Honeysuckles (Lonicera) are arching shrubs or twining vines in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliacea, that also includes scabiosa, weigela, and abelia. They are native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa where they are found in a variety of habitats including woodlands, pastures and disturbed areas. The plants grow up to 20′ tall an have fibrous stems that carry oval to egg-shaped leaves that are .4-4″ long, have smooth margins, and may be deciduous or evergreen . The tubular or trumpet-shaped flowers appear in clusters or pairs in early summer, and are often fragrant and two-lipped. They come in a variety of color including white, pink, red or a combination of colors. The flowers of many are attractive to pollinators including butterflies and hummingbirds and the red, blue, or black berries that follow are often attractive to birds but may be poisonous to humans. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Honeysuckles like full sun (but some tolerate some shade), and average, moderately moist, well-drained soil in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9 depending on the species. Plants are generally healthy but are susceptible to damage by aphids, spider mites, and powdery mildew. Propagation is by layering or stem cuttings.
The genus name Lonicera honors Adam Lonicer October 1528- May 1586), a Renaissance German botanist.
The environmental conditions of the Midwest have resulted in at least 10 species of native honeysuckle but they may be native to other areas of the U.S. too. The honeysuckles described here are native to at least one of the states in the Midwest.
American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
his straggly open shrub has thin leaves that are narrowly ovate to elliptical, 1-3.5″ long, and have fine hairs on their margins. Bell- or tubular-shaped flower hang downward in pairs on 1″ long stalks from the branch tips and leaf axils in late spring. The flowers are two-lipped, 1/2-3/4″ long, white or pale yellow sometimes tinged with purple. They give way to reddish orange berries in widely divergent pairs. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators including bumblebees.
Alternate Name/s: Canadian fly honeysuckle
Native Range: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio as well as area in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and New England
Habitat: Dry to moist upland woods, forests, wetlands
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Height: 2-6′
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Bloom Color: White to yellow, sometimes tinged with purple
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulae)
With multi-branched stems, this deciduous shrub has elliptic to ovate green leaves that are 2-3″ long and have wavy margins. In early spring to early summer pairs of tubular, two-lipped, pale yellowish-white flowers appear that are 5/8″ long and give way to edible, deep blue fruits in early summer.
Alternate Name/s: Blue honeysuckle, sweetberry honeysuckle, and haskap
Native Range: Minnesota as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area and Pacific Coast
Habitat: Mountains, coast
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Size: 4-6′ H x 4-6′ W
Bloom Time: Early spring to early summer
Bloom Color: Yellowish white
Light: Partial shade to full sun (with afternoon shade in hot climates)
Soil: Organically-rich, consistently moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-7
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Limber Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica)
This vine-like shrub has arching and twining branches that crawl over neighboring vegetation. The leaves are 1-3″ long, elliptical lanceolate or bovate, and the uppermost pairs are fused around the stem at their base. Clusters of red, two-lipped, tubular flowers are arranged in whorls at the tips of the branches. Each flower is 1/2-1″ long, has yellow stamens, and gives rise to a small round to oval, red to orange berry. The flowers are attractive hummingbirds and the berries are eaten by birds.
Alternate Name/s: Glaucous honeysuckle, mountain honeysuckle, red honeysuckle, smooth-leaved honeysuckle, twining honeysuckle
Native Range: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and New England
Habitat: Thickets, outcrops, boggy areas, rocky slopes, woods
Type: Deciduous perennial vine-like shrub
Height: 2-10
Bloom Time: Spring
Bloom Color: Red
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, medium most, well-drained; tolerates occasional dry soil and occasional wet soil
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-5
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava)
This woody vine may crawl along the ground, form a small shrub, or climb a sturdy structure. The leaves are elliptical, 3-5″ long, and the uppermost pair is fused around the stem at the base. The yellow to orange flowers appear in whorls at the end of the stems in mid to late spring. Each flower is tubular, two-lipped, 1.25″ long, and gives way to small orange-red berries. The flowers attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators and the berries attract birds.
Alternate Name/s: None
Native Range: Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, and Southeast
Habitat: Woodlands and forests, margins of streams and rivers
Type: Deciduous perennial woody vine
Height: 10-20′
Bloom Time: Mid to late spring
Bloom Color: Yellow, orange
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, medium, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Hairy Honeysuckle (Lonicera hirsuta)
The hairy, glandular stems of this twining, climbing vine carry deciduous, hairy elliptical to oval leaves 2-5″ long. The upper most pair or two are fused around the stem to form a disc. Clusters of 1-5 whorls of yellow to red, tubular, two-lipped flowers appear in summer on the terminal disc of leaves. Each flower is 1/2-1″ long, glandular-hairy, and has prominent stamens and style. Flowers are attractive to bumblebees and other pollinators.
Alternate Name/s: None
Native Range: Minnesota Wisconsin, Michigan as well as other places in the Mid-Atlantic and New England
Habitat: Woodland edges, forest clearings, thickets, stream banks
Type: Deciduous, perennial vine
Height: 3-16′
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Yellow, orange, red
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained, neutral to alkaline
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-6
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)
The elliptic to oval-shaped leaves are 1–5 1/2″ long, have hairy margins and undersides, and tips that that narrow sharply to a point. Pairs of tubular, two-lipped flowers appear from early to mid summer. Each flower is 1″ long, yellow and surrounded by green bracts that turn orange to red as the fruits ripen. The fruit that follows is a small black berry. The flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators while the fruits provide food for birds, small mammals and bears.
Alternate Name/s: Bearberry honeysuckle, bracted honeysuckle, twinberry honeysuckle, Californian Honeysuckle, black twinberry, inkberry honeysuckle
Native Range: Michigan and Wisconsin as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area, Pacific Coast, and Southwest
Habitat: Moist, wooded areas, clearings and on the edges of wetlands
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Height: 3-10′
Bloom Time: Early to mid summer
Bloom Color: Yellow
Light: Full sun to partial shade; shade tolerant
Soil: Average, consistently moist, well-drained soil
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-10
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Swamp Honeysuckle (Lonicera oblongifolia)
Sprawling stems carry oblong to elliptic leaves that are 1 – 3 ½” long. Pairs of creamy white to pale yellow flowers . The flowers are ½ to ¾ ” long, two lipped and have a narrow tube. The fruit is a red berry.
Alternate Name/s: Swamp fly honeysuckle
Native Range: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio as well as places in the Mid-Atlantic and New England
Habitat: Wetlands
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Height: 1-6′
Bloom Time: Late spring to mid summer
Bloom Color: Creamy white to pale yellow
Light: Part shade to shade
Soil: Average, moist to wet, alkaline
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-? (prefers cool weather)
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Grape Honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata)
Twining stems carry oval to round leaves 1½ to 3½” long. The upper most 1-2 pair of leaves are fused into a disc like structure that is a grayish-green or blue color. One to two clusters of of flowers appear in whorls of 2-6 above the terminal leaf disc in late spring to early summer. Each flower is pale yellow aging to pink, fragrant, ¾–1″ long, tubular, slender, and two-lipped with stamens protruding beyond the corolla. The fruits that follow are red and form a cluster resembling a small bunch of grapes. The flowers attract hummingbirds and the berries attract birds and small mammals.
Alternate Name/s: None
Native Range: Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio as well as places in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic
Habitat: Woodlands, savannas, thickets
Type: Deciduous, perennial, woody vine
Height: 10-15′
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Bloom Color: Pale yellow to orange-yellow
Light: Full sun to part sun
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8 ?
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
This semievergreen twining climber has bluish green leaves that oval and 1-3″ long. The upper pair of leaves are fused into a disc. From mid spring to early summer, whorled clusters of non-fragrant flowers appear above the leaf disc. The narrow tubular flowers are 1/2 to 2″ long, two lipped, and red with a yellow throat. The fruit that follows is an inedible red berry. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators and the berries are attractive to birds. Plants are salt tolerant and so a good choice for coastal gardens.
Alternate Name/s: Coral honeysuckle, scarlet honeysuckle
Native Range: Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio as well as places in the Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and New England
Habitat: Forest edges, woodlands
Type: Semievergreen, perennial woody vine
Height: 8-20′
Bloom Time: Mid spring to early summer
Bloom Color: Red, yellow
Light: Full sun
Soil: Organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Mountain Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera villosa)
This small shrub has erect stems carrying elliptical leaves that are ¾ to 2½” long and often have a reddish cast early in the season. Pairs of hanging flowers appear from the leaf axils near the stem tips from late spring to early summer. The flowers are 1/3 to ½ long, tubular, two lipped, and creamy white to yellow. Five yellow stamens and a long, slender style emerge beyond the corolla. The fruit that follows is a bluish-black berry.
Alternate Name/s: None
Native Range: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio as well as places in the Mid-Atlantic and New England
Habitat: Woods, thickets, swamps, bogs, wetland margins
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Height: 1-5′
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Bloom Color: Pale yellow to cream
Light: Dappled shade
Soil: Average, moist to wet
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8
Photo Credit: INaturalist
The Midwest includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The area features lakes, mountains, and vast fertile plains that are the “bread basket” of the nation. The climate of the Midwest has great variations in temperatures with hot humid temperature averaging 85-95 F in summer and winter temperatures often falling below 0 F. Precipitation comes in the form of both rain and snow and varies from 43.6″/year to 18.8″/year.