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Honeysuckle is a well-known garden shrub, some varieties of which produce edible fruits. However, many gardeners grow these plants not for harvest, but as decoration for their garden plot. One of these species is Brown's honeysuckle, which combines a fairly large number of ornamental varieties.
Description of Brown's honeysuckle
Brown's honeysuckle (Lonicera brownii) is a hybrid species. It was obtained by crossing evergreen honeysuckle (L. sempervirens) and rough honeysuckle (L. hirsuta). Various varieties of this plant are widely used in ornamental gardening.
Brown's honeysuckle is an excellent way to decorate a plain fence
Photos and descriptions of Brown's honeysuckle will be presented below.The table below shows its main characteristics:
Parameter | Meaning |
Plant type | Climbing semi-evergreen shrub |
Escapes | The liana is green on young shoots, then becomes light brown, often with a purple tint. Grows up to 2.5 m |
Leaves | Leathery, dense, oval-elongated, with a rounded end and short petioles. The leaf blade is dark green above and has a bluish tint below. The leaves are opposite, often fused with each other, forming a continuous rounded corolla around the stem. |
Root system | Tree-like, powerful, highly branched |
Flowers | Bells with a long tubular part, large, up to 6 cm. The main colors are red, orange, yellow and all their various shades. Flowers are collected in whorl inflorescences in clusters of 5-35 pieces. |
Flowering time | June-October |
Fruit | The berries are spherical, bright red. Inedible |
Seeds | Small (up to 3 mm), black, ripen inside the berries in October–November |
Purpose | Vertical gardening, ornamental gardening |
Brown's honeysuckle varieties
Thanks to the work of breeders from different countries, many varieties of Brown's honeysuckle have been developed. Some of them are discussed below.
Honeysuckle Brown Blanche Sandman
The variety is an evergreen vine, the length of which can reach up to 3.5 m. The shoots are quite powerful, reddish, curly, and heavily leafy. Their annual growth can be up to 1 m.
The leaves are oval, bright green, leathery. Flowering begins in June and continues until mid-July. The flowers of Brown Blanche Sandman honeysuckle are large, bright, crimson-crimson, with a yellow interior.The variety is excellent for growing as a hedge, for vertical gardening of fences, walls, arches and other decorative elements of the garden.
Brown's Honeysuckle Fuchsia
Brown's fuchsia honeysuckle is widely used for decorating vertical elements of landscape architecture, as well as as a braiding plant for various fences, fences, and trellises. The shoots of this honeysuckle variety grow up to 2 m.
The leaves are often fused, dark green, dense. Flowering occurs in June and continues until early July. The flowers are large, bright, raspberry-pink, orange inside.
Honeysuckle Brown Golden Trumpet
Brown's Golden Trumpet honeysuckle is a bush of climbing shoots that grow up to 3 m. The color of the flowers is bright yellow, with a slight reddish tint.
This variety of honeysuckle begins to bloom in June. From July to September, bright crimson berries ripen on the bushes, which retains their decorative value for a long time. Honeysuckle Brown Golden Trumpet is used for vertical gardening and creating various garden compositions.
Honeysuckle Brown Dropmore Scarlet
Brown's honeysuckle Dropmore Scarlet is a long-known variety, bred in the middle of the last century by Canadian breeders. It belongs to semi-evergreen shrubs, the climbing shoots of which can grow up to 2 m. The leaves are wide, large, fused, green, slightly bluish below.
Brown's honeysuckle variety Dropmore Scarlet begins flowering in June and continues until early autumn. The flowers are large, up to 5 cm, bell-shaped with a narrow tubular corolla, orange-red.From August, spherical red berries about 1 cm in size begin to ripen in their place, which makes the shrub even more decorative.
A short overview video of this Brown honeysuckle variety can be viewed at the link:
Planting and caring for Brown's honeysuckle
Brown's honeysuckle is not particularly demanding when it comes to agricultural technology. Planting and caring for it are quite simple, and the resistance of many varieties to frost, diseases and pests makes their cultivation possible even in regions with not the most favorable climate.
Landing dates
The best time to plant Brown's honeysuckle in open ground is autumn, the period when the plant has finished its growing season and is in a dormant state. At the same time, at least a month should remain from the moment of planting until the onset of frost. This time is enough for the plant to take root in a new place and prepare for winter.
Brown's honeysuckle seedlings are best purchased in containers
If Brown's honeysuckle is planted using seedlings with ZKS, then planting can be done at any time of the year, excluding winter.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
Brown's honeysuckle is very undemanding to its growing location and soil. It is often planted based on landscape design requirements rather than optimal growth conditions. In illuminated areas, Brown's honeysuckle grows especially well, however, the plant tolerates partial shade well, which is why it is often planted along fences or against the wall of a house.The shrub has no special requirements for the soil composition, but it is preferable that the soil be loose, sandy loam or loamy, breathable, neutral or slightly acidic. You should not choose sandy, heavy clay and heavily swampy areas for planting Brown's honeysuckle.
As a rule, no special soil preparation is performed. Planting pits for Brown's honeysuckle seedlings are prepared immediately before work. Their size depends on the age and volume of the root system. Seedlings aged 5-7 years need holes about 1 m deep; for younger ones, a hole of 0.25-0.3 m is sufficient. If the soil is not quite suitable, then for backfilling it is better to prepare nutritious soil consisting of turf soil, peat and sand , mixed in a ratio of 3:1:1. It’s a good idea to add a little superphosphate and any potash fertilizer (1-2 tsp) to the soil, as well as 1 cup of wood ash.
Planting Brown's honeysuckle does not require large planting holes.
Landing rules
Before planting Brown's honeysuckle seedlings, you must pour 5-10 cm of drainage - gravel, expanded clay or small crushed stone - into the prepared planting holes. After this, you need to add a layer of nutritious soil, on which the root system of the seedling is placed on top. The roots need to be straightened and carefully covered with soil, periodically compacting it to prevent the formation of voids.Gradually, the hole is filled completely, making sure that the root collar is at ground level.
After planting, the root zone of the shrub should be watered abundantly and then mulched with peat or humus. This will prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.
At what distance to plant Brown's honeysuckle?
The optimal distance between two adjacent Brown's honeysuckle bushes is 1.8-2 m. However, bushes are often planted at a closer distance if the density of the hedge needs to be increased.
A hedge of Brown's honeysuckle bushes looks very attractive
You should not plant neighboring honeysuckle seedlings closer than 1.5 to each other, since the vines of neighboring plants can become very intertwined with each other, and this will create certain difficulties when pruning or other care.
Watering and fertilizing
Brown's honeysuckle is sensitive to drought, so regular soil moisture is a must when caring for this shrub. After planting, the seedling must be intensively moistened several times so that its roots take root faster. After this, the bush is watered depending on weather conditions. In hot weather, this should be done daily, pouring 10 liters of water into the root zone of the bush. Watering should be done in the evening so that the water evaporates less under the influence of sunlight.
Brown's honeysuckle loves sprinkling
At the same time, you can also sprinkle the bushes; Brown's honeysuckle responds very well to this procedure.
It is not necessary to feed the shrub in the first few years after planting. During this period of honeysuckle’s life, the nutrients and fertilizers that were added to the soil when planting the seedlings are sufficient. However, after this period, fertilizing is necessary.Flowering and fruiting shrubs deplete the soil quite intensively, so the supply of nutrients in it must be periodically replenished. It's best to do this several times during the season:
- Early spring. At this time, root feeding of Brown's honeysuckle with nitrogen-containing fertilizers (nitrophoska, azofoska) is carried out.
- Summer, after flowering. At this time, it is advisable to feed Brown’s honeysuckle with organic matter (humus, rotted manure), evenly introducing them into the root zone.
- Autumn, after fruiting. At this time, it is necessary to use potassium and phosphorus complex mineral fertilizers so that the bush regains its strength after fruiting and strengthens itself before wintering. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers and fresh organic matter are not used at this time so as not to stimulate excessive shoot formation. Young shoots growing at this time will not have time to become woody by winter and will most likely freeze and die from frost.
Trimming
Because Brown's honeysuckle vines are used primarily as climbing plants, they are not pruned to allow them to grow in length in the early years. Only dried and broken shoots are removed. After the vines reach the required height, they are cut off, and the side shoots are spread along a trellis, net or fence.
Dry shoots need to be trimmed regularly
Starting from 6-7 years old, Brown's honeysuckle must be periodically rejuvenated by cutting out older ones and growing young vines instead. This way the plant will retain its decorative properties longer.This can be done in early spring, before the sap begins to flow, or in the fall, after the bush has finished its growing season.
Winter hardiness of Brown's honeysuckle
Brown's honeysuckle has good frost resistance. If in the growing region the winter temperatures do not drop below -20 °C, then the vines do not even need to be removed from the trellises; it is enough to just insulate the root zone with a thick layer of mulch from peat, humus or sawdust. In colder regions, the vines need to be removed from the base, laid on the ground and covered with a layer of fallen leaves, straw or spruce branches.
Propagating Brown's Honeysuckle
Brown's honeysuckle can be propagated by both seed and vegetative methods. Here's a brief description of both methods.
By seeds: material for sowing is collected from fully ripened berries, usually at the end of October. The easiest way to do this is to rub the fruits through a sieve. Cleaned seeds must be stratified - kept for 1.5-2 months at a temperature of 0-4 °C. This measure imitates the natural conditions of the wild and significantly increases germination. Sowing is done in the spring, after the soil has thawed and warmed up to + 3-5 °C. The seeds are evenly placed in the furrows and sprinkled with a layer of soil no more than 2 cm. In such conditions, the first shoots usually appear no earlier than September.
In special greenhouse containers, seeds germinate much faster
There is a way to significantly speed up seed germination. To do this, they are germinated at home, using mini-greenhouses in which constant temperature and humidity parameters are maintained. Under such conditions, Brown's honeysuckle seeds germinate in 3-4 weeks.
Cuttings, this vegetative method is used by ordinary gardeners more often than the seed method, since it is simpler and more effective.There are several methods for cutting honeysuckle, of which the winter method is most often used, using lignified cuttings and planting before winter or early spring. You can also propagate Brown's honeysuckle in the summer with green cuttings taken from annual shoots of the current year. This plant takes root quite well.
Brown's honeysuckle is very easy to propagate from cuttings.
At the same time, the planted cuttings need to be regularly moistened so that they quickly form their own root system. After the young seedlings have grown and become stronger, they can be transplanted to a permanent place.
Dividing the bush. A heavily overgrown Brown's honeysuckle bush can be dug out of the ground and divided into several parts so that each of them contains a sufficient number of roots and several healthy shoots. Such divisions are planted as independent seedlings in separate planting holes.
Diseases and pests
Brown's honeysuckle is slightly susceptible to various kinds of diseases because it has good immunity. However, sometimes it can be affected by certain diseases, mainly fungal ones. The cause of diseases is most often unsuitable growing conditions, improper care, as well as some insect pests that are carriers of infectious agents.
- Powdery mildew. This is a fungal disease, which can be recognized by a characteristic white powdery coating on the leaves and shoots. Subsequently, the affected areas of the crown turn black and die.This disease often appears due to sudden cold snaps and damp weather. The affected shoots are pruned, and the bushes are treated with Thiovit or Chistotsvet for prevention and treatment.
- Brown spot. This fungal disease affects the above-ground parts of Brown's honeysuckle, primarily the leaves. It can be recognized by the characteristic reddish spots on the leaf plate. Over time, the spots darken, and the leaves turn brown, dry out and fly off. The fungal spores overwinter in fallen leaves. In case of infection, all affected shoots must be pruned and burned, and all fallen leaves must be removed. The shrub is treated with fungicides, for example, Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride (HOM, Abiga-Peak, etc.).
- Ascochyta blight. Another type of blight that affects the leaves of Brown's honeysuckle. It is a fungal disease, identified by irregularly shaped gray spots with a black border. Over time, the spots merge, the leaves dry out and fall off. To prevent fungal diseases, honeysuckle bushes are treated with fungicides. All infected shoots and fallen leaves containing fungal spores must be removed and burned.
- Mottling. One of the viral diseases of decorative forms of honeysuckle, which greatly spoils the appearance of the shrubs. The causative agents of this disease are transmitted by nematodes - small parasitic worms that live in the soil. It is quite difficult to get rid of nematodes on the site. It is better to remove and burn the affected parts of the bush, and feed the plant itself with potassium fertilizers. If the disease is advanced, then it is better to dig up the entire bush and burn it, and completely abandon planting honeysuckle in this place.
In addition to the above-mentioned nematodes, other insect pests can be found on Brown's honeysuckle. Here are some of them:
- Honeysuckle mite. This is a small sucking insect that feeds on the sap of leaves. It can be detected by the curled leaves, inside of which there is a cobweb clutch with mite eggs. Various acaricidal drugs are used against ticks, such as Confidor and Actellik.
Twisted and cobwebbed leaves are a sign of a pest
- Honeysuckle aphid. You can notice this microscopic insect by the yellowed leaves, the juices of which the aphids feed on. Large concentrations of these insects greatly deplete the shoots and cause their weak growth and sometimes wilting. The outer leaves at the ends of the shoots are usually affected by apical aphids; visually they are darker and have a gray color. To combat aphids, it is best to use various folk remedies, such as infusion of tansy, celandine or garlic. As a rule, their one-time use is quite enough to get rid of this pest.
Green aphids usually settle on the underside of leaves
Conclusion
Brown's honeysuckle is an unpretentious and attractive ornamental plant that can decorate any garden plot. Beautiful appearance, ease of care, resistance to diseases and pests, frost resistance - all these qualities are inherent in this plant. And this makes it one of the most popular shrubs used in ornamental gardening.
