Learn how to plant, propagate and prune shrubby and climbing honeysuckles, in our expert Grow Guide.
Most of us think of honeysuckles as twining climbers with pretty, scented tubular flowers, perfect for covering walls, fences and pergolas. But there are also evergreen, shrubby types that make an excellent honeysuckle bush, hedging or topiary. Both belong to the genus Lonicera and there are many different cultivars, hailing from Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean and North America. Lonicera periclymenum (wild honeysuckle, common honeysuckle or woodbine) is native to the UK.
Climbing honeysuckles flower in summer, in shades of white, cream, lemon yellow, pink, orange and raspberry red. Theyre perfect plants for an informal or cottage garden style, and look good combined with roses for a romantic display. They are also a magnet for wildlife. The scent of their nectar-rich flowers attracts bees and butterflies during the day and moths at night – their colour changes slightly once pollinated. The red berries that follow are enjoyed by birds (but are poisonous to humans).
Climbing honeysuckles can be deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen, depending on the variety. Deciduous species tend to have a more spectacular display of flowers; the evergreen honeysuckle types bear smaller, less significant blooms but give foliage cover all year round.
Shrubby honeysuckles can be deciduous, semi-evergreen or fully evergreen. Evergreen types such as Lonicera nitida (now renamed as Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis) have small leaves that are similar to those of box, and are often used to create a honeysuckle bush or hedge – even topiary. If you have had problems with box blight or box tree caterpillar on your box plants, Lonicera nitida makes a sensible alternative. Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera x purpusii are deciduous to semi-evergreen, and bear deliciously scented flowers in winter.
Honeysuckle vines are gorgeous additions to any garden, perfuming the air with sweet fragrance. But it’s heartbreaking when these plants start looking sickly. If your honeysuckle’s leaves are yellowing, wilting or dropping don’t lose hope! There are several common reasons honeysuckle declines but with the right troubleshooting, you can nurse your vine back to health.
In this article, we’ll outline the top causes for honeysuckle dieback and give you tips to revive your plant. With attentive care and by addressing issues early, you can have your vine flowering beautifully again soon.
Common Reasons Honeysuckle Dies Back or Appears Sickly
Here are the most frequent culprits when honeysuckle vines fail to thrive
Drought Stress
Lack of sufficient water is one of the prime reasons honeysuckle will yellow, wilt or drop leaves. These vines naturally grow in consistently moist conditions along woodland edges and stream banks. They rely on ample, regular water.
Signs your honeysuckle is drought-stressed:
- Leaves are yellowed, dried and curled at edges
- Whole leaves drop off, leaving bare stems
- Few or no new shoots emerging during growing season
- Foliage only present at top, with bare lower stems
Revive drought-affected honeysuckles by
- Deeply watering root zone weekly during dry spells
- Mulching around plant to conserve moisture
- Moving vine to a shadier spot to reduce moisture loss
- Misting vine to increase humidity
With more attentive watering and tactics retaining moisture, dried out honeysuckle vines should push new growth.
Nutrient Deficiency
Honeysuckle needs nutrient-rich soil to thrive. When conditions become imbalanced, the vine reacts by dropping leaves and reduced vigor. Deficiencies usually stem from:
- Planting in poor, sandy soil lacking organic matter
- Not fertilizing regularly to replenish nutrients
- Potted plants becoming rootbound
- Environmental factors like drought stressing roots
Remedies if lack of nutrients suspected:
- Test and amend soil with compost to increase nutrients
- Apply balanced organic granular fertilizer or compost tea
- Repot potted plants annually in fresh soil
- Mulch each spring with 2-3 inches compost or manure
With improved nutrition, honeysuckle leaves should green up and the vine regain strength. Fertilizing also boosts bloom production.
Insufficient Sunlight
While honeysuckle grows in shade, ample sunlight is needed to thrive. Too much shade can cause leaf drop on the vine’s lower half. Insufficient sun leads to:
- Lower leaves yellowing and dropping
- Weak, floppy growth habit as vine reaches for light
- Less blooms compared to vines in sun
Maximize sunlight by:
- Pruning back overhanging tree branches
- Training vines onto sunny structures
- Moving container-grown plants to brighter areas
- Providing supplemental lighting if heavily shaded
Honeysuckle needs at least 4-6 hours of sun daily for robust growth and flowering. More light will invigorate the vine.
Fungal Disease
Leaf spot, rust and powdery mildew are potential fungal diseases. Besides leaf damage, signs include:
- White powdery coating on leaves
- Dark spots on foliage
- Distorted, curled leaves
- Premature leaf drop
- Stem dieback
To treat disease:
- Prune off and destroy affected leaves and stems
- Space plants for better airflow
- Use neem oil as organic antifungal spray
- Water at base, avoid wetting foliage
- Reduce fertilizer frequency which can encourage diseases
Controlling susceptible conditions like humidity and overcrowding helps prevent fungal issues on honeysuckle.
Environmental Stress
Harsh conditions like extreme cold, heat waves, high winds or sudden weather swings can stress honeysuckle. Environmental factors may:
- Damage tender new growth, causing distorted foliage
- Desiccate emerging leaves
- Shock plant, resulting in leaf drop after stressful event
Protect honeysuckle from environmental swings by:
- Providing shelter from intense sun and wind
- Avoiding frost pockets with little winter sunlight
- Covering vines during cold snaps to prevent freeze damage
- Maintaining consistent soil moisture around weather disruptions
Root Damage
Injury to roots during planting or cultivation can impair the vine’s water and nutrient uptake. Causes include:
- Breaking fine feeder roots when transplanting
- Allowing roots to dry before planting
- Severing roots from nearby digging or plowing
- Girdling or kinking roots by improper staking
Restore damaged roots by:
- Pruning broken roots cleanly before replanting
- Soaking bare roots 1-2 hours before planting
- Hand-digging around established vines to prevent damage
- Loosening and untangling any kinked or tied roots
- Watering deeply to encourage new root growth after planting
As new roots establish, the honeysuckle vine should regain health and vigor.
Other Potential Triggers for Honeysuckle Problems
A few other factors could potentially contribute to honeysuckle decline besides the main causes above. Watch for these issues as well:
Overwatering
While honeysuckle loves moisture, soggy soil is detrimental. Excess irrigation leads to root rot and yellow, wilting foliage. Signs of overwatering:
- Lower leaves yellowing or browning first
- Soft, mushy stems
- Wilt and leaf curl but wet soil
- Mold, fungus on soil surface
Adjust watering practices by:
- Allowing top few inches of soil to dry between waterings
- Ensuring potted plants have adequate drainage
- Watering early to avoid leaf moisture at night
- Using soaker hoses or drip irrigation, not overhead watering
Once excess moisture is reduced, honeysuckle vines will likely rebound quickly. Improve drainage if needed.
Improper Soil pH
Honeysuckle thrives best in slightly acidic soil, around pH 5.5-6.5. If pH is too alkaline, nutrients may become unavailable. Test soil and amend with sulfur or peat moss to lower pH if needed.
Pest Infestations
Watch for signs of common honeysuckle pests like aphids, whiteflies, scale and spider mites. Heavy infestations can weaken plants. Use organic insecticidal soap or neem oil to treat.
Age Decline
Older vines may start to fail as they exhaust soil nutrients after many years in the same location. Can revive with rejuvenation pruning and improved care.
Caring for Honeysuckle Vines
A few essential care tips will keep your honeysuckle healthy and prevent many issues:
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Water vines 1-2 times weekly in summer, less in spring and fall. Soak entire root zone thoroughly.
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Apply 2-3 inches of organic mulch around base annually. Replenish as needed.
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Fertilize in early spring with a balanced organic product. Avoid over-fertilizing.
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Prune right after flowering to shape vines and remove dead wood.
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Check soil pH yearly and amend if needed. Honeysuckle prefers slightly acidic soil.
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Provide vines with some sun but avoid hot afternoon exposure.
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Monitor for pests like spider mites that can infest stressed plants. Treat promptly if found.
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Improve drainage in overly moist areas. Avoid planting honeysuckle in soggy sites.
With attentive care when you first notice any problems, you can get your honeysuckle vine thriving again. Analyze what underlying factors like watering, sunlight or nutrients might be amiss. By taking action early, reviving a declining vine is very possible. With a bit of TLC, your plant will soon be perfuming your garden with beautiful blooms!
How to prune honeysuckle
Honeysuckle pruning depends on the type of honeysuckle you are growing – climbing or shrubby.
Climbing honeysucklesThose that flower early in the summer should be pruned after flowering. Cut back by about one third to maintain a neat shape. Dont remove the dying flowerheads as these will become berries. Those that flower later in the summer should be pruned lightly in spring. These flower on the current season’s growth, so dont cut back too hard or youll risk losing the flowers.
If your climbing honeysuckle is overgrown, renovate it in late winter by cutting it back hard. In this vintage clip from Gardeners World, below, Joe Swift demonstrates how to prune honeysuckle growing on an obelisk.
Shrubby honeysucklesDeciduous shrubby honeysuckles can be pruned after flowering in late spring or summer. If your plant is very overgrown, you can cut it back hard in late winter or early spring.
In this clip from Gardeners World, below, Monty Don prunes a winter-flowering honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, showing where and how much to cut in order to generate new shoots that will carry fragrant blooms next winter and early spring.
Evergreen shrubby honeysuckles such as Lonicera nitida, can be pruned in summer.
You can propagate honeysuckle by taking semi-ripe cuttings in July and August, when the wood of new stems is flexible but firm. In this video guide, Alan Titchmarsh demonstrates how to take cuttings from honeysuckle, to make new honeysuckle plants for free.
You can also propagate climbing honeysuckles by layering – bending a shoot down to soil level and encouraging it to root.
Climbing honeysuckles can be propagated from their berries. Extract the seeds from the berries and sow them straight away in pots of loamy compost. Leave the seeds in a cold frame over winter – they need an extended period of cold – and they should start to germinate in spring once temperatures rise to around 15°C.
Growing honeysuckle: problem solving
Honeysuckle aphid can be a real problem for climbing honeysuckles. Leaves become distorted and curled as the sucking insects feed on the plant. The aphids excrete honeydew, which then leads to sooty mould. Plants that are in poor health are more prone to infestation. Prune out very badly infested shoots, or apply an organic insecticide as a last resort. Plants are less prone to aphid attack if they are grown in partial shade.
Honeysuckles can also be prone to powdery mildew – again, growing in partial shade can help prevent this, as can mulching around the base in spring.
If your honeysuckle stops flowering, there are a few things you can do to encourage flowers, as Alan Titchmarsh explains in the video below.
Expert Tip for Honeysuckle
FAQ
How to revive a dying honeysuckle?
Honeysuckle is typically so vigorous so we would recommend pruning out any of the dead or even a hard prune back to the main branches or trunks of the vines and letting it regrow. It should help rejuvenate it. If it doesn’t or it seems that it has other issues feel free to send additional photos and reach out again.
How to bring honeysuckle back to life?
If you have an older plant that looks bare, forlorn, or downright unattractive, you can renovate your honeysuckle by cutting it back to 2 feet above the ground in late winter. The plant will send out new shoots. Provide supports for those shoots while also removing weak-looking stems.
Why is my honeysuckle plant not doing well?
Overwatering and root rot are the most likely cause of problems in Honeysuckle, since they are sensitive to wet soil. The leaves may also appear to be curling or drooping. Less often, yellow leaves are caused by underwatering, nutrient deficiencies, or pests.
Why are the leaves on my honeysuckle turning brown and falling off?
Yellowing and falling leaves can indicate nutrient deficiency or simply a lack of water. Give your honeysuckle a good drink and feed with a liquid seaweed fertiliser or balanced organic plant food, and it should perk up.
Why is my honeysuckle dying?
The most common reasons for dying honeysuckle: Drought (honeysuckle requires consistently moist soil). Low-nutrient soil and lack of fertilizer (causes yellow leaves and leaf drop). Not enough sunlight (Honeysuckle prefers sun at the vines and shade at the roots). Fungal disease (Powdery mildew turns honeysuckle leaves grey with black dots).
Are there any side effects of honey in the morning?
If you have insulin resistance or diabetes, you may have a high blood sugar spike if honey is consumed in large quantities and the rest of the meal is unbalanced.
What causes honeysuckle problems?
Honeysuckle Problems are due to some pest attack including aphids, Armored scales, Caterpillars. They don’t have problem with Disease but it can be affected by canker and Powdery Mildew. To Solve this you will be using pesticide or insecticidal soups to get rid of them.
What causes a honeysuckle plant to decline?
There are several factors that can contribute to a plant’s decline, including nutrient deficiencies, insect infestations, disease, or environmental stress. By carefully examining your plant, you can determine the root cause of its decline and take appropriate action. One common reason for a honeysuckle plant’s decline is nutrient deficiencies.
How do you know if a honeysuckle plant is dying?
Check the soil moisture: Too much water or not enough can both spell disaster for honeysuckles. Stick your finger into the soil about an inch deep. If it feels dry, it’s time to water your plant. If it’s soggy, you might be overwatering, which can lead to root rot.
Why is my honeysuckle wilting?
It is often caused by overwatering or poor drainage, leading to waterlogged soil conditions. Root rot can result in wilting, yellowing, and death of the plant. The symptoms of root rot on honeysuckle include stunted growth, yellowing or browning of leaves, and a foul odor coming from the roots.