Honeysuckle
Lonicera periclymenum
A native woodland climber scented most strongly at dusk, when the moths it is pollinated by are flying. It wants its roots in shade and its head in sun, which is the arrangement it finds naturally at a woodland edge and the one most planting positions fail to provide.
- Position
- Full sun or Partial shade or Dappled shade
- Water
- moderate demand
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Grows to
- 400–700 cm × 150–300 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Flowers
- June to August
- Difficulty
- Straightforward
August
In flower · Prune
Honeysuckle’s year
Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.
| Activity | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | March. | April. | October. | November. | ||||||||
| In flower | June. | July. | August. | |||||||||
| Prune | August. | September. |
Timing that travels
The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.
Conditions it needs
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade
- Frost
- Very hardy
- Hardiness rating
- H6 (RHS)
- Grows best at
- 10–25 °C
- Soil
- Loam, Clay
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Water needs
- moderate
- Drought
- poor tolerance
- Waterlogging
- moderate tolerance
- Heat
- moderate tolerance
- Wind and exposure
- moderate tolerance
Where these figures come from
- LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — position
Checked 2026-08-13
- FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
- Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
- Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
- SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Lonicera periclymenum — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
- DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
Dry roots bring on mildew almost immediately.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
On your soil
Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.
| Soil | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy clay | Prefers this soil | Heavy clay suits Honeysuckle as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Sandy | Works, with one condition | Honeysuckle will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Chalky and alkaline | Works, with one condition | Honeysuckle will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Loam | Prefers this soil | Loam suits Honeysuckle as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Silty | Grows well here | Honeysuckle grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Peaty and acid | Grows well here | Honeysuckle grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Shallow over rock | Works, with one condition | Honeysuckle will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure. |
| Made ground and urban soil | Grows well here | Honeysuckle grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.
Space and spacing
- Mature height
- 400–700 cm
- Mature spread
- 150–300 cm
- Rooting depth
- 60 cm
- Spacing
- 150–250 cm apart
Where these figures come from
- Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Honeysuckle — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13
In a container
- Minimum volume
- 30 litres or more
- Minimum depth
- 40 cm
Where the container figures come from
- Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
- Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
Workable with a large pot, a decent support and reliable watering — honeysuckles want cool moist roots and a container gives them the opposite, which is why potted plants are so often the ones covered in mildew by August. Shade the base of the pot, use loam-based compost, and never let it dry out. Grow it where you will walk past it in the evening, which is when the scented kinds do their work.
Habit and ultimate size
What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- In a container
- Workable in a container, with conditions
Where these figures come from
- FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera periclymenum — foliage
Checked 2026-08-13
- In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- How it climbs
- Twining — needs wires or thin supports to wrap around
- Vigour
- Vigorous — needs a substantial support and annual attention
Where these figures come from
- How it climbsSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera periclymenum — support
Checked 2026-08-13
- VigourSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera periclymenum — vigour
Checked 2026-08-13
Support it needs. The stems themselves wind round whatever they meet, so it wants vertical wires, a stout trellis or the branches of a shrub. It will strangle a thin sapling it is allowed to climb, tightening as both grow.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Where and how you can grow it
Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.
| Method | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Open ground | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Raised bed | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Container | WorkablesourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 |
Growing it
- MulchingMulch the root area generously and keep it shaded. Honeysuckle grown with hot dry roots mildews every summer, and shading the base does more to prevent it than anything sprayed on the leaves.
- PruningPrune right after flowering rather than in spring. Most garden honeysuckles flower on growth made the previous year, so a spring tidy-up removes that season's flowers.
Where this guidance comes from
- MulchingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
- PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera — pruning
Checked 2026-08-13
Safety and edibility
Pet safety not established
Safety around cats and dogs has not been established for Honeysuckle. Absence from a toxicity list is not the same as being listed as safe.Insufficient evidenceconfidence unknown
The RHS lists honeysuckle berries among plants that cause stomach upset, and that warning stands on the profile page. No animal-toxicology authority GrowingHQ accepts names Lonicera periclymenum, so there is no veterinary verdict to record — neither a clearance nor a toxicity finding.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- ToxicitychildrenpetsThe berries are mildly poisonous and cause stomach upset if eaten in quantity. They are conspicuous and red, which makes them attractive to children.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Lonicera — toxicity
Checked 2026-08-13
Discourage children from eating the berries; no action is usually needed otherwise.
Sources for this page
GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society
Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.