Why honeysuckle berries and flowers fall off and what to do about it

When growing honeysuckle, an unpretentious shrub whose fruits ripen in early summer even in cold climates, gardeners sometimes have to deal with the problem of berries falling off. This article explains why honeysuckle falls off at different stages of the plant’s growing season, as well as what measures need to be taken to preserve the harvest.

Why does honeysuckle fall off?

Sometimes a strange situation arises in the garden: in the spring, honeysuckle bushes are densely covered with fragrant white-pink flowers, promising abundant fruiting, but by the time the berries are picked, there are no berries on the branches.

To prevent the harvest of early and very useful fruits from being lost, it is necessary to understand why honeysuckle berries fall off.

The harvest was not collected on time

Honeysuckle berries may end up on the ground because the gardener missed the moment when the crop was ready for harvest.

In order to promptly remove fruits from the branches, you need to carefully monitor the process of their ripening. Having noticed that the skin of the berries has acquired a uniform violet-blue color with a waxy coating, you should wait 7-10 days and then start picking them.

Important! The readiness of honeysuckle fruits is easily determined by the color of the pulp. If the berries are green inside, it means the time has not come yet and you need to wait 2-3 days until they turn red in the crack.

Varietal feature

Many modern varieties of the crop are distinguished by medium and strong attachment of berries to the stalks.Until the moment of harvesting, the fruits, which ripen almost simultaneously in warm years, remain on the bush, and it is not difficult to collect them by hand, avoiding losses. If the year turns out to be cold and rainy, the harvest is carried out in 2 passes.

Attention! There are also varieties of honeysuckle in which the shedding of berries is very high, and so that the harvest does not end up on the ground at one moment, you need to take care of its preservation in advance.

To do this, as soon as the fruits begin to ripen, the following is spread under the bushes:

• plastic film;
• thick fabric or burlap;
• special non-woven material - spunbond.

It is important that the fabric or film is dark in color. This way the berries will not be noticed and eaten by birds.

The berries fall off while still green

If the fruits begin to fall to the ground before reaching maturity, you should pay attention to maintaining the watering regime.

Reference. Honeysuckle especially needs moisture during the period when flowers appear and berries begin to fill. Lack of moisture at this time can cause unripe fruits to fall off.

Abundant watering is especially relevant in a situation where, by the time honeysuckle ripens, the average daily air temperature is very high.. In this case, it is recommended to shade the bushes from hot sunlight and pour a large amount of water under them more often (at least 2 buckets for each bush).

Another possible reason for the dropping of green berries is increased soil acidity. In this case, the soil is deoxidized by adding ash solution or slaked lime.

What to do if honeysuckle falls off

In order not to lose the honeysuckle harvest due to fruit shedding, you need to take care of their timely collection:

1. Find out what time the berries of a particular variety begin to ripen (this usually occurs in mid to late June).
2. As this period approaches, inspect the bushes daily.
3. From the moment the fruits turn blue and acquire a uniform color, count a week, and then look at the berries in the crack.
4. When the inside turns red, immediately begin harvesting, removing the fruits by hand or by shaking the bush, and then placing them in containers with a capacity of no more than 3 kg.

When choosing a honeysuckle variety for planting, be sure to pay attention to fruit shedding. Currently, many varieties of the crop have been bred, the fruits of which are characterized by an average strength of attachment to the stalk, and their yield loss does not exceed 3-5%.

As a result of selection, honeysuckle varieties have been obtained in which the shedding of ripe berries is completely absent. These include:

• Violet;
• Kamchadalka;
• Roxana;
• Amphora;
• Moraine;
• Dessert.

If, nevertheless, a variety with significant shedding of berries is planted, it is better to remove them daily as they ripen, doing this carefully. During the harvest period, cover the soil under the bush with black film, spunbond or dark cloth.

It is important to check the acidity of the soil on which the shrub grows using universal litmus paper purchased from a pharmacy chain:

1. 3-4 tsp. Wrap the earth, taken from different sides of the bush, in a piece of thick fabric.
2. Place in a small glass or plastic container.
3. Add distilled water in a 1:1 ratio.
4. Leave for 5 minutes.
5. Dip the litmus paper into the liquid for 1-2 seconds.
6. Compare the resulting indicator color with the acidity scale and determine the soil pH.

If the value pH below 4.5, the soil around the bushes must be deoxidized with an ash solution (1 tbsp. ash per bucket of water) or dolomite flour (0.5 kg per 1 m²).

It is necessary to moisten the soil in a timely manner, do this more often in hot weather, using at least 20 liters of water to water one bush.

Attention! To keep honeysuckle fruits on the branches for as long as possible, experienced gardeners recommend spraying the bush with a urea solution immediately after the ovaries form on the berry plant.

How to harvest if honeysuckle falls off when you touch the branches

If the berries fall off at the slightest attempt to remove them from the bush, proceed as follows:

1. Cut a piece of plastic film, spunbond or fabric, the size of which is slightly larger than the width of the bush.
2. Give it the shape of a circle.
3. Cut along the radius with sharp scissors.
4. As soon as the berries begin to turn blue, place the material around the trunk of the plant so that there are no folds.
5. As the fruits ripen, shake the bush daily.
6. Carefully pour the harvested crop into shallow baskets or other suitable containers.
7. They continue to do this until all the berries fall from the branches.

You can do it differently:

1. Take a large plastic bag.
2. Put it on several branches at once.
3. Shake the branches thoroughly. Clean, undamaged berries will be in the bag.
4. Continue this collection throughout the entire volume of the bush.

Some gardeners place an open umbrella upside down under the branches and shake the fruits directly into it, and then pour them into a container.

Why honeysuckle flowers fall and what to do about it

The falling of flowers after tiny ovaries have appeared is a normal process that should not cause concern to the gardener.

It’s another matter if, after a careful examination of the bush, no ovaries are found. This means that unpollinated flowers fall off or the plant loses its ovaries.

Shrub pollination may suffer due to:

1. Cold and rainy weather, in which insects fly much less than on warm days. To attract pollinating insects, during the flowering period the bush is treated with an aqueous solution of sugar, adding 2 tbsp. l. crystals in a bucket of water.
2. Lack of nearby pollinating plants. Many varieties of honeysuckle are characterized by self-sterility or a low percentage of self-fertility and require additional pollination with pollen from other varieties with a simultaneous flowering period. To ensure maximum pollination of the bushes, they are planted at a distance of 2 m from each other in a group that includes at least 3, and preferably 5-6 different types of crops.

Too acidic soil

To neutralize the acidic environment, wood ash is added to the soil, combining the procedure with watering (1 tbsp of ash is dissolved in 10 liters of water).

Reference. The optimal pH value for the soil on which honeysuckle is grown is 4.5-7.5 units.

Lack of moisture

During flowering, the crop must be provided with abundant moisture:

1. Form a wide hole 30 cm deep in the tree trunk circle.
2. Pour 4-5 buckets of water under each bush in the evening.
3. After watering, mulch the soil with dry leaves, straw, and pine needles.

Return frosts

Although honeysuckle is a plant with high cold resistance, under abnormal weather conditions or when planting a variety for which the climate of the region is not entirely suitable, the delicate flowers may freeze and fall off, leaving no fruit.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to cover the tree trunk area with a layer of sawdust in the fall. Mulch will retain snow and ice for a long time and will prevent the soil from thawing.. As a result, flowering will begin later, and return frosts will not harm the flowers.

The bush is very old

In this case, anti-aging pruning is necessary. This procedure is carried out in spring or autumn after the plant reaches 13-15 years. All branches are cut at a distance of 0.3-0.5 m from the ground surface.

Preventive measures

Measures designed to ensure a bountiful harvest of healthy honeysuckle berries and to avoid fruit shedding as much as possible include all the basic recommendations for planting and caring for shrubs:

1. Select varieties for planting that are recommended for cultivation in this region and are not characterized by a high rate of fruit shedding.
2. To plant shrubs, choose only areas well lit by the sun and protected from strong winds.
3. Before planting the crop, deoxidize highly acidic soil with slaked lime, adding 0.2-0.5 kg of the substance per 1 m^² area.
4. Plant several varieties of berries at once (from 3 to 6), selecting varieties so that they bloom at the same time and are optimally suited for mutual pollination.
5. Water the plant regularly, moistening the soil to a depth of 0.5 m, then mulch the area around the trunk with rotted manure, peat or humus. If the weather is dry, it is necessary to additionally water the honeysuckle 3-4 times during the growing season, especially before the ovaries form.
6. Do not forget to periodically loosen and weed the soil in the tree trunk circle.
7. In spring and autumn, prune bushes over 5 years old, removing diseased, broken, old and barren shoots in order to increase the illumination of the bush.
8. Feed the bushes in the spring with nitrogen, and in the fall with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers.
9. Before flowering begins, carry out preventive treatment against diseases and pests, and in the autumn, dust the bushes with ash.
10. To protect the berries from thrushes and other birds, it is advisable to stretch a net over the plantings, or, even better, a covering material, after driving in pegs. Leave one side open.
11. Do not delay harvesting. As soon as the fruits are ripe, remove them from the branches with your hands or (depending on the shedding of the variety) shake them onto material spread under the bush.

Conclusion

Knowing the reasons why honeysuckle fruits may fall off at the flowering stage, at the beginning of ripening and when reaching full maturity, as well as ways to combat the problem, will help the gardener take the necessary measures in a timely manner and preserve the desired harvest.