A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Honeysuckle Question

OK, I am new here, real excited I found this place. Here is my question... I bought my house last Feb and there was honeysuckle growing. The honeysuckle really didn't bloom much last year. I thought most of it had died. I just had the thought of prunning it. Is it too late to do so and how low should I prune it. I am sorry, I have no idea what kind of honeysuckle it is, but it is the climbing version not the shrub. TIA

Rebekah

hey rebekah welcome to the garden helper. i don't have your answer, but wanted to say hi! i am sure that someone will be along soon who will.

Rebekah, that's my daughters name!!

Climing honeysuckle can be pruned anytime it is too large for the area or early spring before leafing out to control growth. The dead stuff can be pruned out anytime. It flowers on new growth but usually doesn't flower before it gets to be 4 years old.

Thanks for the advise. I'll see what I can do to make my honeysuckle look good.

I use to work and a place where I had to wear a name tag. I always us to get comments on my name and why "I" decided to spell it that way. Like I had a choice in the matter, my mother is the one that named me. I have found so few Rebekah's that when I do I make a point to say "oh, that's my name".

Rebekah

My daughter gets upset because she can never find her spelling on all those things that have preprinted names, but she does like having an unusual name.

I know how your daughter feels about those pre-printed items... I could never find my name spelled "my" way either - most people don't spell it with an "e" at the end, though I am meeting more people lately...

when I was in grade school the teachers all INSISTED that my REAL name must be LINDA because "no one spells LYNNE with an E" - I had to fight them all the time about it - SHEESH!

Oh, My favorite is when people have trouble pronouncing my name!

A Honeysuckle that won't bloom is a rarity for sure. So let me ask....are there any trees shading it from the sun? Does it appear to have any insects chewing away at it? Is the soil it grows in wet/dry/compacted/etc? How are the other plants, shrubs in that area coping? Based on your answewrs....I might be able to make a guess as to what the trouble is hon.

Early varieties bloom on last year's growth, so prune these immediately after flowering. Cutting back hard will encourage rapid growth.

Barbi....I have a climber and it is already sprouting new leaves. Should I still prune it back? The calendar on this site says to prune it to 3 feet in March. Should I prune the branches with the new leaves on it?

Funny this question is here...it's the one I was going to post here today.