Honeysuckle Giant's Daughter

Edible honeysuckle is often found in gardeners' plots. After all, this plant not only gives useful sweet fruits, but also becomes part of decorative landscaping. The most popular are large-fruited varieties. For example, the Giant's Daughter.

The daughter of a giant is a variety bred at the Russian Agricultural Academy. The authors of the variety are Savinkova, Pavlovskaya, Gagarkin. To select a new variety, scientists used Turchaninov's honeysuckle and Bakcharsky giant. The result of the work was a large-fruited attractive culture with high indicators of drought resistance and winter hardiness. In 2017, she joined the ranks of the State Register of the Russian Federation.

The daughter of a giant has several characteristics that should be mentioned in the description:

• vigorous shrub, medium density;

• has an oval crown;

• the first couple of years the growth of the plant is slow, but by the age of 8 it reaches 1.7 meters;

• shrub parameters in width - 1.3 meters;

• shoots are distinguished by an even configuration, their interesting feature is the raspberry anthocyanin color at the initial stages of the growing season;

• foliage is green, not too large, but not too small;

• the flowers are quite voluminous, painted in a pale yellow tone.

On tests of culture, the following advantages were highlighted:

• plants have large and tasty, and also useful fruits;

• honeysuckle gives large yields;

• the variety does not require scrupulous care, it tolerates winter well;

• with the right care, this variety will have a lifespan of about 30 years.

Along with the pluses, gardeners noticed a number of disadvantages:

• honeysuckle requires pollinators;

• a certain part of the crop in any case crumbles;

• the first seasons are marked by slow growth and development;

• berries ripen uncommonly.

The features of the Giant's Daughter berries are as follows:

• the size of the fruits is very large - up to 2.5 grams by weight;

• fruits are irregular, like elongated pears;

• the coloring is very eye-catching - it is dark purple, and from afar it even seems black;

• the skin, like the pulp, is medium, there is a layer of waxy coating over the entire surface;

• the berries stick tightly to the bush, but the harvest still falls - about 20%;

• fruits are very useful: they contain 7.8% sugar, 2.6% acids and 43.2 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of product.

Honeysuckle The giant's daughter gives gardeners amazing sweet and sour berries. Both the taste and aroma are great for refreshing in the heat. Even processed fruits are healthy. They are used to prepare jam, unique in its properties, as well as jam. Honeysuckle varieties can also be added to the composition of a refreshing compote, homemade berry lemonade.

The giant's daughter brings a harvest every year. It is removed in July, but in waves, as the berries ripen at random. Ripening can sometimes be influenced by the climate. In warm areas, fruits can form as early as late June. However, the Giant's Daughter is, in any case, a mid-late variety of honeysuckle.

Those who planted this variety on the site can count on an average of 3.1 kg from each shrub. The maximum recorded figures are 3.5 kg. From 10.5 to 15 tons of berries are removed from a hectare, the amount depends on the location and care of the honeysuckle.

Due to its characteristics and ability to adapt to almost any climate, the giant's daughter honeysuckle grows successfully almost throughout the country. So, it is often cultivated in various zones of Siberia, in the Far East, in the Central Black Earth Region, in the Urals, and so on.

Most varieties of honeysuckle are sterile. Therefore, pollinators nearby must be planted without fail. The best choice for this is the Bakcharian giant.

It is better to acquire honeysuckle for planting at the age of 2-3 years, such seedlings have the best survival rate. It is optimal to take a specimen growing in a pot, then it will be possible to plant it both in winter and in autumn. Seedlings with open roots will have to be planted in September. The wells are prepared in about a week, digging up the substrate and filling it with useful fertilizers.

When planting plants, a gap of one and a half meters is observed between them. If the crop is planted in rows, then there should be 2 meters of space between each one. It is important to note that honeysuckle is not shortened before planting. It will be necessary to remove only dried branches or those that broke on the way. The root collar is buried 5 centimeters into the ground.

When grown, the giant's daughter honeysuckle is abundantly watered. If the summer is warm, without drought, then this will need to be done 4 times per season, spending a bucket of water on each bush. In case of drought, watering is increased, otherwise the berries will sour or even taste bitter. After watering, you need to wait for the next day and loosen the soil with high quality, pull out weeds from it. Gardeners from arid regions additionally lay layers of organic mulch on the soil to retain moisture in the substrate.

Young bushes 2 years after planting are fertilized only in the spring. They are watered with a urea solution (30 grams per bucket of water). In subsequent years, fertilizers are applied twice per season: in the spring months and in the autumn. In the spring they give a full bucket of humus, and in the fall - 150 grams of dry wood ash. Such feeding should be carried out every three years. If you want to additionally fertilize shrubs, then you can choose complex mixtures for honeysuckle or berry bushes in gardening stores.

Until the Giant's Daughter is 15 years old, pruning is not carried out. An exception is dry branches damaged by frost or insects. And you also need to remove branches that direct their growth into the bush or bend to the ground. Such specimens contribute to thickening, the development of diseases.

When the honeysuckle reaches the age of 15, it is necessary to remove the old, obsolete branches to the very foundation. After another five years, rejuvenating pruning is carried out to the shrubs. It allows you to extend the fruiting period by 5 or 10 years.

The daughter of a giant is affected by disease only in exceptional cases. This is mainly powdery mildew if the summer is rainy.The disease is treated quite easily, for this you can use fungicides or "Fitosporin".

Pests are more common than diseases, but still not as common as on other plants. Aphids or spider mites are usually found. Single insects can be completely destroyed by folk methods, using tobacco dust and infusions from plants with a pungent odor.

The daughter of the Giant can even survive Siberian frosts down to -50 degrees, while she does not need shelter, except that very young bushes. Adult shrubs do not cover even in the absence of snow in winter.

Honeysuckle loves the sun, but it is better to shade the lower branches of the shrub. For this, flowers or various ground cover crops can be planted next to them. Placing them close will allow the soil to retain moisture. If the region is characterized by harsh winds, you need to provide protection from them.

The honeysuckle of this variety is undemanding to the soil, but it will not grow on too acidic or swampy substrates with a close occurrence of groundwater. Can be cultivated on sandstone, but will often hurt and bear poor fruit.