Box-leaved honeysuckle

Box-leaved honeysuckle: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Evergreen shrub of 1–2 m with long, thin, arching shoots; usually grown as a low, clipped hedge.

Leaf

Opposite, 6–15 mm, oval, glossy dark green; golden yellow in ‘Baggesen’s Gold’.

Shoots and bark

Thin, arching shoots; older stems with peeling bark.

Flower

Small, cream-coloured, fragrant flowers in pairs in April–May.

Fruit

Glossy purple berries; not edible.

Difference from box

Box has blunt, thicker leaves on green, square twigs, and grows much more slowly.

Flowering: April–May · Pruning: May–September

Identify by feature: Evergreen leaves

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Box Buxus sempervirens: blunt, thicker leaves on green, square twigs; grows much more slowly. Difference from box

Why grow it?

• A fast, evergreen replacement for box, untroubled by box tree caterpillar.
• Tolerates frequent, hard clipping: ideal for low hedges, edging and topiary.
• Grows in sun, partial shade and shade, on almost any soil.
• Dense shelter for small birds, in winter too.

Box-leaved honeysuckle: where does it grow best?

• Sun to shade; in deep shade the hedge becomes a little looser.
• Almost any soil, as long as it does not stay waterlogged for long.
• Ideal for a low hedge of 40–100 cm, an edging along a border or a topiary shape.
• Unclipped it grows about 1.5 m wide; as a hedge you keep it 30–50 cm wide.

Light

Sun to shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

1.5 m tall, 1.5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Yew: A tall, dark yew hedge behind a low hedge of box-leaved honeysuckle: a classic evergreen pairing.
• English lavender: A sunny lavender border, edged with a neat, low hedge.
• Hydrangea: Flowers in summer in partial shade behind a low, green edging.
• Lesser periwinkle: An evergreen ground cover for the shady side of the hedge.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerates shade and suits planting under large trees such as: ginkgo, box elder, ash, honey locust, field maple, silver maple

Box-leaved honeysuckle: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in spring (March–April) or autumn (September–November); pot-grown plants can also go in outside that period, except in frost or drought.
2. For a hedge: 3–5 plants per metre, in a single row or staggered.
3. Loosen the soil, mix in some compost and plant at the same depth as in the pot.
4. After planting, trim the tips: the hedge will then branch from the base and soon become dense.
5. Water in dry spells during the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; an established hedge usually copes on its own.

Feeding

A little compost or organic fertiliser in spring: a hedge that is clipped often will make good use of it.

Clipping

Two to four times a year, from May to September: little and often is better than a lot at once.

Mulching

A layer of compost or leaf mould under the hedge keeps the soil moist and the weeds down.

Tip: For a neat, low hedge, choose a variety with fine, dark leaves such as ‘Maigrün’. ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ gives a golden-yellow hedge, which colours best in full sun.

Box-leaved honeysuckle: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May–September.

When: Clip a hedge two to four times a year, from May to September.

How:

• It grows fast and tolerates a lot: clip little and often, and the hedge will stay dense and neat.
• Clip the hedge slightly wider at the bottom than at the top, so the base gets light too and does not go bare.
• A neglected hedge can be cut back hard in May, even into old wood; it will regrow.
• Stop clipping after mid-September: the new shoots still need to harden off before winter.

Caution: Before you clip, check that no birds are nesting in the hedge; if they are, wait until the young have fledged.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Summer cuttings

In summer, insert cuttings of 10–15 cm in a mix of sand and potting compost; they root easily.

Hardwood cuttings

In late autumn, push 20 cm lengths of sturdy shoots two-thirds into the ground in a sheltered spot.

Box-leaved honeysuckle: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy; in severe winters some leaves may turn brown or drop, but it regrows in spring.
• Heavy, wet snow can push a hedge open: shake it off gently.

Diseases and pests

• Bare base: The hedge goes bare at the bottom if it is wider at the top than at the base, or if it is not clipped enough. Clip to a slightly tapered shape, and cut a bare hedge back hard in May.
• Splaying open: The long, thin shoots splay open under snow or when the hedge has not been clipped for a long time. Clip more often and cut back sagging parts.
• Aphids: Aphids on the young shoot tips in spring. Usually harmless; the next clip removes them.
• Drought: Brown, dried-out patches after a dry summer, especially in young hedges. Water and mulch.

Through the year

• March: Planting; compost under the hedge.
• April: Flowering: small, fragrant flowers.
• May: First clip; watch out for nesting birds.
• June: Clipping.
• July: Clipping; water young hedges in dry spells.
• August: Clipping; take summer cuttings.
• September: Last clip, before mid-September; planting can start again.
• November: Planting and hardwood cuttings.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Low evergreen hedge and topiary: an alternative to box.

For wildlife

Dense shelter for small birds.

Good for wildlife

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• A good alternative to box, which suffers badly from box tree caterpillar: it grows faster and tolerates hard clipping.
• It belongs to the same family as the fragrant climbing honeysuckles, even though its tiny leaves look nothing like theirs.
• Lonicera is named after the 16th-century German botanist Adam Lonitzer; nitida means ‘shining’, after the glossy little leaves.
• It comes from south-west China and was only introduced to Europe in the 20th century, but it soon became a widely used hedging plant.