| I would like to find a honeysuckle that would winter well in southeast Alaska. We have alot of snow fall and the temp. gets below 0, but doesn't stay there long. I have heard of Russian Honeysuckle but have not seen it in any catalogs. |
| You are in zone 6, with average annual minimum temperatures of -10 to 0 degrees F. In a database search, I couldn't find a listing for a Russian honeysuckle, which points out the problem of common names that vary so much around the country. Here are a few possibilities that are rated for your temperatures, although I don't have firsthand knowledge that they will grow in Alaska. Lonicera (honeysuckle) brownii. Climbs to 9-10 feet. Bluish-green leaves and scarlet tubular flowers from early summer to frost. L. fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle). Deciduous shrub. Creamy white flowers fragrant, but not showy. L. sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle). Twining vine. Orange-yellow to scarlet flowers in late spring into summer. I hope one of these will work for you! |
| I realize that the original question is very old, but thought someone else may want some information. My Daddy planted two Honeysuckle trees in very different areas of his yard; one gets full sun almost all day and the other gets half sun. One looks like a tree and one was growing with a Clematis vine and so it's all over the place. These crazy trees are still going strong after 25+ years, with no attention paid to them for ages; just left to grow and do their thing. Now that my parents are gone and I'm caring for them here's what I've learned and know, and what I recall from watching him: 1) I do not know what kind these are but they grow like crazy up here! I'm certain my Dad got them at a local greenhouse and they are rated for our zine. I'm in Anchorage, AK by Westchester Lagoon. 2) You must watch pruning and growth or they will end up growing crazy and everywhere (at one point, my Dad had one all tied up with Bungee cords - the one that looks like a tree). Then half the tree looks "dead" and blooms on the ends; 3) Apparently the more you ignore them, the better they go... seriously. The one that was tangled in the Clematis had literally not been touched in years except to prune it back into submission and out of the neighbors yard; 3) When the branches and trunks are wet you can tie them up to change the growth path and kind of reshape it, if you don't want to cut it back; 4) These just keep on going and going, year after year, with literally no attention. But, that being written, they will take over and take the path of least resistance and just keep going if you don't cut them back and "shape" them; 5) The wood is really weird. It's easier to cut when alive and green, once it's dried out, it's hard as heck! 6) They really are beautiful and so easy to maintain if you do pay attention to them, and they grow fairly quickly as well. They are a beautiful, flowering addition to any yard and so easy to maintain and care for! Or not, as the case may be lol BUT, BEWARE and FOREWARNED, the Honeysuckle will totally take over if you just "let it go," it will find a way around whatever you plant it next to and grow every which way, or, if planted alone and not pruned or not pruned properly, it will get huge and leggy; only blooming at the outer most areas and the inside will appear dead and actually be dead in places. So if you want one, and want it to look nice all the time, you've got to cut it back and train it. Hope this helps if anyone else is asking the same questions about a Honeysuckle! |
