This week... Honeysuckle

Honeysuckles are fragrant climbers and shrubs with magnificent flowers and berries

- GRAHAM RICE

RECOGNISING honeysuckles can be difficult because there are two types – vining honeysuckles and bush honeysuckles, some evergreen and some deciduous – and, superficially, they all look very different.

But what this prolific summer-flowering vine and this bushy winter-flowering shrub have in common is the structure of their flowers. They are trumpet-shaped, but split into five with four upper segments and one lower one. The flowers vary in size from 1⁄2in (12mm) to 2in (5cm), often changing from white to yellow as they mature, many have a wonderful fragrance and the flowers are often followed by black, blue or red berries.

Difference in the flowers 

Vining honeysuckles have clusters of flowers, one immediately above the other, opening in succession towards the tips of the shoots, while shrubby honeysuckles usually have much smaller flowers, almost always in pairs in the leaf joints.

The vining honeysuckles are vigorous – some are even invasive – twining over fences and looking especially impressive when scrambling through mature shrubs. Shrubby honeysuckles are mainly appreciated for their early flowers or their edible fruits. Both are valued for their wonderful welcome fragrance.

When and how to plant honeysuckles 

IDEALLY, vining honeysuckles are best planted in late winter or early spring, when the ground has thawed out but before the plants start into growth.