Japanese Honeysuckle Seeds 25 Count

Japanese Honeysuckle Seeds 25 Count Lonicera Japonica: Description: The Japanese Honeysuckle is a particularly vigorous twining vine with extremely fragrant white blossoms changing to yellow with age. Blue-black coloured fruit about 1/4 inch in diameter attract birds. Often used as a ground cover or on a trellis or fence to provide privacy and shade. When choosing a location, keep in mind that the Japanese Honeysuckle has a fast growth rate. It grows up to 20 feet in height and 20 feet in spread. It can be planted in zones 4 to 9. Will tolerate dry or wet soils. Prefers full sun or partial shade. Japanese honeysuckle is separated easily from the native honeysuckle vines by its leaves. Leaves near tips of the vines of Japanese honeysuckle are opposite and not united, while leaves of native honeysuckles (3 species) are united at the base, forming a single leaf surrounding the stem. Trumpet or coral honeysuckle is another non-native vine that occasionally escapes from cultivation in the Midwest, but it is not an aggressive species. The leaves near the tips of the vine of trumpet honeysuckle are united at the base as in our native species. It may be distinguished from the native vines as well as from Japanese honeysuckle by its red flowers. Distribution: Japanese honeysuckle is native to Japan, introduced to the U.S. in 1806 for horticultural ground-cover purposes. It was slow to escape and did not become widely established over the eastern U.S. until the early 1900's. It presently occurs as far north as Illinois and Michigan, from Texas to Florida, and north to Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. In Missouri, the species is most abundant in the southeastern counties, but it occurs sporadically throughout most of the rest of the state. Bitter winter temperatures appear to limit its establishment. Habitat: Japanese honeysuckle readily invades open natural communities, often by seed spread by birds. An aggressive colonizer of successional fields, this vine also will invade mature forest and open woodlands such as post oak flatwoods and pin oak flatwoods. Old homesites frequently harbor Japanese honeysuckle and provide a seed source for spread into the surrounding landscape. Life History: The semi-evergreen condition of this honeysuckle allows for growth both prior to and after dormancy of other deciduous plants. Although this prolonged growth period is beneficial to the plant, it is also beneficial in controlling the plant. Vegetative runners are most prolific in the open sun and will resprout where touching the soil, forming mats of new plants. This honeysuckle will display moderate growth under moderate shade. In deep shade, runners develop but often grow slower than others. Flowering and seed development are heaviest in open-sun areas. The seeds can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag for up to one year. Growing Your Honeysuckle Plants: Honeysuckle prefers full sun, but will tolerate partial sun, and even some light, afternoon shade. Once established, Honeysuckle needs only moderate watering, unless the summer is very dry. If the planting area is properly prepared and mulched, your Honeysuckle will be satisfied with a light annual applicaton of a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) at the beginning of the growing season, and then once again in the middle of the blooming season. They are usually sold in 1-gal. containers beginning in early spring. Honeysuckle should be planted in early spring, as soon as frost danger has passed. Prepare the planting area as for any perennial and set the plants a minimum of two to three apart. (2 feet if you are using them as a ground cover) Water the plants thoroughly, and follow up with repeated soakings until the plant shows signs of new growth. Mulch the plant with heavy cover of leaves, to protect the roots from freezing as well as to conserve moisture in the summer. When your plant has finished blooming, you can prune for shape. (Only lightly prune plants until they are well established at about 2 years old) If your Honeysuckle is to be grown on a trellis or an arbor, put it in place before planting, to avoid damaging your vine. Then plant your Honeysuckle 6-12 in. away from the support to allow enough growing room for developing stems. The vines should be tied to their support using strong, stretchy materials that won't cut into growing branches. Strips of old nylon hosiery work very well for this. Loop each tie into a figure 8, with the crossed portion between the stem and the support to keep stems from rubbing or being choked.