Slender-petioled honeysuckle

Synonyms: Lonicera gracilipes Miq.

Slender-petioled honeysuckle (Lonicera gracilipes) – a species of the genus Lonicera of the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). In the wild it grows on the Japanese islands of Shikoku, Honshu, Kyushu and in the southern areas of Hokkaido, where it occurs in mountain coniferous, less often in deciduous forests and on uplands, at altitudes of 20-1500 m above sea level. Some botanists placed this species in a separate subsection (Hara, 1983), although possibly a distant relative of the species is the Mexican honeysuckle.

It is a shrub 1-2, more rarely 3 m in height. The main branches grow vertically upward, the lateral ones are long and arching.

Leaves are arranged in two rows, green in color. Young leaves have a bright crimson margin.

Flowers are narrow-tubed, bright pink or purple-pink in color, very ornamental. Flowering begins in the 4th-5th year after planting. It does not flower very abundantly, from the beginning of June and for 15-20 days.

Fruits – small solitary elongated berries 1-1.5 cm long and 0.5-0.8 cm wide, raspberry-colored. They hang on short pedicels from the leaf axils. Fruits ripen in early to mid-July.

Fruits are edible, sweet, tasting similar to mulberries. In the conditions of Ukraine it fruits rarely.

Seeds small, 4-5 mm long and 2-3 mm wide, oblong-ovate in shape, flattened, light brown in color.

Forms: glandular slender-petioled honeysuckle (Lonicera gracilipes var. glandulosa Maxim.), Lonicera gracilipes 'Grandis'

Hardiness zone: 5-8

Location: grows well in moist zones of the temperate climatic belt in the northern part of the subtropical belt, where the temperature value 2200°С above +10°С. Sun-loving. Prefers rich, moderately moist soil.

Pruning: does not require special pruning. Sanitary pruning is recommended, removing dead and weak branches. To rejuvenate bushes, old branches are removed from the center of the bush.

Planting: Transplants well at 4-6 years. Planting is recommended in late autumn. Plants with a closed root system can be planted from spring until late autumn. Recommended spacing between plants is 1.5-2 m. Soil mix: topsoil, humus, peat or sand in a ratio of 3:1:1. The root collar at ground level. Planting hole depth 25-30 cm, diameter – 25 cm for 2-3 year-old shrubs; for 5-7 year-old shrubs the depth and diameter of the hole reach 50 cm. At planting you can add 5-7 kg of manure, 50-80 g superphosphate and 40-50 g potassium salt per bush. Drainage layer of crushed brick or gravel 5-7 cm thick. When planting branches do not need to be pruned; this is done in spring before strong bud swelling. With spring planting branches are pruned immediately.

Care: Responsive to fertilization and watering. In the first 2 years it is recommended to fertilize with nitrogen in the spring. Dissolve 30 g (a matchbox) of urea or ammonium nitrate in 10 l of water and water with 1-1.5 l per plant. Watering can be done over the leaves, providing both root and foliar feeding. Such feedings can be carried out from the start of the growing season once every 2 weeks until mid-June. With abundant mineral fertilization, serial (reserve) buds may open, from which additional shoots appear, thickening the crown.

Diseases and pests: aphids, powdery mildew, stem cankers and death of trunks (Phoma cryptica, rust fungus (Aplospora lonicerae)).

Propagation: propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seed germination rate is 33%. Seeds are sown into soil at a depth of 2-2.5 cm, where they produce simultaneous seedlings in mid-October. For the first 2 years seedlings are recommended to be moved into an unheated greenhouse for the winter. When pricking out seedlings in early June, a significant acceleration of growth is observed. In the 3rd year plants can be planted out into the ground. With green cuttings 100% rooting success of cuttings was observed when planted in the open ground in a peat-sand-humus mixture composed in equal proportions. For this it is necessary at the end of July to cut semi-lignified shoots into small sections of 3-4 nodes in each cutting. In areas with insufficient humidity it is better to use rooting agents. Also 100% take was observed with horizontal layers buried in the ground in July.

Uses: used in solitary and group plantings. Widely used in the art of bonsai cultivation. Fruits can be eaten fresh, used to make preserves, strong wine, jams.