I realised today that my Winter Honeysuckle – Lonicera fragrantissima is in full flower. This arching shrubby plant has an amazingly sweet intense fragrance with small creamy flowers in late winter and early spring. Mine is positioned near a path so that you can pick up the scent, but is surrounded by other shrubs which take over the interest later on in the year, as it doesn’t look very exciting in the summer months. It does need a sheltered position to flower profusely but mine is doing just fine in quite a shady part of the garden.
As Lonicera fragrantissima flowers so early on in the year it is best to prune, if required, as soon as it has done this – certainly no later than May – so that it can build up its shoots for flowering next year. Stems that have flowered should be pruned back to a pair of strong buds, and a decent autumn mulch given, but if left it will reach the giddy heights of 2m and breadth of 3.
As mentioned before, plants that flower in winter are an early treat for insects so it is well worth investing in this Lonicera if you are interested in attracting wildlife, but consider too pinching a few shoots for the house where the fragrance can be appreciated even more.
