Honeysuckle, a climbing plant with beautiful and interesting flowers

Honeysuckle (Lonicera) is a climbing or shrubby plant with rather unusual shape of flowers. Flowers are somehow tubular in shape with interesting colours, which depend on the type of honeysuckle you have. They may be white, creamy, lemon yellow, pink, orange and even raspberry red. Honeysuckle is great to cover walls, fences or pergolas. Flowers produce interesting smell that attracts useful insects – butterflies for example and even moths at night. An interesting fact is that after pollination the colour of flowers can change a bit. When blooming is over the plant forms red berries that birds love. But do not get fooled as these are poisonous for humans!

Which honeysuckle should you get?

Depending on the variety you grow, honeysuckle may be completely deciduous, semi-deciduous or evergreen. While evergreen honeysuckle can be beautiful all year round, deciduous species produce more beautiful flowers. Evergreens include Lonicera nitida and Lonicera ligustrina. Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera x purpusii are deciduous species which have pleasantly scented flowers in winter.

Photo: Pixabay

Growing requirements

Honeysuckle grows well in a moist but permeable soil. The ideal location is in a partial shade or at least roots should be in the shade and stems in the sun. Provide some type of a support because the plant needs to climb. If the weather is dry, you need to water. A good idea is to add a universal fertilizer in the spring. Shrubby honeysuckles tend to prefer sunny locations. If you want to have a deciduous honeysuckle, plant it at the end of winter, and evergreens in spring or in autumn.

Planting honeysuckle

Before planting you should add a well-matured organic matter (compost, manure) Dig a hole and put the organic matter inside. The hole should be large enough to accommodate the plant’s root ball. Plant it at the same depth as in the pot. Use a layer of organic mulch on top to prevent weeds from growing and to keep moisture in the soil. Mulch will slowly decompose and provide the soil with additional nutrients.

Pruning

Climbing honeysuckles, which blooms early in the summer, should be pruned immediately after flowering. Shorten it by about one-third to maintain a neat shape. Do not remove dying flowers, as they will become berries. Climbing honeysuckles, which blooms later in the summer, should be pruned a little in spring. Aggressive cut may slow down blooming. Shrubby honeysuckles should be pruned after flowering in late spring or summer. If you have an overgrown plant you can do more radical pruning in late winter or in early spring.

Source: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-honeysuckle/

Preview photo: Pixabay