Lonicera nitida Ernest Wilson - Box Honeysuckle

The Lonicera nitida 'Ernest Wilson' is a vigorous variety with evergreen leaves much smaller than those of other varieties, of a shiny dark green colour. It forms a medium-sized bushy shrub that grows quickly even in shade, in slightly poor and dry soil. Tolerant to pruning, it is an excellent plant for forming topiaries or trimmed hedges, replacing boxwood advantageously. Its free form is also elegant with its numerous long, arched and ramified branches, like a green fireworks display! Use it to create an easy hedge or as ground cover to stabilize a slope. Its spring flowering is inconspicuous, but it emits a pleasant fragrance and is followed by purple berries, appreciated by birds.

The Lonicera nitida 'Ernest Wilson' is a hybrid of shrubby honeysuckle also called boxleaf honeysuckle, belonging to the caprifoliaceae family. Its parent, L. nitida, is a robust evergreen shrub native to the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.

The variety 'Ernest Wilson' is very easy to grow and hardy. It reaches an average height of 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) and a width of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in). Its growth is fast, requiring several prunings per year depending on its growing conditions. The 'Ernest Wilson' shrubby honeysuckle has a bushy habit, carried by arched and ramified branches. Its evergreen, small and tough, shiny dark green leaves are only 4 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.2 in) long. If not pruned, it develops small cream-white flowers, quite inconspicuous, but pleasantly scented in spring. The small purple fruits, toxic but appreciated by birds, are rarely observed in cultivation and obviously only develop if the plant is not pruned.

Plant Lonicera nitida 'Ernest Wilson' in any well-drained soil that is not too dry, even chalky, it appreciates partial shade or light sun. Primarily a foliage plant, the boxleaf honeysuckle tolerates severe pruning, which should be done just after winter or after flowering. Allow 50 to 70 cm (19.7 to 27.6 in) of distance between plants for subjects planted in hedges. This shrub is resistant to atmospheric pollution and also tolerates moderate drought once established. It allows for the creation of low hedges, large borders, ground cover for a large slope, or the creation of beautiful plant sculptures, trimmed into balls or pyramids, both in the ground and in pots. This boxleaf honeysuckle can also be left free in the undergrowth, you can also train it against a trellis.