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Lonicera tatarica

Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
loh-NIS-er-ah tat-TAR-ee-ka
This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
See below
Description

Tatarian Honeysuckle is a non-native shrub from Asia that can become invasive, invading open woodlands, thickets, fence rows, and roadsides. It can spread rapidly due to birds and mammals dispersing the seeds and can form an extremely dense understory thicket, restricting native plant growth and inhibiting biodiversity.  This shrub has dense tangles of leggy branches with hollow twigs and is often the first shrub to grow leaves in the spring. It is listed as a noxious weed in several states. 

The flowers have a sweet fragrance typical of honeysuckle. This honeysuckle prefers partial sun, moist, fertile, loamy soil, but it is highly adaptable to a wide variety of soil and environmental conditions. It can grow in full sun to shade, and moist to dry, gravelly, or sandy soils.

This plant is a host for the larvae of the Hummingbird moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  witches broom caused by Russian aphids, leaf spot, powdery mildew, and blights. This plant may become too tall for the home landscape and be difficult to prune dead branches, as well as self-seeding aggressively. This species is classified as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council.

 

See this plant in the following landscape:
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Arnold Red'
  • 'Fan Guo'
  • 'Zabelli'
'Arnold Red', 'Fan Guo', 'Zabelli'
Tags:
#hummingbird friendly#arching#deciduous#full sun tolerant#fragrant flowers#drought tolerant#pink flowers#moth caterpillar host#tubular flowers#high maintenance#upright form#specialized bees#moist soil#aggressive#bumblebee friendly#well-drained soil#multistemmed#large shrub#rich soils#poisonous fruits#thickets#red fruits#naturalizes#self-seeding#trumpet flowers#urban conditions tolerant#sandy soils tolerant#rocky soils tolerant#clay soils tolerant#bird friendly#partial shade tolerant#bee friendly#black walnut toxicity tolerant#weed#hedge#moth friendly
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Arnold Red'
  • 'Fan Guo'
  • 'Zabelli'
'Arnold Red', 'Fan Guo', 'Zabelli'
Tags:
#hummingbird friendly#arching#deciduous#full sun tolerant#fragrant flowers#drought tolerant#pink flowers#moth caterpillar host#tubular flowers#high maintenance#upright form#specialized bees#moist soil#aggressive#bumblebee friendly#well-drained soil#multistemmed#large shrub#rich soils#poisonous fruits#thickets#red fruits#naturalizes#self-seeding#trumpet flowers#urban conditions tolerant#sandy soils tolerant#rocky soils tolerant#clay soils tolerant#bird friendly#partial shade tolerant#bee friendly#black walnut toxicity tolerant#weed#hedge#moth friendly
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Lonicera
    Species:
    tatarica
    Family:
    Caprifoliaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Perennial
    Woody
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Layering
    Seed
    Stem Cutting
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Siberia and central and eastern Asia
    Distribution:
    Eastern and mid-western USA and Canada
    Wildlife Value:
    The flowers are pollinated by the ruby-throated hummingbird, hummingbird moths (Hemaris spp.), bumblebees, large carpenter bees, mason bees, leaf-cutting bees (Megachile spp.), and green metallic bees (Agapostemon spp., Augochlorella spp., etc.) Berries are eaten by robins, starlings, cedar waxwings, and other birds which help to disperse the seeds. White-tailed deer lightly browse the foliage and eastern cottontail rabbit will eat the fruits.
    Play Value:
    Attractive Flowers
    Attracts Pollinators
    Fragrance
    Wildlife Cover/Habitat
    Wildlife Food Source
    Dimensions:
    Height: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
    Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Perennial
    Poisonous
    Shrub
    Weed
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Habit/Form:
    Arching
    Erect
    Multi-stemmed
    Rounded
    Growth Rate:
    Rapid
    Maintenance:
    High
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Texture:
    Clay
    High Organic Matter
    Loam (Silt)
    Sand
    Shallow Rocky
    Soil pH:
    Acid (<6.0)
    Neutral (6.0-8.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Moist
    Occasionally Dry
    Available Space To Plant:
    6-feet-12 feet
    NC Region:
    Coastal
    Mountains
    Piedmont
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    3a, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Red/Burgundy
    Fruit Value To Gardener:
    Showy
    Display/Harvest Time:
    Fall
    Summer
    Fruit Type:
    Berry
    Fruit Length:
    < 1 inch
    Fruit Width:
    < 1 inch
    Fruit Description:
    The abundant paired berries are 0.25 inches, orange to red when ripe and containing numerous seeds. They often persist throughout winter.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Color:
    Pink
    White
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Spike
    Flower Value To Gardener:
    Fragrant
    Showy
    Flower Bloom Time:
    Spring
    Flower Shape:
    Trumpet
    Tubular
    Flower Petals:
    4-5 petals/rays
    fused petals
    Flower Size:
    < 1 inch
    Flower Description:
    Trumpet-shaped flowers are .7 to 1 inch and develop in pairs in the axils of the leaves from May to June. Flowers are deeply 5-lobed, tubular, usually pink to red and rarely white.
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Leaf Color:
    Blue
    Green
    Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
    Insignificant
    Leaf Type:
    Simple
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Opposite
    Leaf Shape:
    Orbicular
    Ovate
    Leaf Margin:
    Entire
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Width:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Description:
    Bluish-green leaves are 1½-2½" long and ¾-1½" across and the undersides are pale green.
  • Bark:
    Bark Color:
    Dark Brown
    Dark Gray
    Surface/Attachment:
    Peeling
    Shredding
    Bark Description:
    The bark of older branches is gray to grayish brown with narrow longitudinal ridges; with age, it becomes shaggy from shredded strips of bark and can often peel in vertical strips.
  • Stem:
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
  • Landscape:
    Attracts:
    Bees
    Hummingbirds
    Moths
    Pollinators
    Songbirds
    Specialized Bees
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Black Walnut
    Deer
    Drought
    Problems:
    Frequent Disease Problems
    Poisonous to Humans
    Problem for Children
    Weedy
  • Poisonous to Humans:
    Poison Severity:
    Low
    Poison Symptoms:
    Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pains. No human deaths have been reported from consumption of the berries.
    Poison Toxic Principle:
    Saponins
    Causes Contact Dermatitis:
    No
    Poison Part:
    Fruits