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Honeysuckle- How invasive is it?

Posted on 5/1/19 at 8:48 am
Posted by GoldenSombrero
Member since Sep 2010
2651 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 8:48 am
I have 2 power meters in my backyard, mine and my neighbors. Tired of looking at them and thought about planting some honeysuckle nearby to create a barrier. Read a few things online that made it sound as invasive as cane, which i know isn't the case. How hard is it to keep cut back though?

I've never seen "domesticated" honeysuckle before
Posted by LoneStarTiger
Lone Star State
Member since Aug 2004
15941 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 10:05 am to
I've planted it along a trellis to hide an electrical box and it grows like crazy but stays put pretty well.

Now the passion vine that showed up on it own, on the other hand, well that shite comes up everywhere
Posted by deeprig9
Unincorporated Ozora, Georgia
Member since Sep 2012
63928 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 11:48 am to
quote:

Now the passion vine that showed up on it own, on the other hand, well that shite comes up everywhere


Fun Fact-

Passiflora Incarnata is the only plant that a Gulf Fritillary butterfly will lay eggs on, and is the only leaf the caterpillar will eat. This is the state butterfly of Florida. If you've ever been to the beach in the fall and saw tons of smallish orange butterflies, that's them. They hatched and metamorphized on somebody's passion vine. They migrate all the way to central and south America, before flying back to find another passion flower vine to lay eggs on.
Posted by deeprig9
Unincorporated Ozora, Georgia
Member since Sep 2012
63928 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 11:53 am to
If it doesn't have anything to climb except the trellis you want it to climb, and you mow around it regularly, it isn't invasive. But if you plant it at one end of a fence row, it will overtake that whole fence.
Posted by LoneStarTiger
Lone Star State
Member since Aug 2004
15941 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:46 pm to
quote:


Passiflora Incarnata is the only plant that a Gulf Fritillary butterfly will lay eggs on, and is the only leaf the caterpillar will eat. This is the state butterfly of Florida. If you've ever been to the beach in the fall and saw tons of smallish orange butterflies, that's them. They hatched and metamorphized on somebody's passion vine. They migrate all the way to central and south America, before flying back to find another passion flower vine to lay eggs on.



we have tons of these every year. The caterpillars look like they will sting the shite out of you but are harmless



Posted by iwantacooler
Member since Aug 2017
2161 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 1:19 pm to
How about confederate jasmine? It smells wonderful too.
Posted by Centinel
Idaho
Member since Sep 2016
43319 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 2:50 pm to
Always knew it growing up as maypop. The ripe fruits are good to eat, if a bit tart.
Posted by Milescb28
New Orleans
Member since Oct 2008
197 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 5:02 pm to
Is there any place local to purchase honeysuckle? I can't find it and I have had any success growing it from clippings. I want some for my fence.
Posted by L S Usetheforce
Member since Jun 2004
22752 posts
Posted on 5/1/19 at 5:40 pm to
I use confederate jasmine for this
Posted by GoldenSombrero
Member since Sep 2010
2651 posts
Posted on 5/2/19 at 8:29 am to
quote:

Is there any place local to purchase honeysuckle?


I found some at the Lowes near me, Arkansas. I think it was labeled as Japanese Honeysuckle.
Posted by GoldenSombrero
Member since Sep 2010
2651 posts
Posted on 5/2/19 at 8:32 am to
quote:

How about confederate jasmine? It smells wonderful too.


Not familiar with it, but will check the nursery's in my area to see if I can find it.
Posted by Bigbee Hills
Member since Feb 2019
1531 posts
Posted on 5/2/19 at 9:58 am to
Just be sure you keep it knocked back or the power company could very well do it for you. It'll depend on the utility company and how brazen they are. The bigger ones are pussies about things, but the smaller co-ops will go scorched earth on your arse- all the way up to the meter- if they get to feeling froggy.

They frown on planting any sort of climbing and/or invasive vegetation on their field assets and infrastructure, but especially so with their power poles. I built a privacy trellis around my meter that also hides my natural gas meter and doubles as a garbage can storage hub. My wife loves it because she can just chuck full bags over the top and if they miss the can, oh well, out of sight out of mind.

One time in LA we had to go in on an emergency type job for Entergy where an OC had been fired for doing his job, aka nothing, and vines had grown up nearly all of their assets and were causing power outages. Although it's an extreme example, that's why they don't like it, but we'd see it daily in isolated incidents. So PSA, never ever plant a beloved tree or anything else that can grow up (or on) to minimum approach distance in a powerline right of way or it will eventually have to be dealt with.

(It always amazed me how many folks (especially in Tennessee) thought that big transmission line right of ways were good places to farm pot. There's a guarantee that folks will be coming through every couple years to spray herbicide and trim trees, followed by a helicopter audit. We would just keep on rolling, but I'm sure the residual herbicides the crews sprayed eventually killed the plants.)
Posted by BallsEleven
Member since Mar 2019
6163 posts
Posted on 5/2/19 at 10:13 am to
Looks great and has a powerful, great smelling scent.

You might see it labeled as "star jasmine"

When I lived in Florida, the wife (no pics) and I got into the habit on taking the little ones for a walk in the stroller and there were 4 or 5 houses that had their fences covered with it. It made it a real fun time.
Posted by Pussykat
South Louisiana
Member since Oct 2016
3889 posts
Posted on 5/2/19 at 7:39 pm to
Passion flower has a beautiful flower I let them grow
This post was edited on 5/2/19 at 7:40 pm
Posted by BottomlandBrew
Member since Aug 2010
27083 posts
Posted on 5/5/19 at 2:58 pm to
quote:

it isn't invasive


Yes and no. Since OP did not specify a botanical name and rather a common name, let's do some teaching.

Lonicera sempervirens is the native honeysuckle. It is a vine. It can take over whatever it is growing on, but it is not invasive to the local ecosystem. Most people call it trumpet vine and don't refer to it as honeysuckle.

Lonicera japonica is highly invasive. It can be a vine or a shrub. It's invasiveness is on par with Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet) and will flat out destroy large swaths of understory in a few years. Please do not plant any forms of it. Kill it wherever you see it.

Native honeysuckle:



Invasive kind of honeysuckle:


Posted by Cowboyfan89
Member since Sep 2015
12714 posts
Posted on 5/5/19 at 5:17 pm to
quote:

Passiflora Incarnata is the only plant that a Gulf Fritillary butterfly will lay eggs on,

Well that's not true. They will also lay on Passiflora lutea.
Posted by deeprig9
Unincorporated Ozora, Georgia
Member since Sep 2012
63928 posts
Posted on 5/5/19 at 5:18 pm to
I stand corrected.
Posted by hungryone
river parishes
Member since Sep 2010
11987 posts
Posted on 5/5/19 at 7:01 pm to
You might also consider a tangerine crossvine. It can get huge, if left unpruned, but it’s not too hard to keep pruned. Nice coral orange trumpet flowers beloved by hummingbirds and pollinating insects.
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