Climbing everywhere (Honeysuckle)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Honeysuckle
Date:	18/07/03 (767 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick growing, Easy to plant

Disadvantages: Can take over the garden.

Despite my extensive horticulture knowledge (Degree in Amenity Hort from Writtle College), I feel it is time to talk about some of the simpler plants in life.
Ok, so you want a good climber that is hardy, good coverage, eay to look after and adds some colour too your garden?

Look no further than a Honeysuckle.

The Honeysuckle is a member of the Lonicera family and its Latin name is Lonicera. It also have variants of different colour and conditions. This makes up its second latin name.
i.e. Lonicera Japonica, Lonicera Brownii,etc

Enough of the Latin. Lets talk about the plant!

Ok firstly, what does it look like?
Well it is a woody stemmed climber than has dark, thin branched stems. It has small oval dark green leaves and has attractive Flowers in the Summer. Depending on the variety of which you buy, these can be Yellow, White, Purple and White.
The most common is Yellow. The flowers are deep centred and make a good wildlife attraction.

Is it fragrant?
Yes, very! Hence the attractiveness to insects. You can normally see bees buzzing around the flowers, collecting pollen. Butterflies are also attracted due to the colour.
When you walk past it, you get smells of freshness. Growing flowers and summer walks....

Where do you plant it?
Its best to grow up a wall, preferably with some form of trellis to aid its ascent. Try and find a suitable wall in your back garden. Although they like sun, its best to keep them out of the scorching afternoon sun so an Easterly facing wall is the best with the hot sun in the West just out of reach.

After care.
Trimming.
You would one hell of a gardener to kill this plant. Its impossible to kill! Saying that, it can also be a double edged sword. It needs very little water to survive and will live in most soil conditions. It grows at a phenomenal rate and requires a good hack back every few weeks during its growing period. I find if you leave i
t too long, it gets out of control. Watch it along the ground too as it sends out "feelers" to help propagate itself. These suckers sprout out where you least expect it.

Problems?
You biggest problem will be keeping it under control. In the wild it grows like a weed, strangling the life out of shrubs and trees. Ensure it does not start climbing up your trees at home or it will smother them.
Disease is relatively rare due to its hardy nature.

Overall.
A great plant for climbing if you have a habit of killing plants. However, be careful it does not get out of control.

Summary: