How to Prune a Honeysuckle?

Fast-growing plants, Loniceras require regular pruning and training to maintain their appearance and strength. Climbing varieties, when fixed to a support, are highly prized for their abundant, colourful and fragrant blooms. Moreover, the evergreen Honeysuckle allows you to create beautiful decorative green screens all year round. As for shrubby Honeysuckles, some, when pruned into topiary, delight gardeners with an artistic soul, while others are ideal for hedges or ground cover on slopes. Depending on the type of plant or the desired result, pruning is done at different times and in different ways.

Discover our tips for pruning your climbing or shrubby Honeysuckle!

honeysuckle flower

Why prune Honeysuckle?

Pruning Honeysuckle is not mandatory, but it can be done for several reasons. Firstly, pruning the stems stimulates the production of new shoots. Thinning out a climbing plant fixed to its support (pergolas, trellises, fences...) allows more light to reach the heart of the foliage, thus promoting the growth of new shoots. Note that the more severe the pruning, the more vigorous the new shoots will be. Severe pruning therefore revitalises a weak Honeysuckle and strengthens its framework. Secondly, to obtain beautiful, fragrant blooms every year, regular pruning is essential. Finally, it may also be necessary to remove overly vigorous stems that invade neighbouring plants or become troublesome near walkways.

What tools to use?

To avoid transmitting diseases to your Honeysuckle, use clean, well-disinfected and perfectly sharpened tools. When pruning, the cut should be clean. Depending on the Honeysuckle to be pruned, you will need:

When and how to prune Honeysuckle?

Not all Honeysuckles are pruned in the same way or at the same time. It also depends on the desired result. Some general rules should be followed:

always cut stems at an angle to prevent water stagnation which causes diseases, or make a straight, clean cut in the case of opposite buds,
cut 5 mm above a well-oriented bud, following its inclination,
do not prune during frost or extreme heat.

Shrubby Honeysuckle

Pruning is done to limit their growth.

For deciduous species such as Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera purpusii, both called 'Winter Honeysuckle', pruning should be done after flowering, from April to May. It involves thinning out the centre by removing the oldest branches to let in light, removing excessive suckers, dead and misplaced stems, and shortening branches by half to create a more compact shape. Remove a maximum of 1/4 of the shrub's branches.

For evergreen species, mainly Lonicera nitida and Lonicera pileata, pruning is done to restore a uniform shape to the shrub. Lonicera nitida should be pruned 2 to 3 times a year in April and September to maintain a compact habit. It is often used to create topiary as a substitute for boxwood. Lonicera pileata, with its creeping habit, is used as ground cover or for low hedges. This one should be pruned in May. Prune the upright branches at the top with secateurs, then refine the edges with shears to give it the desired shape.

Lonicera nitida pruned into a ball

Climbing Honeysuckle

Climbing Honeysuckles can be pruned at different times during the year to maintain a restricted volume and avoid significant bareness at the base of the plant. During each pruning, remove dead, misplaced, damaged or diseased wood.

Training pruning:

At planting time in autumn or early spring, prune the Honeysuckle by removing tangled stems and cutting back lateral stems above a bud. At the centre of the plant, if there is strong competition, cut back heavily branched stems.

Maintenance pruning:

a) After flowering:

Most Honeysuckle species flower on the previous year's wood. Light pruning can therefore be done after flowering so that new shoots have time to mature before winter. They will flower the following year:

Remove stems that have borne flowers by cutting above a node (where a young shoot emerges).
If the foliage is very dense, cut back the weakest shoots, as well as the tangled stems at the top.
Cut back dead, damaged or diseased stems to the base.

b) In late winter:

When there is no frost, this pruning is done to stimulate flowering. Shorten all lateral stems near a main stem to 5 or 6 buds. Deciduous species can also be pruned at this time, when the stems are bare. Without leaves, it is easier to clean and train the Honeysuckle.

On the left, you can see the fruits at the end of a stem that has borne flowers; on the right, in winter, cut the stems to 5 or 6 nodes from a main stem

My Honeysuckle is bare, what should I do?

To rejuvenate an old or bare Honeysuckle, you need to carry out severe pruning in late winter, in March when the plant is still dormant. Before the growing season resumes, cut back the stems to about 40-50 cm from the ground. New shoots will emerge from the base.

Training Honeysuckle

At planting time and throughout the first year as the Honeysuckle grows, guide the framework branches and flexible twining stems by spreading them evenly over the support. Then, each year during pruning, position and secure the pruned stems. Keep the most vigorous shoots to renew the main framework.