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 and 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 New England have resulted in at least 6 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 two of the states in the New England.
American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
This 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 hand downward in pairs from 1″ long stalks at the tips and from the 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: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut as well as area in the Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic.
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
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: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic.
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
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: Connecticut and Vermont as well as places in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
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
Swamp Honeysuckle (Lonicera oblongifolia)
Sprawling stems carry oblong to elliptic leaves that are 1 – 3 ½” long. Pairs of creamy white to pale yellow, fragrant flowers appear in spring to mid summer. 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: Vermont and Maine as well as places in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
Habitat: Wetlands
Type: Deciduous perennial shrub
Height: 1-6′
Bloom Time: 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
Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
This semievergreen twining climber has bluish green leaves that are 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: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut as well as places in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic
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: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut as well as places in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
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 New England area includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The area has four distinct seasons and offers diverse geography with rivers, lakes, forests, mountains, and coast lines on both the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. The winters are long, cold, and heavy snow is common from December to February. Summer is short with temperatures between 80 and 85 F. Precipitation averages about 45″ as rain and 60-90″ as snow.