Can you recommend a Honeysuckle?

**Erica** · #1 February 28th, 2006, 10:19 AM

Hi Guys-
Can you recommend a honeysuckle for me? I was just at Cannor and there are so many kinds.
I am looking for:
a honeysuckle that grows fast on a trellis.
Can grow in not-so-great- soil (but I can fertilize).
Is on a North-west side of the house and will get a fair amount of sun.

Thanks, Erica

**Ron B** · #2 February 28th, 2006, 11:09 AM

How big? Evergreen or deciduous? Flower color? Fragrance?

**Erica** · #3 February 28th, 2006, 11:17 AM

Oh geesh- is there such thing as evergreen? That would be nice.
Hmm- doesn't matter about fragrance much.
All I want it to do is crawl up to my patio from the ground(about 20 feet- second story) and hopefully do it this year.
Thanks

**Ron B** · #4 February 28th, 2006, 11:29 AM

Reaching bottom of second storey first year probably likely if plant does well, covering all 20 feet not. Commonly sold Lonicera japonica is evergreen but sometimes liable to bunch up and need to be cut back to main frame. L. sempervirens is also evergreen. Any climber will need some pruning and training to assume a particular shape.

**Anne Taylor** · #5 March 8th, 2006, 02:52 PM

I can reccommend a Lonicera halliana. Mine is doing a great job covering a utility pole.
It has very pale flowers and they can be a bit of an aphid buffet from time to time, but the smell makes up for everthing. Tough, semi-evergreen and reasonably shade tolerant - if you need shady character, however they just totally perfume the yard in June. Best thing after my Spanish broom for warm evening fragrance.

**Ron B** · #6 March 8th, 2006, 03:08 PM

That would be Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'.

**oscar** · #7 March 8th, 2006, 04:36 PM

Lonicera henryi, but i dont think its fragrant (no probs with aphids, on mine ;)) or how about Lonicera japonica Darts World

one to avoid is Dropmore scarlet, weak, no smell, and an aphid magnet.

**Dixie** · #8 March 9th, 2006, 09:36 AM

you do not want lonicera japonica. it is a highly invasive non-native. there are extreme measures to avoid planting this in the USA. many states have it listed on their noxious weed list it is even listed on the national list. i would highly advise against planting this vine.

**Erica** · #9 March 9th, 2006, 10:05 AM

Hi Dixie-
I am slightly confused. I am no expert on the latin names of plants but aren't all Honeysuckles Lonicera Japonicas? Ex: Lonicera Japonica Halliana. Can you recommend one that you have had success with?
Thanks

**Dixie** · #10 March 9th, 2006, 10:14 AM

They are all successful, too successful. No, japonica is the most common form and Halliana is a cultivar of japonica. There are many other types of honeysuckle. Lonicera maackii - Amur Honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima - Fragrant Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens - Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica - Tartarian Honeysuckle, and others. The most invasive is for sure the japonica, which is standard honeysuckle with the yellow and white flowers. All of these others I have listed above are in the global database of invasive species www.invasive.org. If you are set on using honeysuckle, I would recommend the Lonicera sempervirens. It has a coral or hot pink bloom. Honestly, I wouldn't plant honeysuckle at all. There is a huge on going effort to control honeysuckle and other invasives. It would help everyone out if it wasn't planted.

**Ron B** · #11 March 9th, 2006, 10:32 AM

Japanese honeysuckle not invasive in this region.

**oscar** · #12 March 9th, 2006, 11:34 AM

Its not invasive here either ;)

Erica, plants are all named in latin- reason, its recognised globally, i could order a plant in.....er.....well anywhere and get the right plant.......ok back to plants name, first name is the Genus....thats like, Lonicera, Rhododendron etc etc, next you have a descriptive part of the name (species) eg japonica meaning comes from Japan or it could be named after the person who found the plant eg Berberis darwinii after Mr Darwin, or it could describe the flowers or foliage, Grandiflorum (grand flower/Large flower) then you have the variety, like darts world or again it could further descripe the plant eg variegata (with variegated leaves).....hope that helps a little :D

**westcoastgarden** · #13 March 13th, 2006, 01:28 AM

I have a very fragrant pink/yellow honeysuckle growing in mostly sun - sorry, no idea of the name, I rec'd it from a friend who got it from her grandmothers garden.

I find it needs to be chopped back once in awhile and where it touches the ground it will root. Otherwise, I have had mine for seven years and would not call it invasive.

If you are coming to the April 22nd plant swap (see the plant trading board) I would be happy to bring you a well rooted piece of my honeysuckle.

Hummingbirds love it as do some kind of giant moth - in the early summer evening I have observed dozens of them - they are about the same size as the hummingbirds and the sound of their wings is very nice.

I also grow a deep red clematis through the honeysuckle and a rose that looks a lot like a Tuscan rose. It all looks rather nice together.

WCG

**westcoastgarden** · #14 March 13th, 2006, 01:36 AM

Here is a picture of my honeysuckle/

**Erica** · #15 March 13th, 2006, 08:49 AM

Westcoastgardener:
Your honeysuckle is very beautiful with the clematis growing through it. I like that idea a lot!
BTW, I won't be at the swap- I have nothing to swap- haven't mastered rooting things/dividing things yet.
Thanks anyway!
Erica

**Erica** · #16 March 13th, 2006, 08:53 AM

Thanks Oscar for the explanation of Latin names- I was always felt too naive to ask. Now I know!
Erica :D

Jacky · #17 March 28th, 2006, 04:49 PM

I have a lonicera japonica (don't know which cultivar, its white/yellow mostly), and it's been growing enthusiastically for over 4 years now. It's up 20 feet, and got that high fairly quickly. It's actually longer (I think one stem is over 30"!) but we have trained it along the railings. Very easy to prune. Not apparently invasive in my part of the world (vancouver) - haven't seen any sign of seedlings on my property or the neighbours. Smells delightful in the summer evenings when having dinner on the deck.

Best,

Jacky

**Dixie** · #18 March 29th, 2006, 08:44 AM

my parents actually planted japanese honeysuckle (big mistake) several years ago near a 4 foot tall wooden fence around their swimming pool. needless to say, it has literally pulled the wooden fence over. make sure you have a very sturdy (metal?) support system or it can do lots of damage. it grows soooo crazy down here, it is like a monster or something. it is very comparable to the likes of kudzu where I live, seriously.

**Newt** · #19 April 12th, 2006, 10:30 AM

Jacky, the reason you don't see the seedlings is because the birds eat the berries and the seeds fall in their droppings and then sprout. That usually happens in the woods and places that aren't cultivated and where grass isn't mowed.

Westcoastgardener, your honeysuckle appears to be Lonicera heckrottii 'Gold Flame' or Gold flame honeysuckle. It's a hybrid of a native and an import. The fragrance on these are variable, so if you have one with a nice fragrance you are fotunate.

Lonicera japonica aka Japanese honeysuckle aka Hall's honeysuckle, aka Halliana honeysuckle is now found in Washington and Oregon. Here's the cached link with the state of Washington highlighted.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&cd=14

Here's what the escaped seeds dropped by birds can do to choke all native vegatation and make it impossible for animals to browse.
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/photos/lonja04.jpg
http://www.centerforplantconservatio...s/welcome.html

Newt

**Ron B** · #20 April 12th, 2006, 02:10 PM

One with clematis looks like Lonicera periclymenum to me, surely it is this or one of the other honeysuckles of similar aspect. Goldflame honeysuckle has differently constructed flowers of brighter coloring, thus "gold flame".

Nothing on page at link (Vines, 1960) after statement "found in Washington and Oregon" jumps out at me about Japanese honeysuckle being found wild in PNW.