Honeysuckles grace garden with fragrant blooms

Whenever someone visits our garden in late spring and spots our Arnold Red honeysuckles in bloom, they immediately want to know what they are. While many can easily identify honeysuckle vines, this bush can be a mystery even though it is one of the most common bush honeysuckles. Perhaps this isn’t all that surprising when you consider that there are more than 150 species of honeysuckle shrubs and vines in the northern hemisphere.

Native to northeast Asia, the Tatarian honeysuckle is a deciduous shrub that is easy to grow and very tough. It has an arching growth habit with dense branches.

I like the shrubs year-round but they are at their best in late May and early June, when they bloom their hearts out. Prolific and fragrant, the dark pink flowers have a tubular shape and grace the branch tips. It’s no wonder they are a favorite with hummingbirds, butterflies and bees because they are a good source of nectar.

The oval leaves are blue-green in color and grow opposite each other. After the flowers bloom, red berries develop and are a favorite of birds.

Tatarian honeysuckles prefer moist soil but can become drought-tolerant once they are established. They will grow happily in most any soil but do best if it is well-drained. They can get a bit leggy so should be pruned after they flower.

We have two hedges of these honeysuckles to provide screens, and they excel in this role since they grow quickly. When their sweet fragrance graces the air, you can imagine what a joy it is for me to work in the garden.

Arnold Red is an aphid-resistant cultivar that can be propagated by seeds or by cuttings.