Guide To Looking After Honeysuckle

Lonicera (Honeysuckle) are popular garden plants with highly perfumed flowers.

There are climbing honeysuckles, which are wonderful draped over pergolas and supports, and evergreen shrubby types, which make good hedging plants.



This guide shows you how to look after Honeysuckle



There are two types of honeysuckle:

1. Climbers prefer fertile, humus rich, moist but well-drained soil. Though they will flower best with the top growth in full sun, they are less prone to aphid attack in partial shade.
2. Grow shrubby honeysuckles in any well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.

Both types are very easy to grow. They like a mulch around the base of organic matter, such as garden compost or well-rotted manure, to reduce water stress. And top dressing in spring with general fertiliser such as Growmore or fish blood and bone will promote growth and flowering.

Pruning and training Climbers and shrubs require different treatment to get the best results. The methods are explained below.

Climbers Honeysuckles flowering on the current season’s growth, such as Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle), do not require regular pruning. Simply control the growth by cutting back any overlong shoots in spring. Also thin out congested growth and remove weak or damaged stems. Honeysuckles that flower early in the season, on short side shoots on the previous year's growth, such as Lonicera periclymenum (common honeysuckle), should be pruned back by about one-third in late summer immediately after flowering. Renovate climbers by hard pruning to 60cm (2ft) from the ground in early spring. Thin out vigorous re-growth and tie in the new shots.

Shrubs Prune deciduous shrubs, such as L. tatarica, after flowering in late spring or summer. Remove old and weak stems to stimulate new from the base. Shorten about one in three older branches, cutting to a new, upright shoot. Renovate by hard pruning to framework of older branches in late winter or early spring. Trim evergreen shrubs, such as L. nitida and ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ used for hedging, three times between spring and autumn. Renovate by pruning to within 15cm (6in) of the ground in early spring.