Scented flowers on the spring air, red berry-like fruits, and foliage that may be deciduous or evergreen: honeysuckle (Lonicera) climbs a lattice, pergola or old tree, and grows just as happily in a pot. Give it its head in the sun and its base in cool, shaded soil, and it flowers from late spring to mid-autumn.
| Name | Lonicera sp. |
|---|---|
| Family | Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle family) |
| Type | climbing vine |
| Height | 6 ½ to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | ordinary |
| Foliage | deciduous or evergreen |
| Flowering | late spring to mid-autumn depending on the variety |
Caring for it is easy and both foliage and blooming are extremely ornamental.
Planting honeysuckle is an important step because it will continuously impact the growth and blooming of your honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle is a plant that grows in most climates, and it particularly appreciates sun-endowed spots that don’t get too hot.
Before planting, set up some kind of option for the plant to be able to climb: a lattice, a pergola, a wall or even simply an old tree for it to climb on, unless you’ve chosen a ground-hugging cover variety.
Honeysuckle is best planted in fall, but it’s also possible to plant it up to spring.
Once the location is chosen and the suitable period for planting honeysuckle comes about, correct planting will give it a great start for it to grow and bloom well.
The 2 most commonly used techniques to propagate honeysuckle are layering and cuttings.
Spring is the best season to layer honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle cuttings are prepared in summer on non-flowering stems. It is an easy way to multiply your magnificent honeysuckle easily.
Although easy to care for and to grow, honeysuckle can still benefit from attention that will make it a vigorous plant that blooms a lot.
It isn’t really necessary to prune it: your honeysuckle can do well without ever being pruned.
When your honeysuckle starts growing a bit sparse, it is also possible to trim it back severely, it will recover with renewed growth beautifully.
Honeysuckle requires cool soil, especially in summer. Even though it isn’t a plant that requires a lot of water, honeysuckle nonetheless hates extended periods of dryness, especially if it is potted.
Each task on a honeysuckle has its own window, and getting the timing right is most of the work. Here is what the article recommends, season by season.
| Task | Best time | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Planting | Fall, or up to spring | Avoid freezing and strong heat; water more the first year if planted in spring |
| Layering | Spring | The simplest way to make new plants from an established vine |
| Cuttings | Summer | Take 6-inch (15 cm) stem tips from non-flowering stems |
| Reshaping prune | Once blooming is over | Only to balance the branches; pruning is not compulsory |
| Hard cutting back | End of winter | For a plant growing sparse; it recovers with renewed growth |
Outside these windows, the plant asks for little more than cool soil at its base.
Even though rather resilient when it is properly settled in, honeysuckle can fall victim to a fungus very common in the world of plants: powdery mildew.
Powdery mildew is the most common honeysuckle disease, and that is when you should avoid getting the leaves wet at all costs.
Powdery mildew is diagnosed on honeysuckle when a thin whitish or grayish layer appears on the leaves.
Equally important, honeysuckle is always taking in aphids.
Climbing honeysuckles differ far more in scent, flowering time and leaf retention than in the care they need. The table below sets out the ones most often found in garden centres and catalogues, so you can match a plant to your wall, arch or pot.
| Variety | Flower colour | Scent | Flowering season | Foliage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Graham Thomas’ | White ageing to deep yellow | Strong | Summer, long season | Deciduous |
| ‘Serotina’ (Late Dutch honeysuckle) | Deep red-purple outside, cream within | Strong, evening-scented | Mid to late summer | Deciduous |
| Lonicera × tellmanniana | Coppery orange-yellow | None | Early to mid summer | Deciduous |
| Lonicera × americana | Purple-pink buds opening yellow | Strong | Early to mid summer | Deciduous |
| Japanese honeysuckle var. repens | Cream flushed purple-red | Strong | Summer into autumn | Semi-evergreen |
| ‘Major Wheeler’ | Rich scarlet, yellow throat | None | Late spring through summer | Deciduous to semi-evergreen |
| ‘John Clayton’ | Clear yellow | None | Late spring, repeating | Deciduous to semi-evergreen |
| ‘Belgica’ (Early Dutch honeysuckle) | Purple-red buds, cream-yellow flowers | Strong | Late spring to early summer, often a second flush | Deciduous |
| ‘Gold Flame’ | Pink outside, yellow throat | Light | Summer into autumn | Deciduous to semi-evergreen |
| ‘Dropmore Scarlet’ | Bright scarlet | Little or none | Summer to autumn | Deciduous |
| ‘Hall’s Prolific’ | White ageing to yellow | Very strong | Summer into autumn | Evergreen to semi-evergreen |
| ‘Scentsation’ | Yellow | Very strong | Summer into autumn | Deciduous |
| ‘Halliana’ | White ageing to yellow | Very strong | Summer into autumn | Evergreen to semi-evergreen |
Native to Europe and Asia, honeysuckle is a climbing shrub that produces red fruits shaped like berries and its flowers are reputed for their fragrance come spring.
Some cultivars are deciduous but other have evergreen foliage. In this family, you’ll have a wide choice and range of colors, shapes and fragrances.
Honeysuckle grows just as well in pots as it does in the ground, which makes it a must-have in the garden and on a terrace or balcony, too.
Many honeysuckle berries, such as those of Lonicera periclymenum and L. xylosteum, are mildly toxic to humans, though some species like honeyberry (L. caerulea) are edible, so identify yours before eating.
Honeysuckle is also perfectly suited to adding a spot of beauty to any single-variety hedge. Plant a honeysuckle flower at the foot of one of the trees and let it climb along the hedge.
