Halls Japanese Honeysuckle , Starter Plant, VINE

Halls Japanese Honeysuckle

An outstanding mountain vine with fragrant yellow flowers that loves blooming in the summer heat. Wind, drought, deer, Javelina are no problem. Ideal at growing up fences, walls, or as a groundcover. An excellent solution for a fast-growing screen, even in the poorest of soil. Summer is the preferred planting time for this heat lover.

Japanese honeysuckle is a climber that twines thickly around any vertical structure like a trellis, even the base of trees. The vines bear fragrant butter flowers, dipped in pink, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds from late spring into fall. The flowers gradually fade to yellow, and it is not uncommon to see white, pink, and yellow colors all at the same time. The flowers often produce blackberries that are mildly poisonous to humans. The vine is commonly planted because it does well in shady locations and in crusty dry soils.

Botanical Name – Lonicera japonica

Common Name – Japanese honeysuckle, golden-and-silver honeysuckle

Plant Type – Perennial flowering vine

Mature size – 15 to 20 feet in length, with a spread of 3 to 6 feet

Sun Exposure – Full sun to part shade

Soil Type – Prefers average, well-drained soil

Bloom Time – Late spring to fall

Flower Color – White, maturing to yellow

Hardiness Zones – 4 to 9

Native Areas – Eastern Asia including China, Japan, and Korea

How to Grow Japanese Honeysuckle

Although Japanese honeysuckle prefers moist, loamy soils, these ideal conditions can cause the plant to grow too vigorously. It does well in dry conditions, which help check its rampant growth. Plant it in full sun to part shade; shadier locations will both reduce the amount of flowering and also inhibit the plant’s growth.

Only one plant is needed per post or trellis. Arches should have a plant on each side of the arch. Fencelines and step embankments should be planted at 8′ foot centers, closer for really fast coverage. When planted as a ground cover, use two or three plants for each square yard of ground. Ground cover plants should be sheared back with a lawnmower or hedger in later winter to control growth and remove any dead undergrowth.

Light

This is an adaptable plant that does well in full sun to part shade. A shadier location helps keep its growth under control.

Soil

Japanese honeysuckle does well in average soil that drains well. Dryer soils limit the rampant growth of the vine that adapts well to heavy mountain soils.

Water

For best growth, keep Japanese honeysuckle well-watered (one inch per week) and protect the soil with a layer of Watters Premium Mulch. If the plant becomes too dry, leaves yellow and turn brown, then fall off, though the vine itself rarely dies. Withholding water is a good way to limit the growth of this vine each in summer.

Temperature and Humidity

Japanese honeysuckle thrives in diverse conditions throughout its hardiness zone range. It is deciduous during cold winters, and evergreen through milder winters, but always extremely vigorous.

Fertilizer

Feed with Watters 7-4-4 All Purpose Food 3 times per year (March, July, and October) for best blooms and dense foliage that screens and cuts the wind.