Honeysuckle – Clematis

(Question)

Hi can you please tell me whats the best season to transplant honesuckle, what’s the best way to prune them and clamatus and any general care info for both. the ones i have grow very messey and i don’t know what to do with them. thank you

(Answer)

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners.

There are three types of honeysuckle – vines, shrubs and a bush variety. I am going to assume that it is a vine honeysuckle as you ask what is the best way to prune similar to a clematis.

The best time to transplant a vine honeysuckle is in its dormant stage that would be the late fall when all the leaves have fallen but the ground has not frozen.  Make sure you prune the honeysuckle to at least one third of its original size before transplanting. Prepare the new growing location before you dig the plant out from its original location.  The new hole should be the same size as the former hole.  Make sure the new site is in a part sun part shade location. Water well once located in its new location.

Pruning a honeysuckle that is unruly , you can always remove any dead, diseased or damaged stems. Cut stems to the point where they join another stem or just past a leaf node: honeysuckle vines can be lightly pruned for shaping virtually any time of the year. If you’re doing a major pruning for an older vine or overgrown vine, wait for the fall, or winter when it goes dormant.

For further information on care of a vining honeysuckle the following website is a good start click here   and Honeysuckle Supports It also provides information on a variety of growing supports that can be used to grow your honeysuckle on.

There are many types of clematis and it would be best to know which clematis you have in order to correctly assist you with your questions. The website below will assist in identification and once you know which type of clematis  you are growing we can assist you with growing and pruning.  This website is the International Clematis Society  Clematis Identification and Information   

When you are in the societies webpage look on the left hand side click on pruning to find out which clematis you currently have and how to prune it. As the website suggest if the clematis blooms before July,  clematis should be group 1 and group 2 ( there are exceptions).

June 30, 2021