HONEYSUCKLE

"Siberian Honeysuckle"
Lonicera
Lonicera tatarica 'Sibirica'

L. fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle); L. maackii (Amur honeysuckle); L. morrowii (Morrow honeysuckle); L. tatarica (Tatarian honeysuckle); L. xylosteum 'Clavey's Dwarf' (Clavey's Dwarf honeysuckle)

The honeysuckle family includes hundreds of shrubs and vines, but those recommended here are bushy deciduous shrubs suitable to home gardens. All are known for their attractive, often fragrant, 1/2- to 1-inch pink, white or red flowers and for their 1/3-inch red or yellow berries that birds relish. The 1- to 3-inch leaves appear early in spring and drop off late in autumn. Honeysuckles require little maintenance and are rarely bothered by pests; they are suitable for borders and tolerate city conditions.

Winter honeysuckle, up to 6 feet tall with a spread of about 8 feet, opens its intensely fragrant white flowers in early spring. They are followed by red berries in early summer. In Zones 5 and 6 it loses its stiff leathery leaves in winter, but in mild climates it is evergreen. Branches are easy to force into bloom indoors in midwinter.

Amur honeysuckle grows 12 to 15 feet tall in an upright shape and is very resistant to winter cold. In late spring it bears fragrant white flowers that turn yellowish as they fade. They are followed by red berries that ripen in early fall and cling until late fall. It has 2- to 3-inch slender oval leaves. Morrow honeysuckle is more suited to small gardens because it grows only 7 feet tall with an equal spread. Its white flowers, borne in late spring, turn yellowish as they mature; they are followed by dark crimson translucent fruit in midsummer. Its variety L. morrowii 'Xanthocarpa', yellow-fruited Morrow honeysuckle, bears white flowers and bright yellow berries.

The upright 8- to 10-foot Tatarian honeysuckle is the most universally grown of all species. It has many varieties with white, pink or red flowers and red or yellow berries. The Siberian honeysuckle, L. tatarica 'Sibirica', has deep pink flowers and red fruit. 'Clavey's Dwarf' honeysuckle grows 3 to 6 feet tall with an equal spread. It has small yellow flowers in spring and red berries in midsummer; it is widely grown as an informal hedge because of its low stature and dense blue-green foliage.

HOW TO GROW:

Winter honeysuckle grows in Zones 6-9, Amur in Zones 2-9, Morrow and Clavey's Dwarf in Zones 4-9 and Tatarian in Zones 3-9. All will grow in almost any soil. They do best in full sun. Although they tolerate light shade, they produce few flowers or berries. All can be bought bare-rooted, balled and burlaped, or container grown. Since honeysuckles begin to grow very early in the spring, it is best to plant them in the fall. If given sufficient space to grow, honeysuckles rarely need pruning except to remove old dead branches. If planting dwarf honeysuckle as a hedge, space shrubs about 3 feet apart. New plants can be started from softwood cuttings of young growth in late spring or summer, from semihardwood cuttings of more mature growth in mid- or late summer, or from hardwood cuttings of dormant leafless growth in fall or winter.