments from annuals. The length of one cutting is 15 cm.
- Store the cuttings in a cool, dark place until spring.
- Move the cuttings to the greenhouse at the end of March. Dig them in, leaving one bud outside.
- When the cuttings take root - after about a month, transplant them to a permanent place.
Honeysuckle can also be propagated by green cuttings. This method is used in early summer. Shoots are cut into 12 cm long pieces, planted in containers with a nutrient mixture, and, covered with a film, are regularly watered and aired. After a month, the cuttings will take root. They are planted in a permanent place for the next fall.
Harvesting
In a two-year-old seedling, the first fruits appear a year after planting. In the middle lane, honeysuckle ripens by the beginning of June - earlier than raspberries or strawberries.
Nymph's fruits do not ripen together, and the whole harvest will be ready later - by mid-June. The berries are stored in the freezer, they can be dried, used in cooking, and prepared for the winter.
Problems to face
Problems possible when growing the Nymph variety:
- The main problem when growing Nymph honeysuckle is the defeat of aphids and other insects. Spraying with insecticides and biological products - Fitoverm, Iskra-bio or others - helps to solve the problem.
- In a rainy summer, as well as with top watering, the culture can be affected by powdery mildew. The solution is spraying with fungicides. If the disease attacked after the formation of fruits, folk remedies are used.
- Honeysuckle Nymph does not tolerate hot, dry summers. If a drought occurs, abundant watering and mulching can solve the problem.
Reviews of honeysuckle Nymph
Irina N., Vologda. I have never collected more than 2 kg of honeysuckle from a bush, so the Nymph does not stand out in terms of yield. But she tastes better than the other six varieties growing on my site. The berries are beautiful in shape, sweet, with a pleasant smell, almost without acidity. Even in a rainy summer, the berries do not lose their sweetness.
Victor O., Irkutsk. The main advantage of the Nymph, when compared with other varieties, is the taste of berries. Harvesting is not difficult - the bushes are loose, and fruits grow like bunches. The variety multiplies without problems - just dig in a branch. It grows quickly, bears fruit every year and in any weather.
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If you are looking for not only decorative properties in honeysuckle, but also a source of tasty fruits, without bitterness, choose Nymph. The variety, like the culture as a whole, is unpretentious, hardy and easily reproduces - even a beginner can do its agricultural technology.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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