I WAS SHOWERING MY HONEYSUCKLES TODAY, and not with affection, exactly, but with the stiff spray of a hose-end nozzle, washing off the aphids who might otherwise deprive me and the hummingbirds of the enjoyment of these showy vines. I grow three kinds of Lonicera: two colors of the American native L. sempervirens, a reddish (above, avec aphid) and a beautiful yellow, and a rose-and-orange heckrottii hybrid called ‘Goldflame.’ Their moment is now.
I gave L. sempervirens (Zones 4-9), whose woody stems twist around the corner post on my back porch the last decade, a serious pruning last year, after it seemed to have a lot of leggy growth that was especially appealing to the aphids. It has responded really favorably: heavy bloom and stronger growth after a year of recovery.
Its far more subtle yellow-flowered cousin (above), L.s. ‘Flava’ or ‘Sulphurea,’ hasn’t really been troubled by insects here in all the years I’ve had it, and seems content to grow in part shade, not just full sun, an added blessing. If you will only have one sempervirens, maybe this should be it? (Hint, hint.)
The L. heckrottii hybrid called ‘Goldflame’ (above, Zone 5-9) has been around for years and is also sold as ‘Pink Lemonade’ and Mardi Gras’ and who knows what else (don’t get me started on the stupidity of renaming plants for “marketing” reasons). One of its parents is L. sempervirens; you can see the resemblance. Its dark pink flowers unfurl to reveal wild schoolbus-colored insides, and it is said to have a little fragrance (I don’t notice it; L. sempervirens has none, incidentally, not only to my nose but anybody’s).
All of these plants grow 10-20 feet, the books will tell you, but their stature and habit depends on how they are supported and pruned.
‘Goldflame’ seems to have more issues with the aphids for me, but this year I’ve been more careful. Try to stay ahead. The key to avoiding this:
Get them early, and often. Honeysuckle aphids overwinter as eggs and you are better off getting them before they hatch, by crushing them or pruning off and destroying the affected plant parts or spraying them with insecticidal soap if you please, perhaps weekly depending on the infestation level from the time the leaves are small and the buds are emerging onward, May here. As I said, I just use the hose, no soap, but that is just laziness. My nifty backpack sprayer lays idle in the barn.
Once the leaves have rolled up (inside these formed tubes is where adult aphids love to hide), the job of knocking them back (or off) gets harder, and the plant is also weakened by the aphids’ sucking action.
Left unchecked (or even some years in spite of care) it may even get so severe it causes witches’ brooming or extreme leaf folding, disfigurations as seen in these photographic examples. If any of these form, cut them off; again, better to go after eggs, though, than let it come to this, a manageable task if you only have a few plants to visit and shower with some attention. The hummingbirds will thank you (and so will garden visitors, like the ones who asked about my sempervirens, below, at the recent tours).
in bloom: kousas, peonies, honeysuckles, a rose 
learning to love another mum: ‘sheffield pink’ 
a must-have sedum: ‘matrona’ 
They are all lovely, but ‘Goldflame’ is my favorite! I bet they smell as lovely as they look!
in praise of honeysuckles (aphids be damned)
Now that’s the spirit! lol (love that)
Sadly, we have only one kind of honeysuckle (not an aphid in sight, though)…a native here in Tennessee that has been with us our 23 years here. There is a HUGE amount down the driveway by the road where our daughter, now 29, loved to pick as she waited for the school bus. She was rarely without a honeysuckle in her mouth if they were in bloom. Her Dad still lets it grow rampant…he doesn’t let much grow with abandon so. I suspect it occupies a soft spot in his heart.
I LOVE the red one! How best to get them climbing on a post?
You take lovely photos, btw.
I never knew Honeysuckle could be so beautiful!
Help! Aphids have attacked our just blooming peas and newly planted tomatoes. Any thoughts/suggestions for treating them on food crops? I’ve noticed them in other places in the garden this year but am particulary concerned as I can’t really prune these and don’t want to treat them with anything inedible. Thanks for the timely post, Margaret!
I think I ´ve must have been a hummingbird in previous life;) The red honeysuckle is a beauty! Is it hardy in say southern Sweden, you think?
/U
I don’t think I’ve ever seen aphids on my honeysuckle vines, but now I will have to look more closely. My neighbor’s honeysuckle bush is invading my yard – curses upon its seeds! Ditto his mulberry tree.
Welcome, Cyra. I really do suggested regular showers w/the hose to knock the aphids off. It’s hard for them to crawl all the way back up and onto the plants. I showered my honeysuckles again this morning…the daily bath. :) See you soon, I hope.
Margaret
Do you do roses? I’m lusting for the climber “EDEN” aka ‘Pierre de Ronsard’. All my usual sources are out of stock. Can you help?
@Jim: I am not a big rose grower…only 3 here, a rugosa, a ‘William Baffin’ and a Rosa rubrifolia. Nothing fancy, just durable basics. Eden is lovely; afraid I don’t know a source particularly, and I assume you have tried all the basics (as you imply). Sorry not to be able to help.
Nice plants Margaret. Love the look of L.s. ‘Flava’. Much nicer than Lonicera japonica, a ubiquitous, rampant growing weed here in Australia that redeems itself solely with a heavenly perfume.
Margaret, you have made comments on… the Aphids be damned, Trouble in Paradise, and 1 Million questions…. My question is…… How are you, and the ladies that maintain your gardens protecting yourselves from ticks that can give a person Lyme Disease????? Have you ever had lyme disease yourself, or a scare? I have heard Columbia county has a large amount of ticks.
@Dirtgirl: At first I string wire vertically on each side of the porch posts (between two eye hooks per side, on each of four sides of the post, top to bottom) and nudge the young shoots to use the wire to get going. Then the vines get so woody, you don’t need to tell it what to do…it supports itself.
@Utblickaren: Zone 4 hardiness is -30 to -20°F (or -34 to -29°C, I think that’s the conversion) so how cold so you get there?
@Justin: Death to the Japanese honeysuckle!!!!! (Though yes, quite sweet scented.)
@Fred: I do a very careful tick check each time I come in from gardening, and remove any embedded ticks with a Tick Twister. I have had several embedded over the years, but none so far this year. I have not had Lyme yet, which I attribute to my very vigilant approach to after-gardening checks…changing clothes, showering, checking, etc.
Can you write about honeysuckle that doesn’t flower? I don’t have any aphid problems but my HS hasn’t flowered since the 2nd year or so that I planted it. It is in partial shade,but I have seen HS in partial shade blooming up a storm. A clematis growing on the same wall is a mass of bloom every year. I thought HS would be a no-work kind of vine, but it’s just a big green mass (OK, but I would like the scent in my garden).
I used to have a heckrottii that was fragrant at dawn and at dusk, not during the day. Maybe it was fragrant all night. I don’t know. My staying up all night days are long gone.
Hi Margaret,
I was hoping to cover one part of my garden fence with Honeysuckle, though I’ve never grown it before (I’m a California transplant to Long Island that is still learning the ropes). Given this new info about aphids, do you think growing it close to the garden is a recipe for disaster?
Also, regarding Lyme disease. Both myself and 2 friends recently came down with it in the past year! I never saw the tick, the bad ones, deer ticks, are so small that they are easily missed. Out here in Amagansett, I recommend testing early in the spring and again in the fall for the antibodies. If you catch it early enough, it’s not a big problem, which fortunately I did.
Thanks for the info! I have my honeysuckle planted far from my house because it attracts so many wasps and bees! Beautiful photos