How to Trim Frost-Damaged Honeysuckle

Don’t be fooled by the delicate appearance and sweet scent of honeysuckle flowers. Honeysuckle is a tough and vigorous plant, whether you’re growing one of the shrub varieties or a vining type. Some cultivars are deciduous, losing their leaves and going dormant to help them weather winter cold, and others are evergreen. In mild climates, deciduous honeysuckle varieties may remain evergreen too. Don’t be in a hurry to prune cold-damaged vegetation. According to Arizona Cooperative Extension website, trimming frost-nipped woody growth too soon can stimulate new growth vulnerable to further frost damage.

Garden gloves
Hand pruning shears, anvil or bypass type
Loppers, if needed
Pinestraw, shredded leaves, grass clippings or pine bark
10-10-10 fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Prune frost-damaged growth in spring, after new growth has started. First remove all dead and damaged growth, cutting back to a branch juncture or leaf if possible.
- 2
  Trim the total plant next. Remove just one-third to one-half of upper stems and branches, on both shrubs and vines, to encourage strong flowering on the season’s new growth.
- 3
  Cut honeysuckle stems back to 12 to 24 inches, using the loppers, if the plant is severely overgrown. This will stimulate rapid new vegetative growth, but possibly no flowers for the first season.
- 4
  Water the honeysuckle plants thoroughly, completely saturating the root area. The newly pruned plants will be stimulated to start replacing vegetation, and need water to do it.
- 5
  Spread organic mulch -- pine straw, pine bark, grass clippings or shredded leaves -- around the vase of the vine or shrubs to conserve water and deter weeds.
- 6
  Feed the honeysuckle vine or shrub with 10-10-10 fertilizer, but only after leaves on the first flush of new growth reach full size.

Rhodochiton Care

Directions for How to Bury Grape Vines

Groundcovers & Vines