FROST AND WINTER HARDINESS OF LONICERA L. (CAPRIFOLIACEAE) ORNAMENTAL VINES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CRIMEA
Climbing honeysuckle vines are valuable ornamental plants. However, their diversity on the Southern coast of Crimea is not enough. The factor limiting their wide use in ornamental gardening is the climatic conditions of the region, in particular, rapid changes in air temperature during a winter. It was revealed that L. etrusca and L. caprifolium species were characterized by higher frost hardiness than L. henryi and L. japonica. Frost hardiness in shoots decreased from pith and cortex tissues to buds and leaves. The characteristic of frost damages in the internal bud structures was presented: necrosis at the bud base, apex and leaf primordia. Bud frost resistance decrease occurred at the stage of floral meristem formation. Disturbances in the work of photosystems were noted under a short-term exposure with the temperature -14 °C that corresponds to the absolute minimum on the SCC. In the species L. etrusca and L. japonica, a low ability of the annual shoots to differentiate and mature was revealed.