Honeysuckle Vine

Honeysuckles are known for their scent.

The honeysuckle is a very popular plant used often in gardening and landscaping. While it is a vine and will climb, it can also grow along the ground and can be used in a variety of locations. Honeysuckle is known best for its powerful and sweet-smelling flowers.

Use

Honeysuckles are most often planted along trellises, fences, arbors, benches, or other structures that it can cling to and grow along. However, the vine will grow quickly on open ground and is not often suitable in a bed with other flowers. For this reason, it is also used as groundcover where no other plants exist, or as an attractive form of erosion control.

Planting

Honeysuckle plants prefer sun but can be grown in a variety of climates as long as there is enough moisture. Plants in a rich soil with frequent rainfall can flourish in shady areas as well as sunlit locations, although some sun exposure every day is needed. Honeysuckles are usually only fertilized lightly once a year unless the soil is poor. They are planted in early spring, with spacing around 2 to 3 feet apart from other honeysuckle plants.

Varieties

There are several different varieties of honeysuckle plants available on the market. The chief difference is hardiness and growth. Hall's Honeysuckle, for instance, is invasive and can grow so well that it may strange out other plants, shrubs and even trees. Winter Honeysuckle is a shrub-like variety, while Coral Honeysuckle is a common vine version.

Propagation

Honeysuckles are fairly easy to propagate, and one well-grown plant can be used to create several new growths. Cuttings should be made in early springs when new leaves are budding. A green length of stem is cut from one of the new shoots, long enough to leave several sets of leaves but also leave several nodes at the base bare. The cutting can be either placed in fertilized potting soil with a root growth hormone or grown in frequently changed water to develop roots.

Considerations

Honeysuckles harbor frequent invasion by aphids. If honeysuckles are grown in an area that also supports aphids, steps should be taken to prevent aphid incursion. Strong blasts of water can knock most clinging aphids off but leave the honeysuckle safe. Pesticide options are also an option. Honeysuckles can also suffer from mildew problems, so they should be grown in as dry as area as possible and not overwatered in any way.

References

• Thegardenhelper: Planting, Growing and Caring for Honeysuckle Plants
• BeginnerGardening: Growing Honeysuckle Vine
• AboutHoneysuckle: Honeysuckle Vines