This honeysuckle has a real wow factor, with long, trumpet-shaped, vivid scarlet flowers from July to September, followed in hot summers by small red berries. Although it is unscented (or with just a faint hint of perfume), the flower colour more than makes up for the lack of fragrance, and its handsome, semi-evergreen (or deciduous in colder winters) blue-green leaves provide valuable cover for a pergola or boundary wall. An unusual climber for a cottage-style garden.
How to care for Lonicera × brownii Dropmore Scarlet:
Cut back established plants after flowering, removing a third of the flowering shoots. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted compost or manure around the base of the plant in early spring.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
4m
Eventual spread:
2m
Position:
Full sun / light shade
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
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This climber is semi-evergreen, so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new foliage appears again in spring.
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Humans/Pets: Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten