Planting Honeysuckle

LimerickCity

Good morning,

I have only just purchased a number of the below plants from Aldi.

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_21772.htm

I would like to ask a few questions before planting so as to get the correct advice and therefore ensure the best future for the plants.

1. Is it ok to plant them now?

2. I have 6 foot walls around my garden but for most of the day during the summer i have full sun in my garden. Can i plant them in the shade? Partial shade?

3. Will these plants attach themselves to the walls or should i place some trellis material behind them.

Pretty old picture but my house is the one with the yellow dot and due to the size of the walls there is only direct sunlight on the left side in the evening and almost never once the dark nights come in.



From recent comments on the board i fertilised and scarified the garden which collected over 4 refuse sacks of moss. Bit much for a small garden?

I already have a weeping willow tree growing in the shade for a number of years and it has really come on strong.

I can provide a picture of the garden if required.

Thanks.

looksee

Honeysuckle is naturally a plant that grows in hedgerows etc so it does not mind a bit of shade. Yes you can plant them now, do it fairly soon and keep them watered.

Generally speaking most common honeysuckles are as tough as old boots.

They will not attach to the walls but I would not recommend (from experience!) trellis. They are very strong and will create sturdy twining stems that will pull trellis off the wall. I suggest a couple of strong horizontal wires attached to the wall and tie in the plant as it gets to them. Eventually it will hold itself up to a large extent, but it will always need a bit of fastening to the wall.

Tulipout

looksee wrote: »

Honeysuckle is naturally a plant that grows in hedgerows etc so it does not mind a bit of shade. Yes you can plant them now, do it fairly soon and keep them watered.

Generally speaking most common honeysuckles are as tough as old boots.

They will not attach to the walls but I would not recommend (from experience!) trellis. They are very strong and will create sturdy twining stems that will pull trellis off the wall. I suggest a couple of strong horizontal wires attached to the wall and tie in the plant as it gets to them. Eventually it will hold itself up to a large extent, but it will always need a bit of fastening to the wall.

Oh no.. I planted two on a trellised wall. Think a few more nails might be needed.

LimerickCity

Thanks a million for the response.

Planted them last evening.

5 in total.

They are about 18 inches high so at the moment they are standing with the aid of a bamboo.

I built a few small trellis for each plant but have not hung them as of yet.

I will go the wire route like your suggested.

Any particular wire?

Just some steel nails hit into the wall and the wire tied to them i suppose?

Dizzyblonde

Don't worry about the trellis, you can always leave it there because it looks good while the plants are growing.

For support I use cheap and cheerful vine eyes and wire, I buy them in B&Q but I'd say any hardware, Woodies etc have them. If you scroll down on this there's a video showing how to use them: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/plant_climber1.shtml

LimerickCity

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Don't worry about the trellis, you can always leave it there because it looks good while the plants are growing.

For support I use cheap and cheerful vine eyes and wire, I buy them in B&Q but I'd say any hardware, Woodies etc have them. If you scroll down on this there's a video showing how to use them: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/plant_climber1.shtml

Thanks DB. Much appreciated.

ramblingcelt

Make sure to keep moist the first year by the way
Plant them with a mix of soil and cheap compost
Feed with dilute tomatoe feed every 2weeks

LimerickCity

The bottom of the plants have all now shed their leaves and appear to be woody stalks.

The plants are still growing at the top.

Is this a common problem?

looksee

Because honeysuckle is a woodland plant it grows up towards the light, and you may well get some woody stems. Usually though it throws out some side shoots. You could encourage it to do this by giving it a bit of a haircut - wait until after it has flowered though!

You do not need to feed it, I have had some lovely honeysuckles in various gardens and have never fed any of them.