Hi, new to the forum here. I have these bushes growing wild along the back of my back yard, and was trying to find out what kind of bushes these are, and if the berries are edible. Lets see if I can figure out how to post a picture...
[img]https://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/dmharris15/berries.jpg[/img]
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rainbowgardener
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Yup... Japanese honeysuckle bush. Invasive exotic PEST that has taken over the world where I live. And no the berries aren't edible, even the birds don't like them. Plant is useless!
It out competes everything else partly because it is the first thing to get leaves in the spring and the last thing to lose them in the fall.
It out competes everything else partly because it is the first thing to get leaves in the spring and the last thing to lose them in the fall.
The birds around my area love the berries, which is, of course, one of the means by which honeysuckle is able to spread so rapidly to new areas.
Fortunately, whatever kind of honeysuckle it is that I have, it sure grows slowly! It has maroon-red flowers, and after 5 years, it has finally reached the top of the arbor! It hasn't spread anywhere else in my yard, either. (I hope it doesn't take another 5 years for the vines to grow across the top of the arbor.
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Fortunately, whatever kind of honeysuckle it is that I have, it sure grows slowly! It has maroon-red flowers, and after 5 years, it has finally reached the top of the arbor! It hasn't spread anywhere else in my yard, either. (I hope it doesn't take another 5 years for the vines to grow across the top of the arbor.
)I think that's up to you. Although honeysuckle certainly is listed as an invasive species, my grandmother, who lived in a small Illinois town about 50 miles east of St. Louis, had a lovely large specimen of it on the south end of her front porch. For all the 10 years I lived there, it stayed put. I helped her keep up the yard, and don't recall having to rip out honeysuckle every time I turned around. We did prune it back every year, though.
That's the same experience I've had with the two vines I have now. So, if your honeysuckle isn't causing you trouble, and you like it, I don't see why you'd have to tear it out. I admit my opinion on the subject is not shared by the majority, though.
I don't think it would interfere with growing edible berries, unless you planted the berries very close to the honeysuckle. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]
That's the same experience I've had with the two vines I have now. So, if your honeysuckle isn't causing you trouble, and you like it, I don't see why you'd have to tear it out. I admit my opinion on the subject is not shared by the majority, though.
I don't think it would interfere with growing edible berries, unless you planted the berries very close to the honeysuckle. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]
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rainbowgardener
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Kisal... it sounds like you are talking about honeysuckle vine... DMHarris has the honeysuckle shrub. They are all Lonicera's but different.
The honeysuckle shrub is quite fast growing and it both gets bigger and bigger (both wider and taller) from the roots, sends up new baby shoots a distance from the original and spreads by seed.
The birds don't eat these berries because they are somewhat toxic. I would get rid of these bushes as I am working on doing on my property...
Good choices for edible berries would be service berry and viburnum.
The honeysuckle shrub is quite fast growing and it both gets bigger and bigger (both wider and taller) from the roots, sends up new baby shoots a distance from the original and spreads by seed.
The birds don't eat these berries because they are somewhat toxic. I would get rid of these bushes as I am working on doing on my property...
Good choices for edible berries would be service berry and viburnum.
Cool thanks for all the replies! I will look into those options. I suppose considering the time of the year, I would be best off ripping up the honeysuckle in the winter, and planting new bushes in the spring? I'm not really sure how to go about doing that yet, but I'm guessing if I spend the next several months reading posts on this forum I'll know everything I need to know 
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Gnome
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Diane,Diane wrote:Norm, I don't know if my mulberry is red or white. How old are they when they start to make berries? My tree is 3 years old and about 9 feet tall.
I don't know how old my bush is but it has been there for some time and fruits reliably. By the time I started paying attention to it it was already fruiting. My brother, however, has some that don't fruit. We looked it up and apparently these plants can either have separate males and females or have both sexes on the same bush. Obviously if you have a lone plant of the dioecious (either male or female) variety it will not fruit unless there is another complimentary plant nearby.
Norm
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applestar
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Actually, fall is a good time to plant many shrubs/trees because they'll have chance to grow a good root system before the full freeze sets in and you'll get a head start compared to waiting until spring.
Last year, I planted container grown Juneberries/service berries, raspberries, and blueberries around this time of the year, some cranberry cuttings in October, bareroot blackberries around November, and bareroot strawberry plants in early/mid March as they were shipped/delivered. I also have elderberries and mulberries that were planted some years ago. I can't grow gooseberries or currants because of the alternate host for white pine blister rust thing (I live near the Pine Barrens), but I really want to get the American cranberrybush (a type of viburnum).
What to plant will depend on suitable growing conditions you have available, but if you want to grow useful edible plants and the useless plants are in the way, they gotta go.
Last year, I planted container grown Juneberries/service berries, raspberries, and blueberries around this time of the year, some cranberry cuttings in October, bareroot blackberries around November, and bareroot strawberry plants in early/mid March as they were shipped/delivered. I also have elderberries and mulberries that were planted some years ago. I can't grow gooseberries or currants because of the alternate host for white pine blister rust thing (I live near the Pine Barrens), but I really want to get the American cranberrybush (a type of viburnum).
What to plant will depend on suitable growing conditions you have available, but if you want to grow useful edible plants and the useless plants are in the way, they gotta go.
quote]
Diane,
My brother, however, has some that don't fruit. We looked it up and apparently these plants can either have separate males and females or have both sexes on the same bush. Obviously if you have a lone plant of the dioecious (either male or female) variety it will not fruit unless there is another complimentary plant nearby.
Norm[/quote]
I haven't seen a fruiting Mulberry tree in my neighborhood. So maybe that's what I have. Who knows how far away this mother tree is. Birds love my yard and leave behind all kinds of seeds.
Diane,
My brother, however, has some that don't fruit. We looked it up and apparently these plants can either have separate males and females or have both sexes on the same bush. Obviously if you have a lone plant of the dioecious (either male or female) variety it will not fruit unless there is another complimentary plant nearby.
Norm[/quote]
I haven't seen a fruiting Mulberry tree in my neighborhood. So maybe that's what I have. Who knows how far away this mother tree is. Birds love my yard and leave behind all kinds of seeds.