- Author: Jenni Dodini
Steve used to work for FEMA back at the time of the Northridge earthquake. Part of his job was to go out to do an overview of the damages on claims that had been submitted. As you can imagine, he had a LOT to report. Anyway, the initials, DSR, were a part of our conversations at the time. So, when we got back from San Diego, Toni had inquired as to whether or not we had sustained any damages from the storm while we were gone. Of course, the picture that I sent her of the damage to my honeysuckle is now NOWHERE to be found. The picture below is how it looked early last spring. What you can't see in the picture are the garden art big flowers on the top of the trellis.
Well, as you can guess, the strong winds broke the trellis at the junctions from which the "stems" of the garden art flowers arose. My dismay was complete when I saw the flowers face down in a big puddle and the honeysuckle stems bent and broken.
What is a poor Master Gardener to do? Research of course.
Honeysuckles are of the Genus Lonicera with approximately 180 species from the family Caprifoliaceae. All the honeysuckle species are native to the Northern Hemisphere with about 20 native to North America. They are a gardener's favorite mostly because they are so easy to grow, have a beautiful fragrance, and flowers that have a sweet nectar to attract pollinators. Most are deciduous and evergreen. There are many hybrids and cultivars available with L. periclymenum, L. japonica, and L. sempervirens being the most commonly grown in home gardens. My honeysuckle is a hybrid with beautiful pale yellow and white flowers. I also have a L. japonica growing in a pot by my entry steps.
What does one need to know in order to successfully grow a honeysuckle around here? As it turns out, very little, or mine would have been dead a long time ago. They will grow in almost any kind of soil and also in pots. They like well draining soil and to be fed regularly with a 10-10-10 fertilizer if in a pot. Mine is not so well fertilized, and still survives. The plant is in the ground. They do well in full sun and are heat tolerant. Mine are true to form and need regular pruning, and were due for a very heavy pruning because the stems had gotten woody and ugly because of the shade that the plant canopy made above them. Luckily, the big storm coincided with the proper winter pruning time, and we will see how they come back in the spring, hopefully quite nicely as the literature suggested. Just one other tidbit of information, the pesky underground creatures don't seem to consider honeysuckles to be a tasty morsel.