Hi Kids,
Just dropping in to ask some advice. I'd like to get some of the non-invasive Honeysuckle vines for the hummers. There is something niggling in the back of my brain that Japanese are bad, and native are good, right? Can anybody help me with some Latin names of what I should (and shouldn't) be looking for? I don't want to spend my life pulling out seedlings or trimming back the vines from he!!.
The ones listed as Lonicera sempervirens are the most attractive with the largest flowers -- those are probably the bad ones, but I wanted to check with you guys first.
Along those same lines, I am also looking at one I've seen for sale called Harlequin, but Plant Files has 2 listed, and there is nothing about whether it is invasive or not, or Japanese or not. In fact there are 2 listings for it with 2 different Latin names, so I am more confused than ever!
Lonicera Honeysuckle Harlequin
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/105223/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80334/
I appreciate any help and guidance on this whole idea of mine,
Thanks!
Suzy
Which Honeysuckle do I WANT?
Lonicera sempervirens is actually native to the U.S., so I don't expect it would be a problem in Indiana. No personal experience with it, though.
Lonicera sempervirens is the one you do want. Red trumpet honeysuckle is one of its common names. There are more than a few clones/selections of this plant, and all should be very good vines for you.
Lonicera japonica and all its incarnations are what you want to avoid. None are hospitable or well-behaved, and most are destructively rampant.
I don't know the clone 'Harlequin', but since it isn't supposed to be a red-flowered form, why bother? If there is the least doubt, don't do it (as far as tempting invasiveness). There are too many other good choices than to go down that path.
There are other native honeysuckle vines; one I can think of off the cuff is Lonicera dioica. There is also a yellow form of Lonicera sempervirens, and another yellow one known as Lonicera flava, I think. I don't know if they are attractive to hummingbirds, but they are stellar to me.
If you look for these vines, and you can''t get a clear read from the supplier, just don't buy it. Purchase from reputability, and you will usually be pleased.
Ah, Thanks JS & Vib Valley! I like the sempervirens better than japonica, anyway!
Suzy
Hi Illoquin,
I have 3 cultivars of Lonicera sempervirens -Blanche Sandman (red)
John Clayton (yellow) flava?
Magnifica ( very poor bloom for me)
The first 2 are wonderful, Blanche blooms almost continually from now to frost. John Clayton is a little shorter and is a little less dramatic but both draw hummingbirds and nesting birds.
Semper, Those look like good ones to have -- I especially like Blanche Sandman. Do you have them vining over anything in particular? Maybe I should ask if you grow them as vines? Do you have them growing in part shade?
Suzy
I've this beautiful blooms H.S. but unfortunately I don't know its name, further more I don't how it would perform in your region.
Oh, I know Lily_love....there is such a huge difference between Alabama and Indiana; plus your soil is acidic, right?
Gee, Come to think of it, NJ soil might be acidic, too...Semper is your soil acidic? We have a limestone-based soil, but it's mostly neutral. BUT we can't just start growing azaleas and rhodies without old pine trees that have dropped needles for a couple decades.
Suzy
Suzy, yes our soil is known to be acidic. But remember you can alter the pH in your soil to suit your planting cultural requirement. Remember with hydrangeas? We alter the soil pH to get either the pink or blue blossom that we so desired? Check with your County Extension office for a soil test sample, there they'll guide you either to add sulfer or lime in propotionate amount to create the planting that you need. To my understanding (here in our Southern States) the Chinese Honeysuckles that are nortoriously invasive here (but they smell so sweet in the natural woodlands area), most other native and hybrids honeysuckles that are cultivated are more constrained, and lovely such as this other one that I've. This is U.S. native I think (no specific name).:
Illoquin,
My soil tends to be neutral or at the most slightly acidic. I have them vining on a pole, rebar strucures and arbors. As they get older they have a thicker woody stem. I prune mine heavily early in the season to keep them in control. You do have to nudge or tie them into the form you want. I'll see if I can find photos.
Oh, okay, good to know -- would love to see the pics!
This is John Clayton in part shade twining around a clothes line pole that doubles as a corner of a large compost pen (originally a small dog run). It hasn't opened any flowers yet. In shade it will not bloom as continually as in sun.
You can see the bare vines on the bottom. This one forms a nice cascade.
I have 3 in the sun in the front. 2 are against the house tucked between yews on either side of the door. on rebar trellises. The 3rd is on the metal arbor. The red is already starting to bloom (Blanche Sandman). They are easy to grow from early spring cuttings, I only purchased 1 of each.
How tall is that clothesline? LOL! I always just jump right in and ask the questions instead of starting off with a, "Those look really great!" I could do that here, and I have some long fenceposts we could sink the the ground. How tall is that clothesline? Or maybe I should just ask how much post do you think we should leave above ground? **We could do this this weekend if we rented a postholedigger -- they are only $15.00 to rent for 2 hours!**
Suzy the copy cat
The pole is just over 6 ft. You could go 8 -10 ft if you like.
Hey, thats' great!
A laundry pole is so much cooler than a long fencepost, but it's the best I have...mebbe I can put a birdhouse on top or something.
Thanks so much for your help!!
Suzy
I have 'Crimson Cascade' (Lonicera sempervirens)--think it came from Brushwood Gardens.
You might also want to consider Bignonia capreolata.
Check with your local Native Plant Society and see what they suggest or what is available through local native plant sales.
Here's a link to Brushwood's native vines page:
http://www.gardenvines.com/catalog/native-vines-c-26.html
Neat page......still looking around the site. Thanks
Suzy