Honeysuckle Vines: How to Grow Them and Avoid the Invasive One

Honeysuckle is a fast, fragrant twining vine, and the first thing to settle is which honeysuckle you are planting. Illinois Extension describes honeysuckle vines as vigorous, twining vines growing 10 to 20 feet tall, listed for zones 3 to 8, with fragrant flowers in June and July that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. But NC State says Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is an invasive species, and Illinois Extension says not to plant it and to choose natives or interspecific hybrids instead.

USDA zones

3–8

Sun

Full sun preferred; tolerates shade

Origin

Asia

Size

10–20 ft tall, twining (Illinois Extension)

Zones

3–8 (Illinois Extension)

Bloom time

Fragrant flowers, June–July

Pruning

Heavy pruning in late winter

Japanese honeysuckle

Invasive; do not plant (NC State, Illinois)

Japanese honeysuckle is the one to avoid

If you inherited a honeysuckle with a tangled, rampant habit, check what it is before you decide whether to keep it. The sources do not recommend growing Japanese honeysuckle, and say to replace it with a native or an interspecific hybrid.

Penn State Extension adds that the invasive honeysuckles were introduced from Asia, mostly China and Japan, and that the nutritional value of invasive shrub honeysuckle fruit is far lower than that of native plants. Its note on fruit is about the shrub honeysuckles, which are a separate group from the vines, but the native-or-invasive question is the same.

How to tell Japanese honeysuckle from a native

Illinois Extension gives two clues you can check on any vine with flowers or berries.

Penn State Extension gives a second test for the shrub honeysuckles. Native species do not have a hollow stem pith, as they are all solid, while the stems of all species in the invasive complex have a hollow center. Cut a small twig and look at the middle.

Illinois Extension adds that on the native types the leaves just below the flowers are fused or united to form a collar around the stem. If your vine has flowers in the leaf axils and purple-black berries, it matches the Japanese description.

A native vine to plant instead

Penn State Extension says there are three very nice vining species that would be welcome additions to gardens across Pennsylvania, one native, one naturalized and one non-native but not invasive. For a native vine, NC State describes trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), which is native to the Southeast. It grows in medium-moisture, well-drained, neutral to acidic soil in full sun, and it will grow in some shade, but NC State says best flowering is in full sun.

Sun and growing conditions

Pruning

Illinois Extension says all honeysuckles benefit from heavy pruning in late winter. The goal is to keep them from becoming overgrown and tangled, and to maintain their foliage and flowering quality. Pruning is also the main way to keep a vigorous vine within its space.

NC State gives different timing for trumpet honeysuckle. It says the plant flowers on new growth, so avoid pruning until after flowering. The two sources are not describing the same plants, and Illinois Extension is writing about honeysuckles as a group. If you are unsure which one you have, wait until the vine has flowered before a hard cut. Our honeysuckle pruning guide compares the sources type by type.

Propagating honeysuckle

NC State Plant Toolbox lists layering, seed and stem cuttings as propagation strategies for trumpet honeysuckle. Layering means rooting a stem while it is still attached to the parent plant. Confirm that a vine is not Japanese honeysuckle before you propagate it.

Honeysuckle and its relatives

For other fragrant climbers, jasmine is the warm-wall option, with a clear note on which “jasmine” is a true jasmine. Clematis and wisteria are the section’s other classic trellis plants. Wisteria raises the same native-or-invasive question, since NC State treats the Asian wisterias as invasive and American wisteria as the less aggressive choice.