Lonicera pileata Mossgreen - Box Honeysuckle

Lonicera pileata Mossgreen is an interesting variety of evergreen shrub honeysuck with a more spread out habit, denser growth, and wider glossy leaves. These characteristics make this evergreen shrub an elegant and very effective groundcover plant. Its discreet spring flowers give way to beautiful violet pearl-shaped berries. Perfectly hardy and undemanding, it is a sturdy and reliable plant with a neat appearance, which works well as groundcover under trees, in rock gardens, on slopes, along paths, or in neglected and hard-to-reach areas.

Native to the rather humid areas of western and central China, Lonicera pileata is a hardy, semi-evergreen to evergreen shrub that prefers rather moist soil. Like all honeysuckles, it belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family. This 'Mossgreen' variety grows faster than the wild species, reaching a height of 40 to 60 cm (15.7 to 23.6 in), with a spread of about 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) or more depending on growing conditions.

The shrub honeysuckle Mossgreen  has a particularly spread-out, almost flat, creeping and very dense habit. Its brown, almost horizontal branches bear leaves even in winter, unless it is very cold. Arranged in an opposite manner on the stems, they are small and leathery, ovate, dark olive green, glossy, and measure 1.3 cm (0.5 in) long. The tiny white-cream tubular flowers, are insignificant but slightly fragrant and appear in spring, in pairs, nestled in the axil of the leaves. They are visited by bees. After pollination, small violet fruits form, truly decorative, ripening in late summer or autumn. They are toxic to humans but appreciated by birds. This fruiting will of course be compromised by severe pruning.

The shrub honeysuckle Mossgreen tolerates many growing conditions, except arid situations, and is very versatile.  Primarily a foliage plant, it will be very useful to create large areas of groundcover, for the stabilization of slightly unattractive slopes, bordering a path, or in large rock gardens. It will thrive even in the shade of a woodland, as long as the soil does not dry out too much in summer. You can plant it on a slope or in a large rock garden with other groundcover plants such as low-growing roses (Rosa grouse The Fairy, or Little White Pet), St. John's wort, golden Lonicera nitida, creeping Euonymus fortunei , or creeping Cotoneasters.