Honeysuckle Plant Care Guide: How to Grow Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle (Lonicera) is a common name for a large family (more than 180 varieties) of heat-tolerant plants known for their sweet smell and delicate, nectar-filled, tubular flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

Honeysuckle plants have dark green to blue-green leaves and grow as either far-reaching, climbing honeysuckle vines or arching honeysuckle shrubs. Their flowering vines are great for covering the sides of buildings and walls. Some honeysuckle varieties are deciduous and others are evergreen. After they’ve finished flowering, honeysuckle plants produce small red berries.

There are nearly 200 different varieties and species of honeysuckle that can be divided into three general types: vines, shrubs, and bushes. Here are some common honeysuckle plants:

1. 1. Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens): Also called coral honeysuckle or scarlet honeysuckle, this popular, noninvasive vine is native to North America and blooms from spring to fall in hues of pink or red. This type does well in southern states because it likes sun or partial shade and thrives in moist soil (though it is also drought-tolerant).
2. 2. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica): With red or pink blossoms that appear in the summer and put on a show through early fall, this type of invasive vine can be trained on trellises or grown as ground cover.
3. 3. Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima): Regularly blooming in late winter or early spring, this type of honeysuckle is known for its white flowers and lemony smell. These shrubs can be highly invasive, but they do well in pots or containers.
4. 4. Sakhalin honeysuckle (Lonicera maximowiczii var. sachalinensis): This shrub shares many characteristics with winter honeysuckle, except it has deep red flowers instead of white flowers.
5. 5. Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea): Also called sweetberry or honeyberry honeysuckle, this edible variety is known for its long, blue-colored berries and fragrant white flowers. This particular shrub does better in cooler climates.

There are many nuances to planting climbers like honeysuckle vines as well as garden staples like honeysuckle shrubs. Here are four things to consider no matter what honeysuckle you plant:

1. 1. Seasonality: The best time to plant your honeysuckle is in the early spring after the chance of frost has passed. Most varieties of honeysuckle can withstand a range of cooler weather conditions, though some may require additional care during the winter. Although being careful when pruning and adding thick layers of mulch around the roots can help protect your plant, a harsh winter can damage tropical varieties of honeysuckle.
2. 2. Location: Even though honeysuckle can tolerate partial shade, it thrives in full sunlight and locations with moist soil, where excess water is able to drain off. Without enough sunlight, honeysuckle may lose its leaves or have a stunted bloom.
3. 3. Soil: Your soil should be moist, organically rich, and very well-draining. Honeysuckle will do best in soil types that range from around 5.5–8.0 on the pH scale.
4. 4. Climbing supports: If you want your honeysuckle vine to climb upward as it grows, you can plant it against a house or other structure, or install supports that the plant can use to support itself. Support options include a trellis, pole, fence, or other sturdy structure. Place the support prior to planting and take care to plant your honeysuckle about 6–12 inches away from it.

A significant portion of honeysuckle care involves ensuring the vines have the support they need as they grow—called “training” your vines. When you identify vines in need of support, gently tie the plant to the support structure (be that a pergola, wall, or trellis) using a material that can stretch and allow for new growth, such as a plastic tie or tape. To prevent the stems from rubbing against the supports, loop your ties—create a figure eight around the vine with your tie, tape, or rope.

As they mature, the vines can wind up shading the lower portion of the vine, causing it to receive less sunlight and become unattractive. Thinning out the top half of the vine during its dormant season will help keep the whole plant healthy. That said, vines can be lightly pruned any time of year. Major pruning of older or unruly vines is best reserved for fall or winter. Bushes, meanwhile, can be pruned after their fragrant flowers drop during the spring. When you prune dead or damaged stems, cut the stems at the point where they join another stem or just after a leaf node.

Although honeysuckle grows quickly, propagating it may fill more space in your garden and create more shade. Here are three ways you can propagate your honeysuckle:

1. 1. Layering: Take a vine and bend it toward the ground. Scratch the side of the vine that faces the earth where the vine now touches the ground and bury that part of the vine in a hole. Add potting soil to the hole, which will be home to a new root. Layering is best done during the spring and is a great option if you simply want to branch out from an existing honeysuckle vine.
2. 2. Cuttings: Cut off around 6 inches from the end of a two-year-old vine, cutting on an angle and being careful to keep the vine from being crushed. Remove the lower sets of leaves and plant your cutting in potting soil. This is best done in the morning in late spring or early summer when there is plenty of sap in the vine. Within a few weeks, the roots should be long enough for replanting.
3. 3. Seeds: You can save seeds from your own honeysuckle plant. They need to be cold to germinate, so either start your seeds inside by mixing seeds and compost together and refrigerating them for around 12 weeks or start your seeds outside in the fall. If you start your seeds inside, after 12 weeks, plant the seeds about a quarter-inch deep in a garden flat. Place the flat in a warm, sunny location and water the seeds regularly. After the first set of leaves form, transplant the seedlings into separate containers. Allow them to grow until they reach a height of about 12 inches, then transplant them into your garden after outdoor temperatures reach 55°F.

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