Okay, so being bit by the Spring bug, I bought Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) the other day. Now my questions are...
1. Some people on the plantfiles found it to be invasive. What is everyone's experience here, particularly in Houston?
2. The plantfiles show it to be a vine/climber. I actually need a shrub in the area that I am planning to plant, so will it work?
I know, should check these things out BEFORE I buy, but just got a little overzealous.
Thanks.
Cape Honeysuckle
I don't know anything about cape honeysuckle, but any honeysuckle that is a lonicera I wouldn't plant. It's taken us 10 years to get rid of what was creeping over the fence from the neighbors'.
Don't have any pictures but we had a Cape Honeysuckle at one of our houses. It desfinitely was NOT invasive. It was a shrub, not a vine.
Ann
Ann, are you thinking of Cape Honeysuckle or Cape Jessmine as my grandmother called Gardenias? They are a shrub, but I think the honeysuckle is a vine. Of course I could be having a senior moment, which is happening all too often lately :)
Here are two good links to that shrub; I hope it helps.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/aransas/capehoneysuckle.htm
http://www.floridata.com/ref/T/teco_cap.cfm
Josephine.
That's definitely the one that I bought. Have mixed emotions. Love that it attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, is evergreen, and blooms during times that there is not much else blooming. Concerned that they claim if it is pruned as a shrub it can reach 10 feet. I was thinking more of 6-8 feet. Neither of those sites mention anything about it being invasive, so guess that is good.
Crow, when we lived down at Palacios we had a bush that we were told was called "Cape Honeysuckle" - orange flowers on green bush. Maybe they were wrong and I didn't check it out because I just accepted it. Many years ago when I was a small child my mother had her Cape Jasmines - some rather tall bushes, others that were close to the ground and she would get so incensed that people were calling them Gardenias saying that they were just being hoity-toity. That's all I know. One of our daughters has a Gardenia (she calls it) and she loves it - especially its smell. A lot of people say that it is too strong. I'm too lazy to look all this up right now as it's early in the morning.
Ann
To what zone is the cape honeysuckle hardy? I don't know where I'd put a bush that large, but I'd like to keep it in mind. We've got an acre and a half, so I have a little more room for stuff!
Lynn
plantladyhou...well mine is a green bush with bright orange flowers. I am going to keep it (even if I may end up regretting it, but hopefully not), unless some one comes on here and tells me that they have had serious problems with it.
It says on the second link, Zones 9 to 11, or down to 26 degrees.
That lets me out!
I need to add that when I say that we had it in Palacios I mean that we had it at a house that was right on the water in Cape Carancahua (if I remembered how to spell that Indian name). It got lots of sun, lots of wind from off the water and we didn't water the poor thing. Everytime we got a little frost it looked awful and then it would perk up and bloom again the next week. But w/the wind it didn't have much of a chance but I didn't plant it. I did plant a Coral Vine and let me tell you that is one tough plant! It was on the same side as the Cape Honeysuckle but on the fence. It never looked good but it bloomed it's little self to pieces so that the neighbors asked what what that pink flower was.
Ann
You could always grow it in a pot and bring it in when it freezes.
Well, I learned something new. I've never heard of a cape honeysuckle, but it is very pretty. I'm always leary of anything labeled "invasive" after my experiences with Black & Blue Salvia. I still have nightmares about that stuff :)
crow...I actually haven't had any real nightmares (except for a couple of cannas, but they aren't a real problem, just happen to be somewhere that I would prefer they weren't), but I have seen others nightmares on here. I certainly don't trust the big box stores to use good judgement about such things because I know that I have seen things that are considered to be every invasion and they sell them without any warning. Saw Bear's Breeches at Home Depot the other day. It was really nice looking, but have read bad things about it. Besides half the time the tag says it needs full sun, when I know it is a shade plant or at very least not full sun. Of course, if it weren't for Daves, I wouldn't know any of this either and who knows what I would be battling. I actually rarely buy without checking it out first, but once in a while I get ahead of myself.
I have cape honeysuckle which grows like a shrub and it does sucker. I don't find it a problem though, I always have some to share or just cut off the suckers so it can be kept under control.It is in a round bed so I guess that also keeps in under control with either the edger or lawnmower.
During our recent freezes ( We did go down to 19F ) it took mine totally down to the ground but it is now sprouting again from ground so I think it is hardier than mentioned.
This is the one I have http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1758/
That's the one I bought.