Common Honeysuckle

How to grow Common Honeysuckle

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team · Last reviewed 21 July 2026 · Written for UK gardens · How we research our guidance

Planting

Plant with the base shaded — by a low shrub, a large stone, or simply on the shaded side of the support. Dry hot roots are the main cause of the mildew and poor flowering that people blame on the plant.

Pruning

After flowering, shorten the flowered shoots by about a third. Every few years take a proportion of the oldest stems right out; an unpruned plant becomes a bird's nest of dead wood held clear of the ground.

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or layer a trailing stem in autumn. Both work well.

Pests and diseases

Aphids and powdery mildew are both common, and both are worse on plants that are dry at the root.

Value to wildlife

Excellent. Night-scented flowers feed moths, the flowers are worked by long-tongued bumblebees, berries are eaten by birds, and the twining stems provide nesting cover.

Notes

It twines anticlockwise and will strangle a thin sapling if allowed to climb one. Give it wires, a trellis, or a robust host.

This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Lonicera periclymenum but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Others in Lonicera