Gardening and horticulture today are becoming quite a popular activity. Home plants not only provide natural and clean food with savings for the budget, but also decorate the cottage, lift your spirits and allow you to enjoy the birth of a new life from a small seed. The number of garden plant species is constantly updated. So, from the wild nature honeysuckle migrated to our gardens. How to choose the best varieties of honeysuckle for the middle band, we will discuss in this article.
What characteristics should the honeysuckle varieties have for the middle band
Honeysuckle is a plant that has settled well in middle latitudes.. Here, both gardeners and farmers love it, giving their preference to this plant over other fruit-bearing shrubs. 
The best varieties of honeysuckle for the middle band have a predominant feature - frost resistance. Temperatures down to -47 ° C do not frighten the plant when other shrubs, such as currants, raspberries, lose their yield at values between -20 and -35 degrees of frost.
Fruiting time is 30 years, which is quite a lot for a shrub. Already in the first year after planting, you will receive a harvest. The concentration of fruits on one bush is very high. In addition, the market demand for these berries is always only growing.
Did you know? Since the XYI century honeysuckle decorated the gardens of Russia and European countries, and its name is translated from Latin as "fragrant".All these characteristics describe the plant as a true savior of gardeners, which, under the most severe conditions, pleases with fruiting.
Description and photos of the best varieties
There are more than 200 species of this plant.. But people loved only two of them:
- blue or blue decorative;
- edible.
In gardens, shrubs are erect, curly and creeping. Each variety differs in color of its flowers and berries. Honeysuckle acts as an ornamental plant and at the same time gives edible, tasty and very useful berries.
Honeysuckle varieties for the middle band, large-fruited and very tasty, occupy the first position among the cultivated species of this plant. One bush of this variety gives from 4 to 6 kilograms of berries. In addition, this group of honeysuckle tastes different. Some put them in a row with exotic fruits.
Did you know? Such varieties of honeysuckle were bred, which to taste of berries resemble cherries, plums and strawberries.Identifying the most delicious varieties of honeysuckle is very difficult. Here play the role of each person's preferences. Some people like sour notes, others like sweet, and still others like refreshing ones. All this variety can be found in numerous edible varieties of honeysuckle.
Note that the fruiting period falls on an early term - mid and late June. At this time, other berries have not even begun to ripen. For example, such honeysuckle, as "Siberian", differs in that 80% of its fruits can be collected at a time.
How to do it? Everything lies in the features of these fruitful bushes to drop their berries or keep them on the branches to the last. In the second case, it will be easier for you to work, because you need to go out for the harvest no more than twice per season.
You will also be interested to read about the main diseases of honeysuckle and how to treat them.
Be sure to pay attention to this when choosing the type of plant. And if you chose large-fruited honeysuckle, varieties of which can be recognized by a low bush and berries with a very dense skin, then the collection process will bring only pleasure. After all, the fruits are not soft and will not choke quickly in the hands, which means that children can be connected to the process.
"Blue Spindle"
The berries of this species are distinguished by their shape, which is similar to a spindle, and a large size of up to 3 centimeters in length, due to which the species was so named. The fruits of this type of honeysuckle are mainly used for making wine, but what does it taste like? The fruits are distinguished by sweetness and bright sourness, and the aftertaste is barely perceptible bitterness. They ripen early on the average height of the bush - until mid-June, your harvest will already be harvested.
"Blue bird"
Blue Honeysuckle is one of the most amazing species. It is very popular among gardeners, especially in those regions that are characterized by constant variability in weather conditions. The "blue bird" is adapted to temperature fluctuations even in spring time.
Important! UhThat species gives its fruits in May, in contrast to its relatives. The berries are saturated with ascorbic acid, which makes them an indispensable useful product for human health after the winter period.
"Blue bird" is actively used in traditional medicine. In its raw form, it has a beneficial effect on those who have heart problems and weak capillaries.
The disadvantage of this plant is that, although it is not whimsical to the weather, it can produce a bad harvest. If you planted correctly and regularly cared for a bush, it will bear plenty of fruit. He needs sunlight and mineral fertilizer. Try to cut the branches in time, and cover the veil from the birds for the period of budding. A "Blue Spindle" will serve for cross-pollination.
Gzhelka
The early or late berry of this species has a sweetish taste, which gives a thin sourness and a very pleasant aroma. The crop reaches 2.5 kg. Differs "Gzhelka" its large foliage of dark green color, which is used for the manufacture of therapeutic infusions. This variety is universal, and love it for the benefit of delicious berries and the ability to decorate their landscape. In addition, ripe berries are not showered, and apply them to dessert wines, jams and compotes.
Honeysuckle is well compatible with stone fruits, such as: cherry, plum, sweet cherry, apricot, peach, almond.
"Moscow 23"
This variety gives the highest yield compared to others. With one bush you can collect 4 kilograms of berries. In height, the plant can reach 2 meters, and the fruits are harvested by the end of June, in the twenties. On the palate you will find sweetness, sourness and light astringency. When the fruits ripen, they begin to crumble intensively. This is the only drawback of this variety. But such a variant of honeysuckle, as "Fianit", on the contrary, shows weak flaking, and the description of the variety confirms that they can replace the "Moscow 23".
"Tomichka"
Honeysuckle "Tomichka" will attract the most lazy thanks to one important criterion in the description of the variety: the fruits do not crumble to the last, keeping all the berries on their branches. This species is ideal for those who do not like a long harvest. You can safely wait for the end of ripening and at once to pick all the berries. 
The height of the bush is small: from 1.5 to 2 meters. This is a variety of early ripening - June 12-16. Suitable for pollination: "Blue Bird", "Bakcharskaya", "Blue Spindle". The difference between "Tomichka" and other species is in a very rich, sometimes even black color of the berries inside and a strong blue patina. The taste is very pleasant, has no pronounced shades. You can freeze the berry and make it raw jam.
"Long Fruit"
The honeysuckle "Long fruit" differs from the others by one characteristic in the description of the variety - the size of its fruits. Their weight reaches 2 grams, which is relatively superior to other options. The view is good for its high taste qualities of the dessert type. 
Bitterness in the berries is not, only the gentle sweet-sour taste. Under favorable weather conditions, the berries ripen in early June. Survives the plant during severe frosts and gives up to 3 kilograms of the crop. For pollination, it is necessary to plant "Raisin", "Morena", "Smolinsky" honeysuckle.
"Princess Diana"
This is another variety of large-fruited honeysuckle, the taste qualities of which are ideal, without bitterness and bright notes of acid. Beautiful spherical crown makes this shrub a great option for landscape design. Its height reaches 2 meters. 
In mid-June, you can already harvest. The plant is resistant to severe frosts. "Princess Diana" - the best version of the berries, which in raw or processed form have good taste and do not lose their healing properties.
Bakcharskaya
Bakcharskaya honeysuckle is a representative of the best species of this plant. It is characterized by good yield, large purple berries and resistance to severe frosts or temperature extremes.
For pollination, it is better to plant alongside such varieties as "Nymph", "Luzurna", "Amfora". Like other species, this plant produces the first fruits for the 3-4th year after planting. And its advantage is that after 10 years of careful care, you can collect up to 11 kilograms of fruits per season. We also note the delicate taste of the berries, their dense skin and large size.
Features of growing honeysuckle in the middle lane
All the peculiarities of honeysuckle cultivation in the Moscow region and other, more northern regions of Russia are reduced to elementary care of shrubs:
- medium soil selection;
- pick up a sufficiently sunlit spot for planting;
- regular watering of the plant;
- save the plant from drafts;
- fertilize the soil regularly;
- cut dry or damaged branches each year;
- monitor the presence of diseases of the bush and quickly get rid of them.
For example, the best varieties of honeysuckle for the Leningrad region are:
- "Amphora";
- "Dessert";
- "Pavlovskaya"
- "Nymph";
- "Moraine".
Important! Worth being attentive when selecting a pair for the selected variety of honeysuckle, otherwise there will be no harvest.For example, Pavlovskaya honeysuckle, a description of the variety of which indicates its resistance to frost, is also distinguished by good taste characteristics and high yield. But if you don’t plant "Blue Spindle" or "Tomichka" next to it, then no matter how many years you wait, the fruits will not appear.
