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Old June 2nd, 2007, 07:27 PM
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Honeysuckle Vines

I have four honeysuckle vines that I planted two years ago. They were tiny little babies, about 4 inches tall, when I got them and now they are a good foot higher than the fence! Is that normal for them to grow that fast! They're like mutants, LOL! And are you supposed to trim these things somehow or is this how they're supposed to look?
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 12:20 PM
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I have no idea but they're GORGEOUS !!
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 12:51 PM
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I agree with MMM on both counts! Sorry, Smiley! Got a garden center near you that you could bring pics to? They might be able to help.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 02:35 PM
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WOW.....they're gorgeous. If they need lots of sun I'm going to plant them to hide our ugly wire fence.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 02:42 PM
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It looks like the non-native honey suckle. I didn't think that honeysuckle was a vine, but a shrub. The non native honeysuckle gets fairly large, you probably could prune it if you don't like the way that it looks, but you might want to wait until the fall to do that.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 02:46 PM
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Are those the invasive ones, do you know, Stacer?
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 03:06 PM
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it's hard to tell from those pics, and I'm not sure if minnesota (i think that's where smiley is) has a native species of honeysuckle that gets that big. Here in Ontario, the native species of honeysuckle only gets about waist high, the non-native gets quite large like Smiley's pic and can definitely crowd out more desirable native stuff. That's coming from someone who used to grow native plants and now removes invasives for a living!!

But it is a beautiful shrub regardless, and as long as it's kept contained there's' no reason why someone shouldn't have one on their property.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 03:45 PM
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I had a Honeysuckle vine and yes,they grow like crazy.
Mine only survived 1yr I overtrimmed it in the fall:sad: ,most trimming is better done in the spring.
I would trim it as you deadhead the flowers(very important)but I think it's beautiful just the way it is
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 04:21 PM
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According to the tag still attached to the base (I just crawled underneath it to check, LOL!), it's called a Lonicera sempervirens or a Coral Honeysuckle, so I just googled it and it is a vine. I got it a local nursery, which stocks perennials that are good for zone 4-5, which is what Minnesota is. No idea if they're native or not though! They're just apparently very hardy! Found a few links:

http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_...suckle+Vine_E_

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/honeysucklecare.html

I have four of these monsters, three are coral colored and one is pink. The pink one isn't doing as well though. But the other three are monsters! They sure do grow well, crazy!

Cool!
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 04:37 PM
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So will they attach themselves to a wire fence or would I have to tie them?
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 04:39 PM
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Oh, and can I plant them now? Or, do I have to wait until fall or next spring?
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:16 PM
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Rainbow, when I bought my house there was absolutely no fencing or landscaping, so we did it all in July. I don't know if that's the ideal planting time or not, but it worked for me at least!

Went back outside to check out my pink honeysuckle and got some cool pics, so just had to share!

Here is the name of the pink one. It's gorgeous I think! But this one isn't growing nearly as well as the coral ones are.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:17 PM
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And ohhh, had some big fuzzy bubblebees drinking the nectar today! UGH! Still watching for the hummers to come. Last year, I had some that were drawn to the honeysuckle as well.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:19 PM
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One more bee and then one of my other coral ones on the other side of the fence.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:21 PM
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Awesome pics, Steph.

Quote:
when I bought my house there was absolutely no fencing or landscaping, so we did it all in July. I don't know if that's the ideal planting time or not, but it worked for me at least!
That's great and we're in zone 4/5 too.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
So will they attach themselves to a wire fence or would I have to tie them?
On those links I was reading it sayings to tie them, but I never did with mine. So either I was lucky or they're pretty self-sufficient! Mine were only like four inches tall, you could barely see them when they were planted...looked like weeds, lol. They grew about three feet tall the first summer and then over 8-9 feet tall the second. Mine have twined themselves around my wooden fence naturally. We just planted them right next to the fence and did nothing else. They are long vine branches that weave in and out, which is hard to figure out since I really don't have gaps in the fence. I can try to get a picture to show you, but they've actually squeezed in behind the board on one side and come out the other and weaves in and out that way the whole way up. It seems to have anchored itself that way as now not all the vines are growing into the fence. I thought it would grow wider and lengthen itself, but they've only grown up and out so far, not as much width wise. That's why I was wondering if they're supposed to be pruned somehow! Weird little buggers. But they're sure pretty! One of my few plants that actually bloom continually all summer long.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:34 PM
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those honeysuckle vines are the same as what i have, in the spring I trim them down about 3 feet to prevent them from going into my eavestrough, it hasn't hurt them yet, and I love to sit and watch all the humming birds it brings,
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:38 PM
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Oh that's good to know, thank you!!!!! I've never had these before, so have been unsure what to do with them. I don't mind them the size they are right now, but if they keep growing at this rate, I'm going to need to start hacking away! LOL! Thank you!!!!
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:42 PM
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Thanks for all the information. It just dawned on me that one of my neighbours down the road has one......maybe she'd like to give me some cuttings.
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
Thanks for all the information. It just dawned on me that one of my neighbours down the road has one......maybe she'd like to give me some cuttings.
Great idea! That was mentioned in that second link, that you can make cuttings out of them!
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Old June 3rd, 2007, 05:57 PM
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I must add that I have the world's worst green thumb. Another neighbour gave me a cutting for a lilac bush but...... And, also some goutweed that is supposedly indestructible.....two cuttings in about 30 survived and then hubby dug one up when he was looking for worms to go fishing. Hopefully, I'll have better luck with the honeysuckle.
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Old June 7th, 2007, 06:25 PM
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Goutweed

I'm really glad your Goutweed didn't survive !! That is one invasion plant, I cringe when I see Garden centres offering if for sale. It should be outlawed !!
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Old June 8th, 2007, 01:55 AM
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Actually, quite a few of my neighbours have goutweed planted either as a ground cover under shrubs and trees or in "hard to plant" areas. It is not a problem if it is properly contained.
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