Honeysuckle vine as ground cover

minnesota_girl · Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:47 pm

Hi, I wasn't really sure where to post this but a honeysuckle is a perennial so I posted it here but I am sure there was a better place. I want one but I don't have anything for it to climb. I heard it can be used as a ground cover too, but would it cover too much ground?

Kisal · Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:32 am

How much ground the honeysuckle will cover will depend in part what type you plant. Japanese honeysuckle is a rampant grower, and needs a lot of space, or it will take over. OTOH, I have a very slow-growing honeysuckle. I'm not positive anymore, but I think it's "wilsonii," or something similar. The flowers are magenta and yellow. It's very pretty, and 6 years later, I'm still waiting for it to reach the top of the arbor it's climbing on! Who knows how long it will take the 2 plants to actually meet in the middle of the top of the arbor!

minnesota_girl · Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:29 pm

Thanks, Kisal I saw one with variagated leaves and white blooms do you know what this one was, though I probably won't get this one I didn't trust the source. It was from a catalog I had ordered from and didn't like the quality of the products.

Kisal · Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:03 am

I just Googled variegated honeysuckle, and the only variety that came up was one called "Harlequin." It's said to be a slow grower and easy to contain, and can even be pruned into a small bush. Sounds like a very attractive plant.

minnesota_girl · Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:40 pm

That does sound great! I'll start asking around, I'll find one eventually.

hendi_alex · Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:49 pm

I have a few clumps of red honeysuckle which tends to be a very managable vine. Also both the flowers and fruit are quite showy and provide color all summer long.

This photo was taken August 2nd on a two year old plant that is about 8 feet tall and is confined to a support and a small shrub.

[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2723757628_e806962426.jpg[/img]

minnesota_girl · Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:05 pm

Your honeysuckle looks great. I have heard that honeysuckle can become invasive, but I haven't ever had any trouble with mine. I haven't ever tried to trim one into a flowering shrub, so I really am not sure where to start. The harliquin honeysuckle is supposed to be slow growing and easy to train into a shrub. I think I will give it a shot but I don't know. The only harliquin I found is really small and if it is slowing it will be a while before it's as big as I want it.