Honeysuckle Bush Problems
Honeysuckle bushes are woody, perennial plants producing fragrant, trumpet-shape flowers. Honeysuckle bushes grow easily in sunny or shady locations. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, they are invasive, crowd out native species and may produce chemicals harmful to other plants. Does this Spark an idea?
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Features
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Honeysuckle bushes are exotic plants native to Asia. Introduced to the United States as ornamental plants, these bushes spread quickly by rooting and seeding. A mature bush, from 6 to 15 feet tall, blooms with white to yellow flowers followed by small red fruit. Birds and other wildlife eat the ripening fruit and scatter the seeds.
Problems
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Honeysuckle bushes quickly grow into dense thickets that overshadow and crowd out native plants. A mature honeysuckle bush can produce over a million seeds in a season. These seeds root easily in cultivated or disturbed soil, bogs and woodlands. Some varieties are allelopathic, giving off chemicals toxic to other plants.
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Solutions
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Control honeysuckle bushes with aggressive pruning. Herbicide applications help eradicate undesirable bushes. Burning is common in some infested areas, but repeated fires may be needed for control. Hand-pulling is only effective on small or young plants.
Considerations
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Use native honeysuckle vine varieties in place of honeysuckle bushes. Native species are not invasive and provide more nutritious berries for birds and wildlife than exotic species.
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References
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
