Lonicera x heckrottii Gold Flame - Goldflame Honeysuckle

The Lonicera (x) heckrotii 'Gold Flame' is a rather bushy hybrid Honeysuckle rather than a true climber, with moderate dimensions, which allows it to be integrated into a small garden or grown in a large pot on the terrace. It seduces with its long, brightly coloured summer flowering with floral and spicy scents. Its flowers, of a beautiful size, composed of a bright pink tube opening onto a yellow-orange throat, succeed each other for a very long period, on a beautiful green-blue foliage in summer. This variety is also very ornamental when grown as a bush, in a hedge or a field of plants.

The Lonicera (x) Heckrotii Gold Flame is an improvement of a horticultural hybrid resulting from the cross-breeding of L.sempervirens and L. americana. These plants all belong to the caprifoliaceae family. 'Gold Flame' is a deciduous variety, with a bushy to climbing habit. The mature plant will not exceed 3m (10ft) in height or length and 1m (3ft) in width. The flowering takes place at the end of the young shoots, throughout the growth period. The tubular flowers, 5cm (2in) long, of a bright pink almost red, open onto two lips of a very bright yellow-orange, exhaling a powerful fragrance. They are grouped in whorls in the axil of the leaves, producing some non-edible red berries. The young voluble shoots are reddish in colour, as is the juvenile foliage, bringing an ornamental touch of color to this lovely Honeysuckle. The foliage is composed of 5cm (2in) long leaves, taking on a pretty green-blue shade at ripeness.

The Lonicera Gold Flame can be trained as a small climber on a trellis or espalier, especially on a pergola located on a patio, a terrace, or near the house where its fragrant flowering will be greatly appreciated. It can also, according to each individual's desires and tastes, be placed on a fence or a stone wall where it will gracefully cascade. When grown as a bush, it will enhance a flowerbed close to the house or the foreground of a flowering hedge, the edge of a grove. it can be associated with small clematis such as Clematis patens Shin-Shigyoku, Prince Charles, winter or officinal jasmine, perennial peas (Lathyrus latifolius), a small climbing rose 'Laguna', bright pink or Ghislaine de Féligonde and Alchemist with warm tones.