Re: Lonicera Japonica
I would *NOT* recommend planting Lonicera Japonica. It is a serious
pest in many parts of the country. In fact in some parts of the
southeastern portion of the USA it is bad as kudzu. While we might
be able to keep it under control in our backyard gardens, it
propagates easily and widely in the wild and becomes a nasty pest.
For the sake of the environment and the problem with non-native
invasives I'd put it on a "ban" list!
If you enjoy honeysuckle as a type of plant, I'd suggest looking for
one of the other species, L. heckrottii (called the gold flame or
coral honeysuckle) or L. hildebrandiana (the giant Burmese
honeyksuckle). The gold flame has pink, yellow and, coral tones and
is quite lovely but doesn't have that wonderful honeysuckle scent.
For that, choose the Burmese, although it isn't quite as frost
tolerant and might not do as well in parts of the Mediterranean
world. Here in the USA it does best in Southern California and
warmer parts of Northern California.
Also, if you're looking for a scenting vine, we have lots of jasmines
and jasmines "look alikes" that will provide that feature in the
garden.
Carol
--
The Bay Area Gardener <http://www.gardens.com>
**serving gardeners in the greater San Francisco Bay Area**
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301 Windmill Park Lane, Mtn. View CA 94043
