Why does honeysuckle bear fruit poorly?

Honeysuckle has a tart taste and beneficial composition. The berries are used to make vitamin jams and compotes. Honeysuckle is unpretentious in care, so every year more and more summer residents plant it on their site. The bushes are lush and spreading; many people place them as hedges or near garden buildings. Despite the fact that caring for honeysuckle does not require special knowledge, sometimes the berries ripen small or do not grow at all, become bitter or sour. How to care for honeysuckle in this case, we will consider in the article.

Why does honeysuckle bear fruit poorly?

To understand why honeysuckle does not bear fruit, it is important to understand the root causes: some depend on climatic conditions and the growing region, others depend on errors in agricultural technology. Fruiting is also affected by diseases and pests, which only professional treatment methods can help get rid of.

Getting caught in the freeze

Most varieties are winter-hardy - can withstand temperatures down to -40°C. It is for this reason that summer residents in the northern regions of the country love to grow honeysuckle. Unlike heat-loving berries, the plant rarely freezes. Shrubs do not need shelter for the winter, which makes caring for them easier.

However, there are exceptions to every rule: if the flowering period begins and the temperature drops sharply by 10°C, the flowers will freeze. In the future, this will negatively affect fruit set and yield.Such spring frosts most often occur in the Urals and Siberia at the end of April or beginning of May.

Attention! If frost occurs and honeysuckle does not bloom, it is recommended to take time to take protective measures. Sprinkle the plant with mulch (sawdust, hay, peat, pine branches) - it protects the roots, retains heat and retains moisture. Some gardeners use covering material - agrofibre or thick film. Boards are placed under the branches so that the shoots do not come into contact with the cold ground.

Lack of sun

Ideal site for honeysuckle planting - partial shade. The plant spends part of the day in the sun, part in the shade. Problems arise only if the honeysuckle is always in a dark place where sunlight does not penetrate. Because of this, the plant often gets sick and the fruits grow small.

Honeysuckle does not tolerate transplantation well, so summer residents think in advance and prepare a suitable place for planting.

Improper watering and fertilizing

Honeysuckle is drought-resistant, but you should not forget about watering. Experienced summer residents recommend adding about 2 buckets of water under the bush every day. If the summer is hot and dry - 3-4 buckets. The amount of water directly affects the size and taste of the fruit. Particular attention is paid to watering at the end of May and beginning of June, when the berries are set.

Common gardening mistakes:

• use of cold water;
• watering in the middle of the day when the sun is hot;
• non-compliance with the interval between procedures;
• abundant watering with a long break;
• using a powerful jet from a hose;
• watering without subsequent mulching.

Mineral and organic fertilizers stimulate plant growth, improve the taste and size of fruits, protect against diseases. In order for honeysuckle to bear fruit well, summer residents apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers in early spring - urea, Agricola, Kemira Lux. They stimulate the development of green mass, are responsible for the attractive decorative appearance of shrubs, and increase the annual growth of new shoots. After flowering, organic matter is added: peat, humus, vermicompost, dry wood ash. The taste of honeysuckle and its commercial qualities depend on this. In autumn, the bush is fertilized with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Attention! Lack of mineral and organic substances in the soil just as dangerous as too much. Therefore, when applying fertilizing, summer residents follow the dosages and recommendations. For example, if you overfeed honeysuckle with nitrogen, the plant will devote all its energy to the development of leaves, and the fruits will remain small and insipid.

Diseases and pests

Diseases occur for various reasons: due to excess or lack of moisture, improper application of fertilizers, severe frost or heat, contaminated soil. Most diseases are fungal and can destroy the entire fruit ovary. Viral and bacterial are also found; as a rule, they occur due to infected seedlings:

1. Ramulariasis appears as gray-brown spots with a gray border. Intensifies in damp and cool weather - the leaves become covered with a white coating. Soon the shoots and petioles are damaged, the bush withers and weakens.
2. Tuberculariosis - red-brown tubercles on the shoots. The leaves dry out, and the branches slowly die and lose their ability to bear fruit. The fungus is frost-resistant, overwinters in the soil and appears outside with the onset of warm weather.
3. Powdery mildew affects young and old shrubs, actively manifests itself in late spring or early summer.Leaves and shoots become covered with a white coating, which soon turns into brown and dry spots. Getting rid of powdery mildew is very difficult.
4. During infection with cercospora blight honeysuckle becomes covered with small brown spots. The plant lacks vitamins and slowly dries out. Favorable conditions for the development of cercospora blight are dense plantings, rainy and humid weather.

Among the pests, summer residents note mites and aphids. Small insects live in colonies and attack mainly young and green leaves. Aphids suck the juices from the plant, causing the leaves become covered with a yellow coating, curl up and die.

Due to mites, the plant sheds its leaves prematurely and loses its ability to bear fruit. Even if gardeners managed to get rid of insects, the plant’s immunity is still weakened, so honeysuckle needs special care during this period.

What to do if there are no berries on honeysuckle

If honeysuckle has few or no berries, gardeners look for the cause of this phenomenon and pay attention to agrotechnical measures. If you follow all the rules and recommendations, honeysuckle will again delight you with edible and juicy fruits.

Pollination

Honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated crop, so gardeners grow several different varieties on their property.. Honeysuckle itself is self-sterile. For convenience, summer residents purchase seedlings in a group, and not individually. For example, Gourmand pollinates well with varieties Blue spindle and Antoshka, and honeysuckle Sinichka - with Kamchatskaya and Blue dessert. The more varieties grow on the site, the higher the chances of getting a tasty and rich harvest.

In cross pollination Insects involved are bumblebees, wasps and bees. They carry pollen from one bush to another.To attract insects to plants, gardeners spray honeysuckle with sweet water. Rain and winds also help in pollination of shrubs.

Attention! If you plant one honeysuckle bush on the site, it will not bring results. You can purchase several varieties that are suitable for each other at once in special nurseries.

Trimming

Trimming - one of the most important procedures for caring for honeysuckle. It is carried out annually, starting from the third year of the plant’s life. Depending on the purpose, there are sanitary, formative, and anti-aging pruning. The procedure will require pruning shears and a stepladder.

The equipment is treated with a solution of Bordeaux mixture, and the cut areas are lubricated with garden varnish to protect the plant from infection:

1. During the process of sanitary pruning, diseased and dry shoots that appear as a result of disease and insect damage are removed. Sanitary pruning also serves as a preventive measure to protect against new diseases.
2. Formative pruning is necessary to form the crown. It is carried out once every 2-3 years, shoots that intertwine with each other or grow downwards are removed.
3. Anti-aging pruning is carried out on shrubs over 5-7 years old. All shoots are shortened, and damaged and dry ones are cut out completely. Thanks to this procedure, the lifespan of honeysuckle will be at least 20 years.

Regular watering and fertilizing

Restoration of honeysuckle and stable fruiting are impossible without regular watering and fertilizing. The following fertilizers are suitable for shrubs:

• nitroammophoska - 20 g per 1 sq. m;
• wood ash solution - 300 g per 10 liters of water;
• “Kemira Universal” - 20 g per 10 liters of water;
• "Agricola" - 1 tbsp. l. for 10 liters of water;
• 80 g of superphosphate per 1 sq. m;
• 40 g of potassium salt per 1 sq. m.

If the bushes grow poorly and the honeysuckle becomes smaller, summer residents also use foliar fertilizers. Honeysuckle is sprayed with a urea solution - 5 g of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water. The sprinkling method is used. This solution improves the quality and size of the fruit.

Before applying fertilizing and spraying, honeysuckle is watered generously with water previously heated in the sun.

Prevention of diseases and pests

Preventive measures not only prevent the occurrence of diseases and pests, but also strengthen the bush’s immunity and improve the taste of the berries. Simple and effective ways:

1. Spraying in early spring with 0.2% “Fundazol” or a solution based on soap and copper (10 liters of water, 100 g of copper sulfate and 100 g of grated laundry soap).
2. At the beginning of summer, the plantings are sprayed with garlic infusion - 600 g of crushed heads are poured into 10 liters of boiling water and left for 3 hours. Water the soil with the product at the rate of 0.5 liters per 1 square meter. m.
3. Twice a season, honeysuckle is treated with water remaining after boiling potato tubers. This feeding is rich in starch and does not require financial costs.
4. Preventive measures also include compliance with the planting scheme. The distance between seedlings should be at least 2.5 m. Suitable neighbors for honeysuckle are peas, onions, parsley, dill, turnips, and radishes. Do not plant apple trees, pears, raspberries, currants and gooseberries nearby.

Conclusion

Finding out why honeysuckle is small is not so difficult. The cause may be diseases or pests, lack of sun or frost, non-compliance with the rules of watering and fertilizing.

In order for honeysuckle to delight with tasty fruits, summer residents devote time to preventive measures: they treat the bushes with folk remedies and professional preparations, annually cut off old branches, and use warm water for irrigation. Honeysuckle is one of the most picky garden crops. The main thing is to follow simple rules of agricultural technology.