Brown's Honeysuckle Lonicera x brownii
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- loh-NIS-er-ah BROW-nee-eye
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Brown’s honeysuckle is an artificial hybrid of Lonicera hirsuta × Lonicera sempervirens. Both parents are native to North America, but the cross was developed in Europe. It is a perennial twining, semi-evergreen to deciduous climber. The “Brown” honored by the hybrid epithet is unknown.
This hybrid honeysuckle prefers partial sun, moist, fertile, loamy soil, but it is highly adaptable to a wide variety of soil and environmental conditions. It thrives in full sun but will tolerate partial sun and light, afternoon shade. If it becomes overgrown, it can be cut down to ground level and new shoots will generate.
Brown’s honeysuckle has red to orange trumpet flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds and bloom over a long season. The fruits are not ornamentally significant but can be messy in the landscape and may require occasional clean-up.
This is a vigorous, but not aggressive, twining vine that is a great choice for arbors, trellises and chain-link fences. Use it in a cottage, pollinator, children’s or shade garden. It is a great plant for hummingbirds.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Dropmore Scarlet'
Heavy bloomer, more cold hardy - 'Golden Trumpet'
Orange flowers. - 'Mandarin's Brown'
Orange red on outside, yellow-orange inside, no berries
- 'Dropmore Scarlet'
- 'Dropmore Scarlet', 'Golden Trumpet', 'Mandarin's Brown'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Dropmore Scarlet'
Heavy bloomer, more cold hardy - 'Golden Trumpet'
Orange flowers. - 'Mandarin's Brown'
Orange red on outside, yellow-orange inside, no berries
- 'Dropmore Scarlet'
- 'Dropmore Scarlet', 'Golden Trumpet', 'Mandarin's Brown'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Lonicera
- Family:
- Caprifoliaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Layering
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- hybrid of Lonicera sempervirens and Lonicera hirsuta
- Wildlife Value:
- This honeysuckle attracts bees, bumblebees, hummingbirds, and songbirds.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Colorful
- Easy to Grow
- Fragrance
- Screening
- Wildlife Food Source
- Climbing Method:
- Twining
- Dimensions:
- Height: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Poisonous
- Shrub
- Vine
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Climbing
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
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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)
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Berry
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Red berries in late summer and fall.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Orange
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Spike
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Tubular
- Flower Petals:
- fused petals
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- Tubular flowers in clusters. Flowers are red to orange-red, depending on the cultivar.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Green
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Insignificant
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Obtuse
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Waxy, bluish-green leaves in summer. The leaves immediately below the flowers are joined at the base. Little color change in fall.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Vertical Spaces
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Cottage Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Shade Garden
- Design Feature:
- Mass Planting
- Screen/Privacy
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Hummingbirds
- Pollinators
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Black Walnut
- Urban Conditions
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
- Problem for Children
