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Climbing honeysuckle recommendations ?

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I have a pergola on which I would like a climbing flowering vine. I have a sweet autumn clematis already. I will buy another clematis this fall or spring. But for the largest central area I am considering a climbing honey honeysuckle.

Height of the pergola is 7 1/2 feet right above where the vine will be planted. Then it slopes up to about 10 feet at the highest part. Support for the vine is a vertical wood lattice til it reaches the top, the actual overhead portion of the pergola.

The sweet autumn clematis does not flower til it’s over the top. Therefore I don’t get to see any flowers (unless looking out from a second story window), as they are all overhead. Not what I had in mind!

Therefore for this new vine I want something that will flower lower down, when it is still on the latticework.

I have to consider also what might go with typical clematis colors, as how the colors go together will matter. Unless they bloom at different times? There seem to be fewer options for the honeysuckle, so I will choose that first.

Plant fall or spring?

My favorite nursery 100 miles away offers 8 kinds of Lonicera (Dropmore Scarlet, Gold Flame, Halliana, Harlequin, John Clayton, Major Wheeler, Mandarin, Serotina), and over 60 different clematis. I don’t know if I will be that way this fall. Or what they might have on hand in fall. Otherwise, spring.

But if fall planting is okay, I will keep my eyes open at a local $$ nursery this fall when they have their October close-out sale.

I prefer not bright orange or bright yellow: that wouldn’t go with anything else in the yard. Fragrance is not a priority: color and height are.

Thanks for your suggestions!

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Comments (5)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years ago
You've already gotten my suggestion - Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler', but another honeysuckle on my list of interesting plants and not invasive in the "seeds into wild areas" sense is Mandarin honeysuckle, which though it is a gold-orange, is stunning in bloom and has deep purple early foliage. I just need to find a spot to plant it.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
I think your Major Wheeler is stunning! Do you think it will get tall enough in this situation, though? I realize yours is on an obelisk, and maybe if it can reach higher, it will.

What shade of red is it? I know pics are not always true to color. A cool red or a warm, more orangey one? A cool red might be easier to coordinate.
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Mine isn't orangy; the photo I posted is true to color on my monitor. It is the truest red I have in my garden, really not on the blue or orange side of things. It will surely get large enough - mine is over 8' now (after 5 years in poor soil after starting as a tiny rooted cutting), and MOBOT says that it can grow to 15'. Mine is restricted by the 5' height of the obelisk. I am not sure why many sites suggest 8' tall and 12' wide - perhaps they are going on the height of the trellis. You will need to give it something for the twining stems to wrap around, perhaps wires.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
Great! I love red! This one is now my goal. I use thin wires attached to the trellises for the clematis.
dbarron
6 years ago
Well did you get the Major? In a friend's garden (and so far pretty much mine) it blooms virtually non-stop year round. I have credible numbers of flowers right now, it was planted last fall, and it flowered by February last year. Depending on how severe the winter is, it will probably flower throughout for me. It just makes me wish there were hummingbirds to take advantage of it now.

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