Warm waves of honeysuckle perfume filled my senses and brought back childhood memories as I sat in the park with my daughter this morning. I plucked a few white and orange, honey-scented flowers from vines along a fence line to show her how to extract and taste their sweet nectar (something my mother taught me to do). She watched in fascination as I pinched the base of each flower  to yield one glistening drop of nectar. After tasting it, she spent the remainder of our park time collecting more flowers for nectar. This is the good side of honeysuckle--the "Love" side--but this aggressive Asian native vine also has a nasty side, which is why I've eradicated it from my yard.

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a virulent, noxious weed that's become a problem in a large part of the United States (check out its wide distribution on the USDA map ). From California to Maine, it has become rampant and common. A single vine can reach up to 30 feet and spread almost as far forming a dense mat of semi-evergreen foliage that will crowd out and smother everything below. In fact, it has been known to smother small trees and kill them as well as crowding out and killing native understory wildflowers. What a plant bully!


Honeysuckle flowers are so sweet, or are they?

Despite the laundry list of cons darkening its name, many nurseries (which shall remain nameless) still sell Japanese honeysuckle to hapless, unknowing homeowners that simply remember its delightful flowers. This is even more appalling considering this vine is banned for sale in a number of US States, such as Massachusetts , Connecticut and New Hampshire.  And, once you have it in your yard, it's very difficult to get rid of. Mature, fruit-producing plants are especially problematic because birds favor their red berries and spread the seeds along fence and tree lines. Just what your neighbors need!

According to The Global Invasive Species Database (ISSG) the best means of getting rid or this persistent weed is a combination of herbicide application and burning, though I find pulling and digging very effective on the small-scale. Just be sure to get all its lingering roots and stems. Any rooted stem piece can take hold fast to form a new plant.

So, don't be fooled by aroma! Ignore the pleasant face of early summer honeysuckle and eradicate it whenever opportunity knocks. One can always buy honeysuckle fragrance if nostalgia inspires. Native honeysuckle vines, like hummingbird-attracting Lonicera sempervirens, are prettier, better behaved landscape plants anyway.



Each Japanese honeysuckle vine forms layers of vining stems that smother plants below. This specimen is blanketing a now dead shrub rose.