Lonicera, Honeysuckle 'Pam's Pink'

Introduced by Greg Grant of the Stephen F Austin University, and named for the gardener Pam Puryear.

All honeysuckles are ...Read Moreprone to powdery mildew (more so in shade) and aphids (more so in sun). They aren't usually a serious problem, and the latter can be taken care of with a spray of soapy water.

Lonicera x americana is a synonym for L. x italica. It is hardy to Z5.

http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19910307583.html;jsession...

I purchased three of these Honeysuckle ‘Pam’ - Lonicera x americana at Home Depot recently. I wondered why these honeysuckles had nic...Read Moree moist soil, where the other plants at Home Depot were very dry. I thought perhaps they were just brought in, so I thought nothing of it. It was later obvious that someone had washed away the aphids in order to sell the plants! Otherwise I would have passed them by.

When I got home, I put them on the porch, with other plants I purchased at Lowes, until I could plant them in a few days. The very next day, these honeysuckles were covered in the 'Honeysuckle Aphids!'

I quickly moved them to a secluded location, away from all my other plants, sprayed them with the usual spray for aphids and ended up, the next day with brown, wilted leaves!

Frustrated and upset that I might have infected my beautiful plants from Lowes, (whose garden center is called a nursery, for good reason. It really is a nursery because they take good care of their plants), I called Home Depot and told them what had happened. Thankfully, I was told to bring them back and get a refund. I won't be purchasing plants from Home Depot again.

After finding these aphids on the honeysuckles, I did a thorough research on the Internet. Most places, including .edu sites, never mentioned how these honeysuckles attrack ahpids, not until I found the "Royal Horticultural Society."
Here is the information listed on that site, after searching for Honeysuckle ‘Pam’ - Lonicera x americana:

"The Lonicera Genus:
Diseases Many fungi cause leaf spots, but chemical control is rarely warranted. Leaf blight caused by Herpobasidium deformans results in dead leaves. Various genera of powdery mildews form white powder on the leaves. Bacterial crown gall causes round, warty-looking growths on the stems near the soil line. Dig out and destroy infected plants.

Also subject to: Honeysuckle Aphids:
Some Honeysuckles are prone to Honeysuckle Aphid, which was accidently introduced into North America in the 1970s. It can cause witches broom, stem dieback and sometimes even death of some species of Honeysuckle."

I wanted to share this information with you, before you experienced what I did and before you loose your other plants to aphids.

Thanks for your taking the time to read my post.