"Growing Honeysuckle
How easy is that?!"

Honeysuckle tends to be tolerant of most conditions but will not be happy if left to dry out. Mulch and water during hot summers to keep roots moist.

Likes full sun but will tolerate some shade - and will benefit from a little shade on the base of the plant when sun is very hot.

Growing honeysuckle everywhere!

Great for training over trellisses or archways. Have the trellis or archway in position before you plant your honeysuckle plants. Choose your variety or varieties with care. If your archway is over a seating area, you may not want to attract hundreds of bees and you should not choose a variety specifically suited to attracting bees and butterflies.

Position next to pathways or use to cover a bare wall or fence.

Some varieties are evergreen which can be very useful for creating small hedgerows or covering a bare wall or fence in the garden.

Sweet scents will attract humming birds and butterflies and the fruit will attract birds. NOTE Honeysuckle berries are highly poisonous and should never be eaten.

Planting:

If you plan on growing honeysuckle over an arbor or new fence, make sure the structure is up first before you plant the young honeysuckle plants.

Plant about 2 feet apart and around 6-12 inches away from the fence. Water well and keep watering until new growth, then check every now and again.

Never let the soil totally dry out. It's a good idea to put a mulch round the plant to prevent the roots from being attacked by frost in early spring, and safe from drying out on hot summer days

Options to consider:

Evergreen or not?-Are you looking or a round-the-year cover up or a blast of scent and colour in the summer months?

Pruning-Do you really want the bother? Or do you enjoy the excuse to get out in your garden in early winter with a sturdy pair of secateurs? :-)

Colour-Can you colour co-ordinate your garden? Or do you like the random look? There are many beautiful shades of flowers available. If you are looking at your honeysuckle from your kitchen window every day, you want it to be a colour you like!

Cost-The trouble with trying to cut costs on gardening products is that you spend more money on fuel driving from garden centre to garden centre, nearly always have a row with the spouse and never save money anyway!

However, I love local garden centres and if you have a favourite close by, get to know them. See what they have to offer.

Otherwise I've found a couple of good online suppliers for US and UK customers here:

Growing Honeysuckle with Crocus UK Type 'honeysuckle' (without the quotations ) into the search box on their homepage. You will be amazed at the colours!



And this superb 'French Honeysuckle' is available at Amazon US
French Honeysuckle 10 Seeds - Hedysarum - Perennial



Another way to start your plants and cut down on the cost would be to ask gardening friends for cuttings from their honeysuckle plants. You can do this during the summer months. Simply cut a non-flowering shoot. Trim, all but a couple of nodules and leaves, before planting in prepared soil. Look after until big and strong!

After Care-Generally growing honeysuckle is an easy garden task. It tends to look after itself. Don't let the roots dry, as with most plants. Honeysuckle will be attacked by aphids the moment the root system starts to dry out. Keep mulched with lots of leafy matter.

Many varieties of honeysuckle don't need pruning, and should be carefully tied onto supports as the vines grow longer. Use an elastic tie for this so the vine doesn't get damaged. There are some varieties that do need winter pruning. Check your variety when you buy. Prune if necessary.

Watch for 'layering'. Sometimes honeysuckle will send trailers and new roots will grow as much as a metre away from the main plant. Rather like strawberries, but bigger! This is fine if you are growing honeysuckle for ground cover though.

Growing honeysuckle truly is a pleasure.

The strong scent is highest during hot summer days and balmy nights.

The flowers attract an alarming number of flying creatures!

It looks after itself very nicely...

Enjoy growing honeysuckle.. become an expert!

Happy Gardening!

More "Growing Honeysuckle" Reading

www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/growinghoneysuckle.html