Where Did the Japanese Honeysuckle Come From?
Japanese honeysuckle, or Lonicera japanica, is an invasive vine that is a scourge in the eastern United States. Known for its distinct fragrance, the plant is on the U.S. government list of invasive species. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
What is Japanese Honeysuckle?
-
Japanese honeysuckle is a woody vine that is evergreen in warmer parts of the United States but loses its leaves where winter is very cold. In spring and early summer, the plant's tubular white and yellow flowers bloom with a strong, rich, sweet fragrance that is especially powerful in the evening and is attractive to bees and hummingbirds. The plant bears small, dark berries.
Japanese honeysuckle spreads underground by rhizomes and by seeds carried by the wind or by birds. Once established, the vine grows very quickly and can engulf native plants and tress, blocking the sun and strangling stems and trunks, effectively taking over entire areas.
History of Japanese Honeysuckle in the U.S.
-
A native of Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, Japanese honeysuckle was introduced in the U.S. as an ornamental plant in the early 1800s. Initially valued for its fast growth rate and appealing flowers, the vine quickly escaped from gardens and into the wild.
Japanese honeysuckle is classified as a noxious weed or prohibited invasive species in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. In other states, the plant is frequently sold in nurseries as Hall's honeysuckle; it is also available online.
-
Controlling Japanese Honeysuckle
-
To eradicate honeysuckle, star by pulling as much as you can. Pull gently but firmly from the base of a shoot, being careful to pull the entire root. If the plant is too large and established to pull, the National Park Service (NPS) recommends sawing the vines o the ground with a chainsaw. Mowing can also be an option for controlling, but the NPS suggests combining mechanical control with an herbicide.
Timing is important for the use of herbicide; because honeysuckle leaves will be green after native plants have dropped their leaves, you have a window of opportunity for applying Roundup or Rodeo without harming the plants you want to preserve.
Responsible use of Japanese Honeysuckle
-
If you have a patch of honeysuckle in your yard and want to keep it for its beauty and fragrance, you will need to control it to prevent it from taking over the rest of your plants. Pruning, pulling shoots and cutting the base to the ground are effective ways of keeping the plant containing, but diligence is required.
Japanese honeysuckle can also be planted in a container, which would keep its rhizomes from spreading but would not prevent the spread of its seeds.
Alternatives to Japanese Honeysuckle
-
Not all honeysuckle wreaks havoc in the U.S. Native honeysuckles, Lonicera sempervirens, also known as coral honeysuckle or trumpet honeysuckle, shares the same attributes as its invasive relative, without being a garden bully. Coral honeysuckle is fragrant, usually evergreen, fast-growing and hardy, with reddish-orange flowers rather than white that are very attractive to hummingbirds.
Other flowering vines that grow in the same conditions include wisteria (research native vs. invasive wisteria before deciding), clematis and some some varieties of jasmine.
-
