Honeysuckle vines (Lonicera spp.) smell wonderful and have beautiful blossoms. They also bring in hummingbirds and butterflies. These adaptable plants can be used to beautify fences, trellises, arbors, and walls. Honeysuckle vines are a great choice to have in almost any landscape. Each species and cultivar has its own characteristics. This growing guide provides the information you need for growing honeysuckle vine and taking care of these beautiful vines..

Popular Native Honeysuckle Species

• Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens): A non-aggressive vine which has trumpet shaped coral red flowers. This vine has a beautiful appearance while attracting many hummingbirds. It blooms spring to fall without fragrance, but it's beauty makes up for it.
• Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava): This variety has a cluster of yellow flowers which are fragrant. Flowering occurs late spring, and it's a good option for local pollinator support and non-aggressive spreading.

Understanding Non-Native Varieties

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a common non-native species with a extreme sweet fragrance in the evening. Careful to check your local guidance with this vine which is extremely invasive and competes with native plants.

Planting Your Honeysuckle Vine

Planning how to plant honeysuckle is the most important step to building a strong vine. Preparing the area for planting will save time in the future and is a good use of time.

Location and Soil Preparation

Honeysuckle vines prefer well-drained soils with organic matter. Pick a place with full sun to partial shade. While some shade will be tolerated, getting at least six hours of full sun a day will lead to the best and most abundant blooms.

Preparing the soil well prior to planting is a good idea. Apply organic compost and rotted manure to the top 12 inches of soil to boost its texture and fertility. This helps the early root systems grow into the soil and work to loosen it. Dig a hole that has twice the diameter of the root ball. Place the plant gently into the hole so that the top of the root ball is at the level of the soil. Pour the modified soil back into the hole and press the soil down with your hands to remove any air pockets.

The Importance of Support Structures

Honeysuckle vines need to climb and will need support to do so. Good support options are: fences, trellises, pergolas, or arbors. Make sure the support is solid and can hold the weight of a mature vine. If you are planting in front of a wall, add a trellis so the vine can latch onto something and have good air circulation to help prevent fungus.

Ongoing Care and Maintenance

After planting is done, the next step is to make sure you are caring for your honeysuckle vine care so it can grow and thrive in your garden!

Watering

Proper watering is essential during starting out. Be sure to water the honeysuckle vines you just planted often so that the dirt is moist and the vine is not dry. After a year, the vine will need less watering, but make sure to deep water it during a dry spell, especially if you live in a hot area.

Mulching

Adding a layer of organic mulch can be very beneficial if it is 2-3 inches in thickness. This mulch can maintain moisture in soil, stop weeds from growing, and also help with the temperature of the soil. Quality materials for mulch can be wood chips and shredded leaves as well as straw. Just be sure to leave some space between the main stem of the plant and the mulch to help prevent rotting.

Fertilizing

Vine honeysuckles can benefit from a well-rounded fertilizer. It is best to do this at the start of spring, especially as new growth shoots are starting to grow. An example of a slow release fertilizer with a balanced form is 10-10-10. One more thing, make sure to not under-fertilize, this results in very green and dense foliage growth with little to no flowers.

Pruning for Health and Blooms

Just like all other plants, honeysuckle vines also need to be pruned. The best time to do this is at the start of spring and late winter but make sure no new growth is starting to bloom. Just start with cutting away any dead, ill, or tangled branches as well as the older canes. This helps with giving the center of the plant some room. It is also best for air circulation as well to stop a bunch of the woody tangles from growing. This is also a more "renewal" type of pruning which helps with flowering.

Companion Planting

Make sure to think about what to plant next to honeysuckle! For a traditional cottage garden look, try climbing roses since they look nice of a trellis together. Another good option is clematis, which is a flowering vine with a different flower shape, color, and variety than honeysuckle. Underneath the honeysuckle vine, hostas, ferns, and coral bells do wonderfully in the partial shade and provide plenty of nice ground cover.

Pest and Disease Management

Honeysuckle is a tough vine but can sometimes run into the odd pest or disease. Aphids and spider mites can cause poor growth and stunted growth. Simply hosing the pests off can work. For worse problems, you can use insecticidal soap or neem oil. Another issue is powdery mildew, noticeable as dusty white patches on the leaves. Make sure airflow is good by properly pruning the plants and use fungicide if you think your plants really need it.

Training and Propagation

Training the Vine

As the honeysuckle vine grows, the vine will need to be retrained to the support structure to help it climb in the right direction. To help them climb in the right direction, the stems can be tied loosely to the support with soft garden twine or strips of cloth. However, make sure to not tie the stems too tightly as it may stop the plant from growing and may cause damage to the plant over the years.

Propagating New Plants

If you want to make more honeysuckle vines for your garden, honeysuckle vines can be propagated. This means taking the cut vine and putting that in to the soil where it can grow on it’s own. Softwood cuttings taken in early summer root successfully. Another easy method is layering, which involves burying a portion of a low-hanging stem in the soil. Once it develops its own root system, it can be detached and planted as a new, independent plant.

The Best Vines Are Found at TN Nursery

It is very satisfying and enjoyable to grow honeysuckle vines because they are beautiful, fragrant, and enhance the activity in the garden. With the right conditions and careful husbandry, the pleasure of honeysuckle vines can be experienced for many years. Honeysuckles are great for covering trellises, climbing fences, and improving arbors by bringing refined beauty to any outdoor setting.

Are you ready to take the first step in this journey with honeysuckle vines? Take a look at TN Nursery to find healthy and honeysuckle vines and other lovely companion plants. Pick the right honeysuckle variety for your garden today!

FAQs

Where is the best place to plant honeysuckle vines?

For a honeysuckle vine, the best spot is one that is sunny or partially shaded, meaning it should receive 6 hours of sunlight a day at a minimum to produce the best flowers. Honeysuckle vines also need well-drained and rich organic soil as well as a climbing structure like a trellis, grading, or arbor.

What not to plant with honeysuckle?

Small delicate plants should not be planted near the base of the honeysuckle vine since they will be overshadowed and choked out by the vine. Also, you should not plant honeysuckle near Japanese honeysuckle. This is because Japanese honeysuckle are considered invasive and can escape and over take areas where they can suffocate the nearby plant life.

Should honeysuckle be cut back every year?

Most definitely. Annual pruning of honeysuckle is highly recommended to keep them healthy and manageable, and the most ideal time to prune them is late winter or early spring. Pruning helps to remove the dead wood, allows air to move freely, and maintains a nice shape. It also helps to kickstart to new growth, which will lead to a lot of new flowers.

Does honeysuckle need a trellis?

Yes. Climbing honeysuckle vines need a trellis or some other form of support to be able to grow vertically. Climbing honeysuckle vines will not grow upwards on their own, but will instead grow outwards and will form a ground cover if they have no support.

What are the cons of honeysuckle?

The main problem is that some species that are not native, particularly Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), are extremely invasive. They spread very quickly, smothering and killing native plants, and upsetting the balance of the local ecosystems. Aggressive species can also become very large, and if not trimmed regularly, can damage weak structures.

Do hummingbirds like honeysuckles?

Yes, of course! Many species of honeysuckle have tubular, nectar-rich flowers that are very attractive to hummingbirds. Especially the native honeysuckle vine, coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens. These vines are sure to bring the delicate and hyper birds to the garden all spring and summer.