Coral Honeysuckle Info: How To Grow Coral Honeysuckle In The Garden

Coral Honeysuckle Plant
coral honeysuckle
(Image credit: SHSPhotography)

Coral honeysuckle is a beautiful, less-than-fragrant, flowering vine native to the United States. It provides a great cover for trellises and fences that is the perfect alternative to its invasive, foreign cousins. Keep reading to learn more coral honeysuckle info, including coral honeysuckle care and how to grow coral honeysuckle plants.

Coral Honeysuckle Info

What is coral honeysuckle? Depending upon whom you ask, coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is hardy in everything from USDA zone 4 through 11. This means it can survive virtually anywhere in the continental United States. Coral honeysuckle is a twining vine that can reach 15 to 25 feet (4.5-7.5 m.) in length. It produces attractive and fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers that grow in clusters. These flowers are 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) long and come in shades of red, yellow, and coral pink. They are especially attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. In the fall, these flowers give way to small red berries that will attract songbirds.

Is Coral Honeysuckle Invasive?

Honeysuckle gets a bad rap, and rightly so! Japanese honeysuckle is an especially invasive species in North America that is often planted without knowledge of how harmful it can be to local ecosystems. While that species should be avoided in the United States, coral honeysuckle is a native plant that has a place in the carefully balanced ecosystem. It is a good alternative to its dangerously invasive cousin.

Coral Honeysuckle Care

Growing coral honeysuckle vines is not difficult. The plant can grow in full sun to partial shade. Once established, it is very tolerant of both heat and drought. In very warm climates, the leaves are evergreen. In places with colder winters, the leaves will drop or some growth will die back. Coral honeysuckle will grow as a vine up trellises or along fences, but it can also be used effectively as a creeping groundcover.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.