Lonicera japonica Dart's world

The Lonicera japonica Dart's World is a variety of Japanese Honeysuckle that is very accommodating and easy to grow. Its red and white flowering with yellow accents renews itself for several months. Highly fragrant, it perfumes the long summer evenings in the garden. Its beautiful bright green foliage will persist more or less depending on the severity of the winter. This superb climbing plant will quickly fill any support provided and can also serve as a good ground cover, without requiring much maintenance or special skills. An ideal plant for beginners!

The Honeysuckles are woody plants from the Caprifoliaceae family, which also includes the symphorines, well-known for their pretty berries, or the Himalayan Honeysuckle, less common in gardens, and its beautiful flowering followed by curious decorative fruits. The Lonicera genus includes both climbers, like Lonicera japonica, or our native L. periclymenum, as well as shrubs (L. maackii, L. nitida or the precious L. fragrantissima with fragrant flowers in winter). The Japanese Honeysuckle is a botanical species native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). It can be found in thickets, rocky areas, on the edge of woods, and along roadsides. In France, it has naturalized, mainly in the South and West, where it invades hedges. In nature, this plant shows vigorous growth (up to 10m (33ft)), making it suitable for larger, somewhat wild spaces.

The 'Dart's World' variety is much more disciplined, as it, although fast-growing, will reach a height of about 4m (13ft) with a width of 2m (7ft). Its voluble stems wrap around any available support: trellises, arbors, tree branches. They can also effectively cover the ground, as their dense and semi-evergreen foliage (even evergreen in mild climates) leaves little chance for unwanted weeds to grow beneath. The simple leaves, not fused at the base, are ovate and acuminate (pointed at their tips) and are arranged opposite each other. They retain their beautiful bright green color throughout the season and provide a backdrop that enhances the exuberant flowers. These are long tubular at the base and before fully blooming, they resemble very decorative red spiders. They are grouped together by 10 or 12, attached at their base at a common insertion point. The flowers open at their tips, revealing a white upper lip and yellow-tinted stamens, forming a decorative ensemble, measuring 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) long. Appearing throughout the summer, from late June to September, they emit a powerful fragrance recognizable from meters away, especially during warm summer evenings, delighting pollinating insects. They are followed by inedible black fruits.
Hardy down to -20°C (-4°F) without any issues, this Lonicera thrives in all types of soil, neutral to acidic or alkaline. Its only requirement is that the soil remains moist in summer while being well-drained in winter. It thrives in full sun as well as in partial shade, which ultimately means it can find its place in all gardens!

Precious for concealing unsightly supports or embellishing a trellis or arbor, this remarkable 'Dart's World' honeysuckle can also be used as a ground cover, an original and very aesthetic practice. It can also climb into a small tree, preferably one that blooms in spring, to enjoy flowers throughout the growing season. Pair it with the Cercis siliquastrum, the Judas tree, with its vibrant pink flowers that appear before the leaves and decorative heart-shaped leaves that turn yellow in autumn. Another magnificent combination would be to let it climb into a 'Royalty' Crab Apple, which combines multiple advantages: abundant fragrant ruby red spring flowers, purple foliage that turns red in autumn, and dark red decorative fruits that last until winter. A royal double with Dart's World!