ASIAN BUSH HONEYSUCKLES. Family: Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae). Genus: Lonicera. Origin: Asia; AMUR HONEYSUCKLE (L. maackii); DWARF HONEYSUCKLE, EUROPEAN FLY HONEYSUCKLE (L. xylosteum); FLY HONEYSUCKLE (L. × xylosteoides, tatarica × xylosteum); HONEYSUCKLE (L. × minutiflora); HONEYSUCKLE (L. × notha); MANCHURIAN HONEYSUCKLE (L. ruprechtiana); MORROW’S HONEYSUCKLE (L. morrowii); SHOWY FLY HONEYSUCKLE, BELL’S HONEYSUCKLE (L. × bella, morrowii × tatarica) (hybrid of L. tatarica and L. morrowii); STANDISH’S HONEYSUCKLE (L. standishii); SWEET BREATH OF SPRING, WINTER HONEYSUCKLE, FRAGRANT HONEYSUCKLE (L. fragrantissima); TATARIAN HONEYSUCKLE (L. tatarica), and its well-known cultivar: ‘ARNOLD’S RED’ (L. tatarica ‘Arnold’s Red’). Height/Spread: 5–12 feet. Ornamental Attributes: White, pink, or yellow flowers in spring; red, yellow, or orange berries in fall; weedy branches; suffer from honeysuckle witches broom aphids, causing unattractive branching. Cultivation: Full sun, medium soil. Shade out and inhibit native plant germination; difficult to eradicate. Zones: 3–7. Differentiation Note: Nonnative honeysuckle twigs have hollow stems; natives have solid stems. Honeysuckle Ecological Threat: Invasive in midwestern, eastern, and southern states. Birds experience higher nest predation due to branch structure when nesting in nonnative species, such as buckthorn, multiflora rose, and honeysuckle, than in comparable native shrubs, an adverse environmental consequence that—in addition to these plants’ invasiveness—outweighs their ornamental or privacy benefits.33 Note: Some nurseries still sell honeysuckles for ornamental purposes and some states still offer them for conservation programs. Cultivar Note: Cultivars of nonnative invasive species are also invasive. Invasive honeysuckles and their cultivars should be removed as soon as possible.34
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
Northern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
Native Honeysuckle Alternatives:
NORTHERN BUSH HONEYSUCKLE, LOW BUSH HONEYSUCKLE, DWARF BUSH HONEYSUCKLE. Family: Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae). Genus: Diervilla (D. lonicera). Height: 3–4 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Fragrant, showy, tube-like bright yellow to orange or red flowers in June to August. Exfoliating bark—orange inner bark, bright yellow, orange or red fall leaves. Cultivation: Sun to shade, dry/moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant. Note: Rare in parts of the Midwest. Zones: 3–6; AMERICAN FLY HONEYSUCKLE. Family: Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae). Genus: Lonicera (L. canadensis). Height/Spread: 3–7 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Fragrant yellow, red-tinged flowers in early April to May are harbingers of spring. Elongated red-orange berries in mid- to late summer. Cultivation: Easy to grow; full sun to part shade; variety of soil types. Note: Extirpated in part of the Midwest; MOUNTAIN FLY HONEYSUCKLE (L. villosa). Height/Spread: 2–3 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Fragrant white-yellow/chartreuse flowers in May, edible dark blue fruit in June to July mistaken for blueberries. Thick, blue-green leaves. Cultivation: Sun/part shade/shade, medium-moist soil. Fly Honeysuckle Note: Extirpated or presumed extirpated in parts of the Midwest. Zones: 3–8; TWINBERRY HONEYSUCKLE, BLACK TWINBERRY (L. involucrata). Height/Spread: 4–10 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Attention-grabbing, axillary pairs of fragrant, yellow tubular flowers from June to July. Showy red-bract-cupped “twin” black berries. Shiny green leaves turn yellow in fall. Cultivation: Sun best, prefers moist soil; succeeds in any fertile soil. Note: Threatened or endangered in parts of the Midwest. Nature Note: Native honeysuckles (Lonicera) host 37 species of butterflies and moths, including spring azure (p. 95), fawn and Kalm’s sphinx moths, and snowberry clearwing moth. Birds and their nestlings eat the caterpillars. Pollinators, including ruby-throated hummingbirds (p. 91), visit the flowers for nectar; the plants have special value to bumblebees and other native bees. American robin (p. 62), northern cardinal (p. 61), wood thrush (p. 175), wild turkey (p. 244), and small mammals seek the fruits. Native honeysuckles provide nesting cover for birds and tolerate black walnut tree toxicity. Zones: 4–10.
American fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)
Twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata)
More Native Alternatives:
BLUEBERRY SPP., p. 27; CHOKEBERRY SPP., p. 13; CURRANT SPP., p. 35; DOGWOOD SPP., p. 48; ELDERBERRY SPP., p. 29; FOTHERGILLA SPP., p. 27; NINEBARK, p. 44; SERVICEBERRY SPP., pp. 20, 77; SPICEBUSH, p. 22; VIBURNUM SPP., p. 69.
See Summer Shrubs for CURRANT SPP., p. 35; DEERBERRY, p. 138; HYDRANGEA SPP., p. 143; ST. JOHN’S WORT, p. 145.
See Spring Trees for SNOWBELL, p. 116.
Note: For a good alternative to invasive nonnative honeysuckles, choose any native midwestern shrub.
Nonnative:
HYDRANGEA. See Summer Shrubs, p. 142.
Jetbead (Rhodotypos scandens)
Nonnative:
JETBEAD, BLACK JETBEAD. Family: Rose (Rosaceae).
