What kind of soil and drainage does honeysuckle like?
Honeysuckle is grown not only to produce a harvest of tasty and healthy fruits, but also to decorate personal plots. The success of growing a crop depends on the choice of planting site and soil composition. Its physical and mechanical properties affect the productivity and appearance of the bushes. What soil is needed for edible and decorative honeysuckle, read our article.
Soil for decorative and edible honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is famous for its unpretentiousness and ability to grow in any climate.. The culture prefers areas with loose, well-drained, nutritious soil. The optimal type for garden and edible honeysuckle is loam fertilized with organic matter.
The plant does not grow well in wetlands with heavy, clogged soil lacking moisture. Places with low groundwater levels are chosen for planting. Excess moisture leads to rotting of the root system. Experienced gardeners recommend planting bushes not only on loam, but also on sandy loam soil and black soil. This type of soil promotes the growth and development of honeysuckle and increases its productivity.
The loam is loose and has excellent air permeability, which helps saturate the root system with oxygen and moisture. This soil consists of 70% turf and 30% coarse sand.
Sandy loam consists of silt and sand, quickly allows moisture to pass through, warms up after the snow melts and is considered an excellent alternative to loam. Chernozem contains organic matter and minerals that promote the growth and development of bushes.Every year, plant residues remain in the soil, saturating it with humus, phosphorus and calcium. Sandy soil dries out quickly, nutrients are washed out of it, and water-soluble fertilizers seep into the lower layer, so it is not suitable for cultivating honeysuckle.
Gardeners in Siberia, the North-Western region and the Far East do not pay attention to the composition of the soil when planting honeysuckle, and residents of the southern regions complain about the poor growth of the crop on black soil. This is due to the characteristics of the honeysuckle root system.
The plant has a tap root, but it is short - only 0.5 m, and there are many lateral roots. During periods of drought, the hard, cracked earth literally tears apart the thin shoots. During the rainy season or active irrigation, chernozem turns into a sticky, airtight mass. The solution to the problem is to annually improve the soil structure.
Optimal pH level
Let's figure out what kind of soil honeysuckle likes - acidic or alkaline.
Soil acidity is not the least important when growing crops. She prefers soil with a neutral pH and does not like acidic or alkaline soil. The fruiting and appearance of the bush depends on the level of acidity.
pH is measured on a scale from 1 to 14. The acidity of the soil is checked using litmus papers. They can be purchased at gardening stores. Before planting, soil is collected from different parts of the site, placed in fabric bags and immersed in clean water for 5 minutes. The test strip is lowered there and the result is assessed after 10 seconds.
An indicator in the range from 5 to 7 indicates neutral acidity, from 1 to 5 - acidic, above 7 - alkaline. The soil is brought to normal six months before planting the crop.To do this, dolomite flour is added to the ground: 0.5 kg per 1 m² - in acidic soil, 0.4 kg per 1 m² - in slightly acidic soil.
Reference. The optimal soil acidity for honeysuckle is 5.5–6.5 units, acceptable is 3.9–7.7 units.
The best soil for honeysuckle
In what soil should honeysuckle be planted? The soil for decorative and edible honeysuckle must be structured, moisture- and breathable. To determine its composition by eye, dig up the soil at least 10 cm with a shovel, throw it up and inspect the formation:
- if the earth fell like a solid pancake, it contains a lot of clay;
- if the formation has completely crumbled, there is a lot of sand in the composition;
- if the top layer has scattered into lumps of different sizes, the structure is excellent.
Humus and peat, turf and river sand are added to the composition of the soil for honeysuckle. In alkaline soil - red peat, in acidic soil - ash or slaked lime.
Read also:
Preparing soil for garden honeysuckle
Soil that does not meet the requirements necessary for the growth of honeysuckle is corrected by adding organic and mineral substances. The drainage method improves the permeability of the soil and makes it lighter.
Mineral fertilizers
For the normal development of honeysuckle, minerals are necessary: potassium, phosphorus, calcium. For every 10 kg of sand, take 300 g of ash and 50 g of superphosphate or nitrophoska. The mixture is enough to fertilize 1 m² of peat soil. Sandy soil is fed with potassium - 30 g per 1 m².
To improve the soil structure, coarse river sand is used. Fine-grained soil sticks together and aggravates the situation.When preparing a nutrient mixture, it is recommended not to simply mix the components and fill the hole, but to sift through a large sieve and only then fill the hole. For sifting, use a mesh from an old armored bed. It is placed on a support and the components are thrown in turn. Large fractions are broken up with a shovel, and stones are removed by hand.
Organic
Sandy soil primarily needs organic matter. In spring and late autumn, the area is mulched with rotted manure, bark and leaves - 5 kg per 1 m².
Gardeners recommend incorporating horse manure into the soil when planting, and using bird droppings as liquid fertilizer.
Drainage for honeysuckle
Drainage is placed in planting holes when planting honeysuckle. Broken brick, crushed stone or shell rock are suitable for this purpose. This prevents the bush from being flooded by groundwater and allows it to grow on swampy and clayey soils.
Read also:
Frost-resistant early ripening honeysuckle variety “Lakomka”
Conclusion
The soil for honeysuckle, its acidity and composition are of great importance. The growth rate of the shrub, its decorativeness and productivity depend on this. Garden and edible honeysuckle prefer loose loamy soil or black soil and do not grow well in marshy areas and loam.
The root system needs oxygen and moisture, a sufficient amount of organic and mineral substances. The composition of the soil is improved by adding the missing elements, laying drainage at the bottom of the pit, normalizing the pH and loosening it with river sand if necessary.