Plant care & info

Family: Caprifoliaceae

Genus: Lonicera – Named for German naturalist Adam Lonitzer (1528-1586)

Common name: Honeysuckle

Native to the Northern Hemisphere.

Around 180 species of deciduous or evergreen shrubs and vines make up the Honeysuckle genus.

Leaves are opposite and are often fused, forming a disc. Flowers are often tubular forming a deep throat, attracting birds and bees, and are often fragrant. Seedy fruit follows flowers.

Honeysuckles are very adaptable, enjoying many soil types and varying pH with the exception being very wet boggy soil. They thrive in full sun to part shade. Hardiness varies depending on species.

Pruning should happen directly after flowering. Boxleaf and privet honeysuckles can be sheared or shaped like hedge plants.

Explore More Honeysuckle Shrubs

Winter Honeysuckle

Lonicera fragrantissima: Winter Honeysuckle

Cute white flowers with strong citrus fragrance bloom on bare branches in mid to late winter. Sort of a vine, sort of a shrub, the plant develops into a broad irregular tangled mass providing great cover for birds. Green leaves turn yellow-brown in fall and red fruits appear in summer. Best planted in a spot that is passed-by regularly in winter during bloom, but that can disappear into the background in summer.

Grows 6-10′ x 6-10′, sun to part shade, Z4.

Creeping Honeysuckle

Lonicera crassifolia: Creeping Honeysuckle

Pale yellow tubular flowers blushed pink at the base are wonderfully fragrant. Small round evergreen leaves are glossy green and turn a bit red during winter. Creeping Honeysuckle is a low-growing ground cover and looks beautiful draping over a wall or the edge of a container. It may not be dense enough to use for erosion control or weed suppression, like many other ground covers are used.

Grows 2-4″ tall x 12-24″ wide, sun to part shade, Z7.

Boxleaf Honeysuckle

Lonicera nitida: Boxleaf Honeysuckle

Typical Boxleaf Honeysuckles have glossy green leaves and are really easy to grow. We offer a few different varieties of Lonicera nitida that possess the same easy care and evergreen leaves, but with the added benefit of brightly colored foliage that lends a bright splash of color year round. Flowers are tiny and hide in the leaves, but are scented. Shrubs can be allowed their natural mounded fountain shape, or pruned tightly like a boxwood.

All grow to 4-5′ x 4-5′, take sun-part shade & are hardy in Z6.

Privet Honeysuckle

Lonicera pileata – Privet Honeysuckle

Small funnel-shape white fragrant flowers in May followed by blue berries. Leaves are small glossy dark green and evergreen. Lonicera pileata grows low and wide, setting new roots from branches as it spreads. This is a great plant for providing food and cover for birds and wildlife.

Grows 2′ x 8′ – sun, part shade, Z5.