Winter Honeysuckle
{{{This post was written for my website A Southern Garden}}}
Winter Honeysuckle
Lonicera fragrantissima
Mature Height: 6-8 ft.
Growth Rate: Fast
Soil: Average, well-drained
Light Requirements: Sun/partial shade
Foliage: 1"-3" yellow-green leaves appear after flowers, darkening with age, semi-evergreen in milder climates
Flower/Fruit: Small, creamy white flowers appear in late winter. Red berries appear in spring.
Fragrance: Intense
Hardy to Zone 4
Imagine this - you are walking through a cold, barren, winter landscape and all of a sudden the air is filled with a strong lemony fragrance. You have discovered winter honeysuckle, a delightful old-fashioned shrub that has the distinct characteristic of blooming when most plants are dormant.
I first became aware of this shrub at the university where I work. There is a large hedge of them planted on campus and one day, just like I described above, I noticed the fragrance before knowing where it originated.
A sprawling and leggy shrub, it is quite indistinct until the powerful fragrance commands attention in January and February. Even the tiny flowers are not that noticeable in appearance but the fragrance can be detected from long distances.
Winter honeysuckle is very easy to grow in average well-drained soil. Like most plants, it will not tolerate wet conditions. It performs well in either full sun or partial shade. It grows rapidly and quickly attains a mature height. It can be invasive in optimal conditions so be aware of this. This is a good shrub for woodland gardens and makes a good hedge. The budded branches can be cut and brought inside for winter arrangements.
Winter Honeysuckle
Lonicera fragrantissima
Mature Height: 6-8 ft.
Growth Rate: Fast
Soil: Average, well-drained
Light Requirements: Sun/partial shade
Foliage: 1"-3" yellow-green leaves appear after flowers, darkening with age, semi-evergreen in milder climates
Flower/Fruit: Small, creamy white flowers appear in late winter. Red berries appear in spring.
Fragrance: Intense
Hardy to Zone 4
Imagine this - you are walking through a cold, barren, winter landscape and all of a sudden the air is filled with a strong lemony fragrance. You have discovered winter honeysuckle, a delightful old-fashioned shrub that has the distinct characteristic of blooming when most plants are dormant.
I first became aware of this shrub at the university where I work. There is a large hedge of them planted on campus and one day, just like I described above, I noticed the fragrance before knowing where it originated.
A sprawling and leggy shrub, it is quite indistinct until the powerful fragrance commands attention in January and February. Even the tiny flowers are not that noticeable in appearance but the fragrance can be detected from long distances.
Winter honeysuckle is very easy to grow in average well-drained soil. Like most plants, it will not tolerate wet conditions. It performs well in either full sun or partial shade. It grows rapidly and quickly attains a mature height. It can be invasive in optimal conditions so be aware of this. This is a good shrub for woodland gardens and makes a good hedge. The budded branches can be cut and brought inside for winter arrangements.
Comments
Frances at Faire Garden
We seem to admire the same shrubs! I am now waiting for the Star Magnolia to bloom (if it survived the drought). We are new to the south so I am still in awe of how early some of these things bloom and what I can grow.
Kate
There's one advantage to my climate; here, Magnolia stellata always does fine, because the coolness keeps it from trying to bloom too early, and the frost has never gotten it in the few years it's been planted. Hopefully that will be the same for the lovely 'Anna' I put in last year.
Jan Always Growing
Congratulations on the magazine story!
Chuck, it's not a new blog. That is my old website that I've had since 1997!
It is a lovely fragrance and my neighbor has a few bushes so we get
to borrow them.
Gail
clayandlimestone
Gail
Henry Mitchell talked about this shrub years ago. It sounded interesting when I lived in Illinois and your post makes winter honeysuckle sound like a great plant. With no 'inconspicuous part' to this small yard and no edge-of-woodland available, I may have to find someone else who grows it and just visit ;-]
My sweet olives are still blooming so I do have some fragrance.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Is the Winter Honeysuckle also know as Kiss Me At The Gate?
Liz
Yes, the old common name for winter honeysuckle is "Kiss Me At The Gate." Mine just happens to be in this location. In mid-winter the scent is captivating. Birds love this plant; the ones that visit my garden use it as a hiding place from predators and as a perch to check out food spots. My plant gets a few hours of light shade and does well. The ones I've planted in full sun here in Georgia have yellowier leaves, but denser foliage (maybe I need to feed them), and the ones in part to full shade look much scragglier.
Heather
Ali
Annie