Honeysuckle Herb and Plant Cultivation

Honeysuckle grows all over northern Europe including Britain and can also be found growing wild in North Africa, Western Asia and North America.

Honeysuckle, Lonicera ssp, receives its common name from the old habit of sucking the sweet honey-tasting nectar from the flowers. Generically it is said to have been named after the 16th-century German physician, Lonicer.

Honeysuckle was among the plants that averted the evil powers abroad on May Day and took care of milk, the butter and the cows in the Scottish Highlands and elsewhere. Traditionally it was thought that if honeysuckle was brought into the house, a wedding would follow, and that if the flowers were placed in a girl's bedroom, she would have dreams of love.

Honeysuckle's rich fragrance has inspired many poets, including Shakespeare, who called it woodbind after its notorious habit of climbing up trees and hedges and totally binding them up.

"Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine……

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The plant appeared in John Gerard's 16th-century herbal; he wrote that 'the flowers steeped in oil and set in the sun are good to anoint the body that is benummed and grown very cold'.

SPECIES

There are many fragrant climbing varieties of this lovely plant. I have only mentioned those with a direct herbal input.

Lonicera x americana

American Honeysuckle Deciduous perennial. Ht up to 7m (23ft). Strongly fragrant yellow flowers

starting in a pink bud turning yellow and finishing with orangish pink throughout the summer. The berries are red, and the leaves are green and oval, the upper ones being united and saucer-like.

Lonicera caprifolium

Deciduous perennial. Ht up to 6m (20ft). The buds of the fragrant flowers are

initially pink on opening; they then change to a pale white/pink/yellow as they age and finally turn deeper yellow. Green oval leaves and red berries, which were once fed to chickens. The Latin species name, caprifolium, means goats' leaf, reflecting the belief that honeysuckle leaves were a favorite food of goats. This variety and Lonicera periclymenum can be found growing wild in hedgerows.

Lonicera periclymenum

Deciduous perennial. This is the taller grower of the two common European honeysuckles, and reaches a height of 7m (23ft). It may live for 50 years. Fragrant yellow flowers appear mid- I summer to mid-autumn,   j followed by red berries. Leaves are oval and dark green with a bluish underside.

Lonicera etrusca

Etruscan Honeysuckle Semi-evergreen perennial. Ht up to 4m (12ft). Fragrant, pale, creamy yellow flowers which turn deeper yellow to red in autumn and are followed by red berries. Leaves oval,

mid-green, with a bluish underside. This is the least hardy of those mentioned here, and should be grown in sun on a south facing wall, and protected in winter where temperatures fall below-3°C (23°F).

Lonicera japonica

Japanese Honeysuckle Semi-evergreen perennial. Htupto 10m (33ft). Fragrant, pale, creamy white flowers turning yellow as the season progresses, followed by black berries. The leaves are oval and mid-green in color. In the garden it is apt to build up an enormous tangle of shoots and best allowed to clamber over tree stumps or a low roof or walls. Attempts to train it tidily are a lost cause. Still

used in Chinese medicine today.

CULTIVATION

Propagation

Seed

Sow seed in autumn thinly on the surface of a prepared seed or plug tray. Cover with glass and winter outside. Keep an eye on the compost moisture and only water if necessary. Germination may take a long time, it has been known to take 2 seasons, so be patient. A more reliable alternative method is by cuttings.

Cuttings

Take from non-flowering, semi-hardwood shoots in summer and root in a bark, grit, peat mix of compost. Alternatively, take hardwood cuttings in late autumn, leave the cuttings in a cold frame or cold greenhouse for the winter.

Layering

In late spring or autumn honeysuckle is easy to layer, j Do not disturb until the        I following season when it can be severed from its parent.

Pests and Diseases

Grown in too sunny or warm a place, it can become infested with greenfly, blacktlv, caterpillars and red spider mites. Use a horticultural soap, and spray the pests according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Maintenance

Spring: Prune established plants.

Slimmer: Cut back flowering stems after flowering. Take semi-hardwood cuttings.

Autumn: Layer established plants. Lightly prune if necessary.

Winter: Protect certain species in cold winters.

Garden Cultivation

This extremely tolerant, traditional herb garden plant will flourish vigorously in the most unpromising sites. Honeysuckle leaves are among the first to appear, sometimes mid-winter, the (lowers appearing in very early summer and deepening in color after being pollinated by the insects that feed on their nectar. Good as cover for an unsightly wall or to provide a rich summer evening fragrance in an arbour. Plant in autumn or spring in any fertile, well-drained soil, in sun or semi-shade. The best situation puts its feet in the shade and its head in the sunshine. A position against a north or west wall is ideal or on the shady side of a support such as a tree stump, pole or pergola. Prune in early spring, if need be. Prune out flowering wood or climbers after flowering.

MEDICINAL

An infusion of the heavy perfumed flowers can be taken as a substitute for tea. It is also useful for treating coughs, catarrh and asthma. As a lotion it is good for skin infections.

Recent research has proved that this plant has an outstanding curative action in cases of colitis.

Harvest

Pick and dry the flowers for potpourris just as they open. This is the best time for scent although they are their palest in color.

Pick the flowers for use in salads as required. Again the best flavor is before the nectar has been collected, which is when the flower is at its palest.

CULINARY

Add flowers to salads

CONTAINER GROWING

This is not a plant which springs to mind as a good pot plant, certainly not indoors. But with patience, it makes a lovely mop head standard if carefully staked and trained; use an evergreen variety like Lonicera japonica. The compost should be a soil based one. Water and feed regularly throughout the summer and in winter keep in a cold frame or greenhouse and only water occasionally.

OTHER USES

Flowers are strongly scented for potpourris, herb pillows and perfumery. An essential oil was once extracted from the plant to make a very sweet perfume but the yield was extremely low.