When to Prune Flowering Honeysuckle in Georgia

Honeysuckle Basics

• Trumpet honeysuckle is the most common variety of this fast-growing, semi - evergreen vine and is native to the eastern U.S. Thriving in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 to 9, it is less aggressive than its Asian cousin, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). It thrives in full sun, needs only moderate watering once established and blooms profusely in the late spring with red, highly fragrant blossoms.

The Purpose of Pruning

• Deciding when to prune this easy-to-please vine in Georgia and other areas of the South really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Do you want to get an older, unruly plant back under control? Or are you trying to encourage repeat blooms as long as possible during the long Georgia growing season? Determining this is the key to timing pruning.

Maintenance Pruning

• To convince your honeysuckle vine to continue to bloom into the mid to late summer, pruning should take place after the spring blooms have faded, which in Georgia usually occurs by early June. Pruning off the shoots that contain the spent flowers will encourage the plant to set additional buds for a repeat display of color and fragrance later in the season. This type of routine pruning will also help train the shape and direction of this twining vine, as it grows up the side of your arbor, pergola or fence.

Winter Pruning

• Pruning honeysuckle in Georgia during its winter dormancy is the only way to regain control of a plant that has taken over your garden. Cutting back a too-aggressive vine will definitely affect the plant’s ability to flower the following spring, but it’s a necessary step to take for the long-term health of both the plant and your garden in general. In Georgia, wait until late December or early January to ensure the vine is completely dormant and avoid undue shock to its system, then cut it back severely, leaving only about a foot of growth at the base of the plant. It will recover quickly in the spring, especially if fertilized properly, and the new growth can be retrained for better behavior in the seasons to come.