Lonicera nitida Purple Storm - Box Honeysuckle

Lonicera nitida Garden Clouds Purple Storm is a selection of Boxwood Honeysuckle with beautifully purple-coloured shoots that naturally form a ball. This shrub is easy to grow, decorative in all seasons, has well-branched growth and is very tolerant of pruning. Ideal for creating topiary or low hedges, it is an excellent alternative to boxwood. Its growth is quite fast, its foliage is more colourful and it proves to be less susceptible to disease.

Lonicera Garden Clouds belong to the Caprifoliaceae family. They are a series of Dutch cultivars that are very easy to shape, for example into a ball or pyramid. Their parent, Lonicera nitida, is a robust evergreen shrub native to the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. The Purple Storm cultivar reaches a height of approximately 90 cm (35.4 in) and a width of 60 cm (23.6 in) in 3 years. This shrub generally requires pruning once a year depending on its growing conditions. Its small, leathery, shiny leaves are purple in bud, dark green in summer, and even darker in autumn and winter. The young branches are also tinged with reddish purple. If left unpruned, this shrub produces small, discreet cream-white flowers in spring. The small purple fruits, toxic but appreciated by birds, are rarely seen in cultivation and only develop if the plant is not pruned.

Plant Lonicera Garden Clouds Purple Storm in any well-drained soil, even limestone, that isn't too dry.  It prefers partial shade or light sun. Primarily a foliage plant, Boxleaf Honeysuckle tolerates severe pruning which should be carried out just after winter or after flowering. Allow 50 to 70 cm (19.7 to 27.6 in) of space between plants for hedge planting. This shrub is resistant to air pollution and also tolerates moderate drought once established. It is perfect for low hedges, large borders, or beautiful plant sculptures, trimmed into balls or pyramid shapes, both in the ground and in pots. This Boxleaf Honeysuckle can also be left to grow freely in woodland areas.