Honeysuckle

Nature 3 Minutes

The sweet floral scent of honeysuckle in the air is a sure tell that summer has arrived. The honeysuckle family (Lonicera spp.) includes 180 species of low-maintenance deciduous and evergreen shrubs or climbers with twining stems. Many have naturalized in the United States and some are native to specific regions of the country. If you plan to include this old time favorite in your landscape, be sure to do your homework. Other species of honeysuckle are highly invasive and prohibited in parts of the country. Check with your local cooperative extension to make sure the variety you choose can be planted in your region. The tubular or two-lipped showy honeysuckle flowers are easy for bees and hummingbirds to slip into. After the yellow, red, pink, purple, or white blooms fade, you’ll find lot of juicy berries in the fall. Depending on the variety, honeysuckle grows hardy in USDA zones 4 through 10.

Common honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) is also called European honeysuckle or woodbine. Native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia, it has naturalized in some areas of North America such as Nova Scotia, Ontario, New England and the Pacific Northwest. It is a deciduous shrub with a vine-like habit, growing 10 feet tall and occasionally to 20 feet tall. Leaves are ovate to obovate, about two inches long, appearing on the stems in pairs. Leaves are dark green above and blue-green underneath. Two shades of green appear in the center of the leaf, which has creamy white edges. New leaves emerge in spring and mature as smooth leaves by summer, becoming hot pink in autumn. Buds are pink. Colorful flowers open with ivory interiors and purple exteriors. Two-lipped flowers, each two inches long, bloom steadily in summer and more sporadically in autumn to frost, in three to five whorled terminal spikes that give way to glossy, red berries. Honeysuckle also has strong nocturnally scented flowers attracting large pollinating hawk moths that roam dense bushy and woodland areas.

Common Honeysuckle Care

Tie young vining honeysuckle to a vertical stake to support its growth. Establish the stake before planting to avoid disturbing the soil or roots.

Warning

If you plan to include common honeysuckle in your landscape, be sure to do your homework. Other species of honeysuckle are highly invasive and prohibited in parts of the country. Check with your local extension office to make sure the variety you choose can be planted in your region.

Light

Common honeysuckle prefers dappled sunlight, but it will grow in full sun to part shade. Give the plant a similar environment to its native habitat of scrub and woods. If possible, shade the roots and let the plant climb towards the sun.

Soil

Give common honeysuckle any fertile, rich, well-drained soil.

Water

Water newly planted honeysuckle consistently. Keep the soil evenly moist until the plant shows signs of vigorous growth. Once established, it is quite drought tolerant. Water only if summer droughts last two weeks or more, offering at least one inch of water per week. Adding about two inches of organic mulch around the plant’s base will prevent water from evaporating.

Temperature and Humidity

Honeysuckles usually thrive best in cooler regions with cooler summer climates. Place in part afternoon shade where summers are especially hot.

Fertilizer

If planted in fertile soil, the honeysuckle will grow vigorously without any added fertilizer. If needed, encourage blooming by applying a low-nitrogen fertilizer in spring such as 2-10-10, 0-10-10 or 15-25-10. Too much nitrogen will encourage more growth in the leaves and not enough in the flowers. Such “flushes of foliage growth” could make the plant more susceptible to pests.

Pruning

Once established, most honeysuckle plants will grow vigorously. Prune your common honeysuckle as you would any shrub or vine, removing dead or damaged twigs and branches throughout the season but save any hard pruning for after bloom. Early-blooming vining varieties that bloom on last year’s growth, like common honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), benefit from being cut back by one-third after the blooming period is over. If the vine gets out of control, cut it two feet above the ground.

Other Varieties

  • Early Dutch Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum ‘Belgica’ ) plants bear streaked, raspberry red flowers.
  • A popular woodbine (Lonicera periclymenum ‘Serotina’) produces flowers that are dark red on the outside and yellow and white inside.
  • Berries Jubilee (Lonicera periclymenum ‘Monul’) have yellow flowers, giving fruit to bright red berries.

Propagating Common Honeysuckle

Semi-ripe cuttings can be taken for propagation in summer. Put the cuttings in a well-draining soil and wait for them to take root.

Common Pests and Diseases

While there are rarely any serious insect or disease issues, watch for honeysuckle aphids and scale. Leaf roller, dieback, and blights may also arise. Growing honeysuckle in regions with hot and humid summers could result in powdery mildew and leaf spots, which is why it’s best to grow honeysuckle in cooler regions where it will thrive.

SOURCE: The Spruce

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Published by pat frederick

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129 thoughts on “Honeysuckle”

  2. well that “sparrow” we had at the jelly feeder is not a sparrow but a female rose breasted grosbeak…because she just showed up with her mate…

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  8. this is happening all too frequently

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Jewels Jones
    @JewelsJonesLive
    Politico has just released an exclusive report unveiling Barrack Obama’s secretive meetings with progressive Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other representative lawmakers. Apparently, Obama’s been holding down the fort in his D.C. office, engaging in lengthy private meetings with various next-gen’ House Democrats. Although the specifics of their discussion haven’t been disclosed, sources say Obama’s been counseling these lawmakers and offering his support. Even over six years after he left office, he’s still keeping up with his party’s rising stars and calling the shots for the Democrat Party. In fact, Obama continues to heavily influence pResident Biden’s administration, as evidenced by the 72 former Obama officials he handpicked for Biden’s first 100 hires in the White House. Some have claimed that this is essentially Obama’s 3rd term and is why it is often referred to as the O’Biden administration. Barrack just can’t let go. Wonder why?

    Liked by 1 person

  10. James Bradley
    @JamesBradleyCA
    It costs roughly $385/night to put up an illegal alien family in a NYC shelter.

    There are currently 48,700 so-called “asylum seekers” in the NYC shelter system.

    DO THE MATH:

    Taxpayers pay about $7,900,000 million every day.

    EVERY. DAMN. DAY.

    Now multiply that by every Democrat city (and some Republican ones too) in America and you can easily see why Joe Biden should be impeached and arrested.

    This ain’t “RIGHT WING LUNACY.”

    This is hard facts.
    This is dollars and cents.

    Joe Biden is robbing the taxpayers BLIND and I’m fed up with the GOP allowing it to happen to us.

    IMPEACH JOE BIDEN TODAY!

    God bless America 🇺🇸

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Tweet
    See new Tweets
    Conversation
    Insurrection Barbie
    @DefiyantlyFree
    I was listening to @charliekirk11
    and he said the most brilliant thing which seems so common sense but to be honest I didn’t give it much thought until he said it.

    Obama spent his second term transforming America by making sure to staff every single position possible within the entire federal government with woke marxist loyalists who would he always be loyal to his vision. No matter who the president was.

    And it’s true. I mean really what else did Obama do in his second term. He passed nothing, he accomplished nothing. Or so it seems.

    Really he accomplished everything. He fortified the administrative state. Or as we like to call it the deep state.

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  12. “Fingerprints of Western Intelligence Community All Over Wagner Group and Russian Coup”
    POLITICAL MOONSHINE
    JUN 24, 2023

    EXCERPT: “We begin with a proper disclaimer. The following is logically deduced from a mountain of existing evidence and analysis at Moonshine, but there is no known direct evidence to prove the forthcoming positions. We make several assumptions to frame these positions for proper context. We also note that the list below is incomplete by far.

    Necessary Assumptions: The contextual assumptions include:

    –A Globalist cartel is at the tip of the spear
    –US is embroiled in an asymmetrical, irregular and undeclared war with China
    –Kinetic war looms with China over Taiwan
    –US is embroiled in proxy war against Russia
    –Kinetic war looms with Russia over Ukraine
    –US DOD bioweapons facilities in Ukraine
    –Biden’s ties to DOD bioweapons facilities through Metabiota
    –Ongoing US conversion to Marxist communism
    –US was overthrown following a fraudulent “pandemic” and a stolen 2020 election
    –Joe Biden is a Chinese proxy
    –Stolen 2022 midterms secured the Senate as a Biden impeachment insurance policy
    –Last major obstacle Russia is now being overthrown

    In our dialogue here, Ukraine and Russia are inseparable for scores of historical, national, economic, political, cultural, societal and military reasons. In many ways, the people of the former USSR satellite nation are Russians; especially in the critically important Crimean region; which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. Most recently, none other than Barack Obama acknowledged this in what should be viewed as a pretext tip of the hand.

    It bears the question is the US diverging away from Ukraine while demonstrating sympathetic Russian overtones and if so, why and why now? The ‘why now?’ aspect may be attributable to the reality that the war has been an abject failure on Ukraine’s part with the nation incurring substantial tolls of death and destruction.

    This is all compounded by the intelligence community continuing to release more and more evidence of further Biden Family criminality as they reset the Democratic side of the Uniparty for 2024. I hammer these points home in this post from earlier today:”

    https://politicalmoonshine.substack.com/p/fingerprints-of-western-intelligence

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  15. Sounds like an excellent idea to me!!!

    “Drunk drivers in Texas who kill parents of a child will now be required to pay child support–The law will go into effect on Sept. 1.”
    By Michael Karlis on Sun, Jun 18, 2023 at 8:22 am

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Convicted drunk drivers who kill both parents of a child under 18 years old will now be required to pay child support under a bill signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month.

    Under House Bill 393, the person convicted of Intoxication manslaughter of both a child’s parents will have to make monthly payments to the child’s legal guardians. The law doesn’t apply in situations where an adult’s parents are killed in a collision.

    The amount of money owed will be determined by an array of factors, including the standard of living the child is accustomed to, their physical and emotional condition and the child’s educational needs, among other expenses related to being a parent.

    The law goes into effect on Sept. 1. People convicted under the statute will be required to start making payments no more than a year after they are released from prison.

    Texas has consistently ranked among the worst states for drunk drivers, most recently coming in at No. 3, according to Forbes Advisor. San Antonio has also been ranked among the U.S. cities with the highest rate of DWIs, coming in at No. 4 in 2021.”

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  16. Ooops…just looked at the clock! It’s that time…never did get any more rain but at least it didn’t get as hot – only 87 now. Sleep well!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

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