skip to main content

Hummingbird Garden

Aphids infesting Lonicera sempervirens

12 years ago

My Lonicera sempervirens is heavily infested with blue-grey aphids. They're mostly on the flower buds. The same ones appeared last year in the same way. Since the Honeysuckle is about to bloom I hate to see that spoiled. I've doused it with Safer Insecticidal Soap. I think that will have an effect, I don't plan to use the stronger stuff unless I have to.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

hummersteve
12 years ago
Yes they hit my honeysuckle every year. If you can get to them early before they get a big hold on the vine it will help. You can take a hose and blast some of them off but I also use a product called neem oil. It is an oil that smothers them and does other things to them . They dont die right away but they forget to eat and breed . They also like to hide in the closed cluster leaves.

Heres another story. A few years ago I had salvia subrotunda that was infested with aphids and it was a pathetic looking thing hanging all limp. When I went to pull it out of ground I saw this ladybug on it, so I decided to leave alone for a few days and each day I would go out and watch her work. I had heard people say what this bug can do. She was one busy bug over and under each leaf. Anyway that plant turned out to be the largest and healthiest plant in my garden.
dave_k_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks hummersteve,

I'll look into the neem oil. As for hosing them, it's so early I haven't even taken the garden hose out of the garage.
Related Discussions
Vines in your garden
Q
Comments (31)
Renee - I LOVE Bridalwreath spirea and have three of them. I generally like things that have big, abundant displays of flowers - like the wisteria... Thyme - Yes, the wisteria was trained as a tree and I'm currently training a young Japanese wisteria to be a tree. The Chinese one has a trunk that splits in two just above the graft union so there are two poles that supported it when it was young. The Japanese one just has one pole. During the growing season, pruning is sometimes a daily task! And you have to be vigilant about root suckers - they need to be removed as soon as they appear. Also all seed pods are removed in late fall after the leaves drop and you can see the seedpods. I did a germination test one year and about 25% of the seeds germinated, so I remove the pods to prevent seedlings appearing. There are very detailed 'rules' for pruning wisteria - but I ignore them! What works for me is that everytime it puts out long whippy new growth, I cut it back to where I want the tree to grow - usually cut it back to 6-12" from the point of origin. One thing I have learned is that when I do that, about 10-14 days later, it produces a flower at that location! So the Chinese wisteria blooms all summer! Not profusely but it's nice to have it in bloom. It took about 5 years for it to produce its first big spring display but it did the summer bloom after pruning from the second year in the ground, so I knew it would eventually do a big bloom - May frosts sometimes prevents a spring bloom. We have long arm pruners to make it easy to prune the top of the tree. We'll likely keep it to the size it is now. This picture shows both wisteria trees. The Japanese one is what is on the pole at the near end of the bed. This is a pichure from a couple of years ago that shows the summer bloom - this is July 18 2007:
...See More
I swear, my money goes in 1 pocket and out the other, LOL.
Q
Comments (7)
No aphids on my honeysuckle yet, just my mums. Last year I had LOTS of ladybugs and had aphids on a few things around the yard but they seemed to be disappearing without any help from me, then late in the season, I started seeing more aphids and less ladybugs. I don't remember seeing aphids on my honeysuckle though. There were probably some at least. They were worst on my swamp milkweed and it hasn't come back this year. I haven't seen any ladybugs yet this year so I may be in trouble. I hope it's just too early. It doesn't seem to be necessary to get rid of ALL the aphids. Most plants can handle quite a few without suffering much. My swamp milkweed was coated with them though and I was just ignoring it because I assumed the ladybugs would eventually come along and feast. It was hot and dry at the same time and that was hard on it too. Lesson learned. : (
...See More
Honeysuckle woes
Q
Comments (4)
They aren't ALL particularly mildewy, anymore than roses or magnolias, and like those other two not all specimens of susceptible types will be heavily infested every year. Plants vary, just as we do. You have to know how to read lists of pests and diseases given for plants in manuals and encyclopedias. Would you buy a pet after reading a list of the problems it might potentially have? It is no more if A then B with plants than with animals - or people. Even with locally pervasive problems, such as bamboo mites or rhododendron mildew, not every specimen you see is a martyr to them.
...See More
OT Anybody here knows their honeysuckles?
Q
Comments (17)
Nik, I am a bit of a honeysuckle sucker, I must admit. My Dallas TX grandparents grew the potentially invasive L. japonica Halliana over an arch, but I don't believe it ever had an opportunity to sneak into green spaces since the berries and runners were kept in check. Unmaintained Halliana or Halliana grown near wild areas in the southern US could star in a horror movie where it presents as sweetly seductive until it eats your garage, your home and your family and then snakes across the countryside devouring everything in its path, especially native species and wildlife habitat. In my opinion, this is hands down THE most fragrant honeysuckle ever except for L. fragrantissima. As others on the forum, I adore L. periclymenum. I have a mother plant of Serotina and two rooted descendants. The mother intertwines a large Blush Noisette. Summer evenings are heaven when the breeze carries the aroma across my porch! In my garden, Serotina is healthy, fragrant and beautiful. It has a wonderful habit when pruned each year. If it grows well in your area, I highly recommend it. I have seen and smelled espaliers of L. fragrantissima. I plan to try patiently training one someday. I can't even begin to describe the intoxicating aroma...in winter. It renders me speechless. L. japonica grows well here. Of course, Portland has a nigh perfect climate for plants labeled "japonica". The Purpurea variety has lovely burgundy tinged leaves, and I would have to actually scaffold its misbehavior for it to become a malevolent force in my city garden. Your climate is so different that my remarks about L. japonica's nature are probably only mildly helpful, but it sounds like this adaptive plant has made itself at home in Greece, too. L. japonica Purpurea is fragrant in the evening, but to my nose, much less so than L. periclymenum Serotina. I believe that Lonicera x tellmanniana is celebrated for its shade tolerance. It is brightly colored but not very fragrant to my nose. Hummingbirds seem to enjoy it as much as any other honeysuckle. I find the plant itself, like japonica, a bit untidier than periclymenums. Carol
...See More
hammom
11 years ago
I had aphides real bad a couple of years ago on my rose of sharon and I bought a bag of like 500 or so lady bugs, let my kids release them at the bottom of the plant...the aphids were gone in a couple of weeks and my kids really enjoyed it. The nursery where I bought them said the lady bug larvae eat more aphids than the full grown lady bugs.
perennialfan273
11 years ago
Hey Dave check out the site I have listed below. It has recipes for natural methods of controlling insects. I had a problem with aphids last year so I used the orange peel spray recipe on their site. Within a week or so, they were gone. Insecticidal soap is better, but it's not 100% safe for birds. However, I can honestly say that a little bit of orange peel isn't going to hurt anything (except maybe the insects!).

ghorganics.com
dave_k_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Two applications of insecticidal soap and one of homemade citrus spray seem to have destroyed all aphids. The vine looks a bit shabby but nevertheless the first bloom is coming along fine...
dave_k_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
After a resurgence of aphids on almost every cluster, I cut the vine back to a few inches. Lots of growing season left......
hummersteve
11 years ago
Early this year in march when we had all this summer like weather my goldflame was infested badly with aphids. So knowing we had plenty of season left I cut it back and removed every leaf on it not taking a chance of any hidden eggs. Now it has leafed beautifully and clusters are starting to open and I havent found a single evidence of aphids. This method is not 100% sometimes they can re infest but this time it seems to have worked.
dave_k_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
The Lonicera sempervirens is making a comeback. Good thing, because it hides my ugly gas meter!
dave_k_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, the vine grew back OK, but no blooms. Looking forward to next year.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Lonicera Sempervirens

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

Grow this long-blooming, flashy flowering vine to cover a fence or arbor and attract hordes of hummingbirds all season long

GARDENING GUIDES Attract Hummingbirds and Bees With These Beautiful Summer Flowers

By Annie Thornton

Roll out a welcome mat for pollinators to keep your landscape in balance and thriving

GARDENING GUIDES Top 10 Native Plants for the Northeast

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

For a low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly landscape, use native plants adapted to the climate and range of soils in the Northeast

LANDSCAPE DESIGN See 5 Unexpected Ways to Use Vines

By Falon Mihalic

Vines can grow over slopes, trail off pergolas and add seasonal color to the garden

Sponsored

RTS Home Solutions

3 Reviews

BIA of Central Ohio Award Winning Contractor

More Discussions

Do you see what I see?

1