Honeysuckle Brown Blanche Sandman, Dropmore Scarlet: planting and care, photos, reviews

Honeysuckle is a well-known horticultural shrub, some varieties of which produce edible fruits. However, many gardeners grow these plants not for harvest, but as a decoration for their backyard. One of these species is Brown’s honeysuckle, which combines a fairly large number of ornamental varieties.

Description of Honeysuckle Brown

Brown’s honeysuckle (Lonicera brownii) is a hybrid species. It was obtained by crossing evergreen honeysuckle (L. sempervirens) and rough (L. hirsuta). Various varieties of this plant are widely used in ornamental gardening.

Brown’s honeysuckle is an excellent way to decorate a nondescript fence.

A photo and description of Brown’s honeysuckle will be presented below. The table below shows its main characteristics:

Varieties of Brown’s Honeysuckle

Thanks to the work of breeders from different countries, many varieties of Brown’s honeysuckle have been bred. Below are some of them.

Honeysuckle Brown Blanche Sandman

The variety is an evergreen liana, the length of which can reach up to 3,5 m. The shoots are quite powerful, reddish, curly, strongly leafy. Their annual growth can be up to 1 m.

The leaves are oval, bright green, leathery. Flowering begins in June and continues until mid-July. Honeysuckle flowers of Brown Blanche Sandman are large, bright, purple-crimson, the inside is yellow. The variety is excellent for growing as a hedge, for vertical gardening of fences, walls, arches and other decorative elements of the garden.

Honeysuckle Brown Fuchsia

Honeysuckle Brown fuchsiformis is widely used for decorating vertical elements of landscape gardening architecture, as well as an intertwining plant for various fences, fences, and trellises. The shoots of this variety of honeysuckle grow up to 2 m.

The leaves are often fused, dark green, dense. Flowering occurs in June and continues until early July. The flowers are large, bright, crimson-pink, orange inside.

Honeysuckle Brown Golden Trumpet

Honeysuckle Brown Golden Trumpet is a bush of climbing shoots growing up to 3 m. The color of the flowers is bright yellow, with a slight reddish tint.

This variety of honeysuckle begins to bloom in June. From July to September, bright crimson berries ripen on the bushes, which retains their decorative effect for a long time. Honeysuckle Brown Golden Trumpet is used for vertical gardening and creating various garden compositions.

Brown’s Honeysuckle Dropmore Scarlet

Honeysuckle Brown Dropmore Scarlet (Dropmore Scarlet) is a long-known variety, bred in the middle of the last century by Canadian breeders. Belongs to semi-evergreen shrubs, climbing shoots which can grow up to 2 m. The leaves are wide, large, fused, green, slightly bluish below.

Flowering honeysuckle Brown variety Dropmore Scarlet begins in June and continues until early autumn. Flowers are large, up to 5 cm, bell-shaped with a narrow tubular corolla, orange-red. From August, in their place, spherical red berries about 1 cm in size begin to ripen, which gives the shrub even more decorative effect.

A small overview video of this variety of Brown’s honeysuckle can be viewed at the link: 

Planting and caring for Brown’s honeysuckle

Brown’s honeysuckle is not distinguished by increased demands on agricultural technology. Planting and caring for it are quite simple, and the resistance of many varieties to frost, diseases and pests makes them possible to grow even in regions with not the most favorable climate.

Terms of planting

The best time to plant Brown’s honeysuckle in open ground is autumn, the period when the plant has finished growing and is in a calm state. At the same time, at least a month should remain from the moment of planting until the onset of frost. This time is quite enough for the plant to take root in a new place and prepare for winter.

Honeysuckle Brown seedlings are best purchased in containers

If Brown’s honeysuckle is planted with a seedling with ZKS, then planting can be done at any time of the year, excluding winter.

Selection and preparation of the landing site

Honeysuckle Brown is very undemanding to the place of growth and soil. Often it is planted based on the requirements of landscape design, and not the optimal conditions for growth. In illuminated areas, Brown’s honeysuckle grows especially well, however, the plant tolerates partial shade well, which is why it is often planted along fences or near the wall of the house. The shrub has no special requirements for the composition of the soil, however, it is preferable that the soil be loose, sandy or loamy, breathable, neutral or slightly acidic. You should not choose sandy, heavy clay and heavily swampy areas for planting Brown’s honeysuckle.

As a rule, no special soil preparation is carried out. Planting pits for Brown’s honeysuckle seedlings are prepared immediately before work. Their size depends on the age and volume of the root system. Saplings aged 5-7 years need pits about 1 m deep, for younger ones a deepening of 0,25-0,3 m is enough. mixed in a ratio of 3:1:1. It’s a good idea to add a little superphosphate and any potash fertilizer (1-2 tsp) to the soil, as well as 1 cup of wood ash.

Brown’s honeysuckle does not require large planting holes

Rules of landing

Before planting Brown’s honeysuckle seedlings, it is imperative to pour 5-10 cm of drainage into the prepared planting pits – gravel, expanded clay or medium-sized crushed stone. After that, you need to add a layer of nutrient soil, on which the root system of the seedling is placed on top. The roots need to be straightened and carefully covered with soil, periodically compacting it to prevent the formation of voids. Gradually fill the hole completely, making sure that the root collar is at ground level.

After planting, the root zone of the shrub should be watered abundantly, and then mulched with peat or humus. This will prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.

How far apart should Brown’s honeysuckle be planted?

The optimal distance between two adjacent brown honeysuckle bushes is 1,8-2 m. However, bushes are often planted at a closer distance if the density of the hedge needs to be increased.

Brown’s honeysuckle hedge looks very attractive

You should not plant neighboring honeysuckle seedlings closer than 1,5 from each other, since the vines of neighboring plants can be strongly intertwined with each other, and this will create certain difficulties during pruning or other care.

Watering and feeding

Brown’s honeysuckle is drought sensitive, so regular soil moisture is a must when caring for this shrub. After planting, the seedling must be intensively moistened several times so that its roots take root faster. After that, the bush is watered depending on weather conditions. In the heat, this should be done daily, pouring 10 liters of water into the root zone of the shrub. Watering should be carried out in the evening so that the water evaporates less under the influence of sunlight.

Honeysuckle Brown is very fond of sprinkling

At the same time, sprinkling of bushes can also be done, Brown’s honeysuckle responds very well to this procedure.

It is not necessary to feed the shrub in the first few years after planting. During this period of the life of honeysuckle, those nutrients and fertilizers that were added to the soil when planting seedlings are quite enough. However, after this period, top dressing is necessary. A flowering and fruiting shrub depletes the soil quite intensively, so the supply of nutrients in it must be periodically replenished. It is best to do this several times during the season:

1. Early spring. At this time, Brown’s honeysuckle is root fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers (nitrophoska, azofoska).
2. Summer, after flowering. At this time, it is desirable to feed Brown’s honeysuckle with organic matter (humus, rotted manure), evenly introducing them into the root zone.
3. Autumn, after fruiting. At this time, potash and phosphorus complex mineral fertilizers should be used so that the shrub regains strength after fruiting and strengthens before wintering. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers and fresh organic matter are not used at this time, so as not to stimulate excessive shoot formation. Young shoots growing at this time will not have time to become woody by winter and will most likely freeze and die from frost.

Trimming

Because Brown’s honeysuckle vines are primarily used as vines, they are not pruned in their early years to grow in length. Only dried and broken shoots are removed. After the vines have reached the required height, they are cut off, and the side shoots are planted along a trellis, net or fence.

Dry shoots need to be trimmed regularly.

Starting from the age of 6-7, Brown’s honeysuckle must be periodically rejuvenated by cutting out older ones and growing young vines instead. So the plant will retain its decorative effect longer. This can be done in early spring, before the start of sap flow, or in the fall, after the bush has finished growing.

Winter hardiness of Brown’s honeysuckle

Brown’s honeysuckle has good frost resistance. If temperatures in the growing region in winter do not fall below -20 ° C, then the vines can not even be removed from the trellis, it is enough to insulate the root zone with a thick layer of mulch from peat, humus or sawdust. In colder regions, the vines must be removed from the base, laid on the ground and covered with a layer of fallen leaves, straw or spruce branches.

Reproduction of honeysuckle Brown

Brown’s honeysuckle can be propagated by both seed and vegetative methods. Here is a brief description of both methods.

Seeds: material for sowing is collected from fully ripe berries, usually at the end of October. The easiest way to do this is to rub the fruit through a sieve. Cleaned seeds must be stratified – withstand 1,5-2 months at a temperature of 0-4 ° C. Such a measure imitates the natural conditions of the wild and significantly increases germination. Sowing is done in spring, after the soil thaws and warms up to + 3-5 ° С. Seeds are evenly placed in grooves and sprinkled with a layer of soil no more than 2 cm. Under such conditions, the first shoots usually appear no earlier than September.

In special greenhouse containers, seeds germinate much faster.

There is a way to significantly speed up the germination of seeds. To do this, they are germinated at home, using mini-greenhouses, in which constant temperature and humidity parameters are maintained. Under these conditions, Brown’s honeysuckle seeds germinate in 3-4 weeks.

Cuttings, this vegetative method is used more often by ordinary gardeners than seed, because it is simpler and more effective. There are several ways of cuttings of honeysuckle, of which winter is most often used, using lignified cuttings with planting before winter or early spring. You can also propagate Brown’s honeysuckle in the summer with green cuttings cut from current year’s annual shoots. This plant takes root quite well.

Brown’s honeysuckle is very easy to propagate from cuttings.

At the same time, the planted cuttings need to be regularly moistened so that they quickly form their own root system. After the young seedlings grow up and get stronger, they can be transplanted to a permanent place.

The division of the bush. A heavily overgrown Brown’s honeysuckle bush can be dug out of the ground and divided into several parts so that each part contains a sufficient number of roots and several healthy shoots. Such delenki are planted as independent seedlings in separate planting pits.

Diseases and pests

Brown’s honeysuckle is weakly susceptible to various kinds of diseases, since it has good immunity. However, sometimes it can be affected by some diseases, mainly fungal ones. The cause of diseases is most often unsuitable growing conditions, violations in care, as well as some insect pests that are carriers of infectious agents.

1. Mučnistaâ rosa. This is a fungal disease, which can be recognized by the characteristic white powdery coating on leaves and shoots. In the future, the affected areas of the crown turn black and die. This disease often appears due to sudden cold snaps and damp weather. The affected shoots are pruned, and the bushes are treated with Thiovit or Chistotsvet for prevention and treatment.

   

2. brown spot. This fungal disease affects the aerial part of Brown’s honeysuckle, and primarily the leaves. It can be recognized by the characteristic reddish spots on the leaf plate. Over time, the spots darken, and the leaves turn brown, dry out and fly around. Fungus spores overwinter in fallen leaves. In case of infection, all affected shoots must be cut and burned, and all fallen leaves must be removed. The shrub is treated with fungicides, for example, Bordeaux liquid or copper oxychloride (HOM preparations, Abiga-Peak, etc.).

   

3. Ascochitosis. Another type of spotting that affects Brown’s honeysuckle leaves. It is a fungal disease, determined by irregularly shaped gray spots with a black border. Over time, the spots merge, the leaves dry up and fall off. As a prevention of fungal diseases, honeysuckle bushes are treated with fungicides. All infected shoots and fallen leaves containing fungus spores must be removed and burned.

   

4. Mottling. One of the viral diseases of decorative forms of honeysuckle, which greatly spoils the appearance of shrubs. The causative agents of this disease are carried by nematodes – small parasitic worms living in the soil. Getting rid of nematodes on the site is quite difficult. It is better to remove and burn the affected parts of the bush, and feed the plant itself with potash fertilizers. If the disease is running, then it is better to dig out the entire shrub and burn it, and completely abandon the planting of honeysuckle in this place.

   

In addition to the aforementioned nematodes, other insect pests can be found on Brown’s honeysuckle. Here is some of them:

1. honeysuckle mite. It is a small sucking insect that feeds on leaf sap. You can find it by twisted leaves, inside of which there is a cobweb masonry with mite eggs. Various acaricidal preparations are used against ticks, such as Confidor and Actellik.
   
   

   Twisted and cobwebbed leaves are a sign of a pest

2. honeysuckle aphid. You can notice this microscopic insect by yellowed leaves, the juices of which feed on aphids. Large accumulations of these insects greatly deplete the shoots and cause their weak growth, and sometimes withering. The extreme leaves at the ends of the shoots are usually affected by the apical aphid, visually it is darker, has a gray color. To combat aphids, it is best to use various folk remedies, such as an infusion of tansy, celandine or garlic. As a rule, their single application is quite enough to get rid of this insect pest.
   
   

   Green aphids usually settle on the underside of leaves.

Conclusion

Brown’s honeysuckle is an unpretentious and attractive ornamental plant that can decorate any home garden. Beautiful appearance, ease of care, resistance to diseases and pests, frost resistance – all these qualities are inherent in this plant. And this makes it one of the most sought after shrubs used in ornamental gardening.

Brown’s honeysuckle reviews