A honeysuckle question

[smartie]

Originally Posted by naturelover

glad i found this post, i bought a honeysuckle two years ago when it was about three feet tall in a pot,i replanted it in a very large patio pot,with a metal climbing trellis for it to climb up,first year it bloomed second year very poor but very long and stragely,so at the end of the season i cut it all down to about six inches high,cutting it to a strong outward pointing bud,looked this week new shoots,thing is i dont know a thing about honeysuckle,can anyone give me some advise please thankyou.

My experience with honeysuckles is that they do need regular pruning if you are going to keep them flowering vigorously all the way up the plant, but they are very tolerant of inexpert hacking and attacks with the hedge trimmers if they get too rampant. Early varieties flower on the previous year's growth so best prune them shortly after flowering.

[The Woodman]

I've changed it now!

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by smartie

My experience with honeysuckles is that they do need regular pruning if you are going to keep them flowering vigorously all the way up the plant, but they are very tolerant of inexpert hacking and attacks with the hedge trimmers if they get too rampant. Early varieties flower on the previous year's growth so best prune them shortly after flowering.

Some of the best flowering and most vigorous honeysuckle I know of is in an agricultural hedge that is trimmed very hard every Winter.

If you are going to have it grow up something (and it needs it, it is a twiner not a sticker), it is worth doing a very good job on whatever you put up, you will love it and so will the insects, nesting birds and so on, and a collapse will seem like a tragedy.

[paddy]

When putting a trellis against a wall for honeysuckle, wisteria and similar twiners, its a good idea to buy a length of hollow plastic tube, cut it into lengths of about 1" to 2" and drive the screws through them (place them between trellis and wall). The trellis then stands proud of the wall and gives the plant a bit of twining space.
Ever noticed how honeysuckles always seem to twine the same way? I tried to unhook one and make it go the 'wrong' way and it sorted itself out to where it was!
Maybe its just my one......

[goosey]

Thanks again everyone for your help. I have planted the honeysuckles today, and am rather impatient now for them to do their stuff .

Originally Posted by paddy

When putting a trellis against a wall for honeysuckle, wisteria and similar twiners, its a good idea to buy a length of hollow plastic tube, cut it into lengths of about 1" to 2" and drive the screws through them (place them between trellis and wall). The trellis then stands proud of the wall and gives the plant a bit of twining space.

Good bit of advice. luckily, the trellis I bought came with spacer things so it saved fiddling on. According to the lable, its also for letting air circulate behind the trellis aswell a making it easier to tie in the plants.

[Ferret]

Good choice of plant Gooosey you will not only get some good insects, Silver-y, Humming-bird Hawkmoth, but the pleasure of birds feeding on the berries in the winter, last year I was lucky enough to have an overwintering Blackcap Silvia atricapilla feeding on mine last winter, although not this year yet which is a shame as I now have decent telephoto lens for the camera.

Ferret