Lonicera periclymenum
| Lonicera periclymenum | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 15' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lonicera periclymenum (common name: honeysuckle)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification[1] and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage[2].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage[2].
Layering in autumn[3].
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils from acid to base-rich[4]. Prefers its roots in the shade with its shoots climbing up into the sun[3]. Plants succeed even in quite deep shade[5]. Established plants are fairly drought tolerant[6].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[7].
A very ornamental plant[8], there are a number of named varieties[7]. The flowers are very fragrant, especially in the evening when it attracts pollinating moths[4][9]. New leaves often start to open in January with well-grown leaves in April[4]. The leaves fall in November[4].
Twining plants, they can bind themselves so tightly round young trees that they can prevent the trunk from being able to expand[4].
A very good moth and butterfly plant[10], it is also an important food for many caterpillars including the larvae of the rare white admiral butterfly[4]. The dense growth of the plant offers good nesting possibilities for birds[4].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and Greece.
Habitat: Woods, hedgerows, scrub and shady places, avoiding calcareous soils[11].
Edibility: Children (of all ages) suck the base of the flowers to extract the nectar[12].
Medicinal: The plant has expectorant and laxative properties[13]. A syrup made from the flowers has been used in the treatment of respiratory diseases whilst a decoction of the leaves is considered beneficial in treating diseases of the liver and spleen[13]. It is used as a mouthwash for ulcers[12] and is considered to be a good ingredient in gargles[13].
The flowers are antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge and sudorific[14].
The fruit is emetic and cathartic[13].
The herbage is used as a cutaneous and mucous tonic and as a vulnerary[13]. It is also diaphoretic[13]. The leaves are laxative and slightly astringent[14].
The seed is diuretic[13].
The bark is anticatarrhal, depurative, diuretic and sudorific[14].
Usage: A climbing plant, it can be allowed to scramble on the ground where it makes a good ground cover[15]. Plants should be spaced about 1.2 metres apart each way[15].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Poisonous in large doses[16]. It only has a very mild action[17].
Links
References
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Beckett, Kenneth and Gillian Beckett. Planting Native Trees and Shrubs. Jarrold, 1979.
- ↑ Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Freethy, Ron. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press, 1985.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.
- ↑ Altmann, Horst. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus, 1980.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.