Hey guys....what's your favorite honeysuckle? And why?
dell

Dell at the moment I have to say none of them since the aphids have attached the two older ones this year. The third that I got just a few weeks ago is still too small to bloom but at least the aphids haven't bothered with it yet. Aside from the aphid problem I have always been partial to my species Coral honeysuckle because it grows so quickly even the first year I had it it grow much faster than the other two.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Goldflame!...lonicera x heckrottii. Blooms from March to December here in 7B in full sun, and when it's really all out like a few weeks ago, the fragrance--such a bonus in a hummer plant!--is just deee-lightful. I do nothing to this plant except trim out a wayward runner every other week and keep an eye out for aphids, and it just grows and grows without being terribly aggressive. My hummers will spend over a full minute at this one plant...they love it.

Another bonus that just popped in my head...it's semi-evergreen here in the south; keeps most of its leaves before the new flush comes in late February.



Zone 7B
North Carolina Piedmont

'John Clayton'....pretty pale yellow blooms for the Hummingbirds Butterflies and Bees, and in the fall bright red berries for the rest of the birds. I'll have to remember to take a pic when toward the end of September it's so pretty to see both at the same time on the same vine!

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Do other types have berries in the winter? I would have gotten 'John Clayton' over 'Goldflame' if I had realized it had berries and other types did not.

Carol

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7

I've had luck with Lonicera sempervirens Blanche Sandman. Easy to find here, grows quickly and has the berries as well.

Lisa

Lake Country
Southern Wisconsin
USDA Zone 5b
heat zone 4/5
sunset zone 41
http://thehummingbirdgarden.blogspot.com/

Hello Lisa,

You're right! I forgot all about that one also has berries!!! They are both in our Honeysuckle garden. I think it's because the berries stand out/more noticable with the 'John Clayton' against it's pale yellow blooms...
I stand corrected.

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Matt, that picture's making me drool ! That's the one I want to twine around a post with an ornate lantern hanging from it. It would be soooooo pretty in addition to being a hummer treat!

Diana
Upstate SC
Zone 7b

We like the basic Lonicera sempervirens. We also have the lonicera x heckrottii (it has a variegated leaf, which is a nice variation), but the hummers ignore this honeysuckle for the Trumpet Honeysuckle. We also have Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler' in the front yard, which has redder flowers and it's very beautiful. We don't get aphids on our honeysuckle here, which we are very grateful for. Right now, Trumpet honeysuckle is getting some pretty great action from our hummers.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

the Dropmore Scarlet and the Lorniceria semperivrens species both get the red berries. Usually the birds eat them as soon as they are ready so I don't see many.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I have a yellow form of dropmore that's called Hummingbird Gold that's blooming it's head off. It's 3 or 4 years old and never gets aphids ( crossing my fingers now that I spoke about it). I will pick Goldflame as the favorite, the hummers love it as well as the other, and that smell is heavenly.


birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

Matt, love the picture. But define "terribly aggressive". I have trumpet honeysuckle and it seems extremely well behaved....so far anyway. It's two years old and has covered a 6 foot wide and tall trellis and is trailing all over the ground....and I'm hoping the trailing over the ground part isn't going to be a problem? At least thus far it doesn't seem to be rooting where it hits ground. Input welcome. The color of the goldflame would certainly be perfect for the spot I'm considering placing it in.
Okay, how/when/if do ya'll prune your honeysuckles?
dell

I trim a few runners off every other week, and prune it harder in early winter. So goldflame grows vigorously without being a nuisance. I also have 'Major Wheeler' near it and the the hummers go to my goldflame first.

But I just noticed a bout of powdery mildew on my goldflame...one downside of it. I'll have to spray it, which will affect the blooming a little. I thought I'd dodged this bullet this year, but the high humidity has finally taken its toll.

Zone 7B
North Carolina Piedmont

Dell I don't have a favorite honeysuckle. The one I like best is the one the hummingbirds are using at the time. I have three that I need to plant and don't know where to plant them.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31