General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Vine
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Wet Mesic
Mesic
Dry Mesic
Dry
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 4a -34.4 °C (-30 °F) to -31.7 °C (-25 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 10b
Plant Height: Twines and climbs, 12 to 30 feeet
Leaves: Semi-evergreen
Deciduous
Fruit: Showy
Edible to birds
Other: Small, spherical black berries, each containing a few seeds.
Fruiting Time: Fall
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Flower Color: White
Other: Fading to yellow
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Summer
Late summer or early fall
Fall
Underground structures: Rhizome
Uses: Erosion control
Groundcover
Will Naturalize
Edible Parts: Flowers
Eating Methods: Raw
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Birds
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Toxicity: Fruit is poisonous
Other: The berries are mildly toxic
Propagation: Other methods: Division
Stolons and runners
Pollinators: Moths and Butterflies

Image
Common names
  • Japanese Honeysuckle
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Lonicera japonica
  • Synonym: Lonicera japonica var. aureo-reticulata
  • Synonym: Lonicera japonica Thunb. var. chinensis
  • Synonym: Nintooa japonica

Photo Gallery
Location: Woodbridge , Va
Date: 2019-05-17
Location: Aberdeen, NC
Date: April 29, 2022
Japanese honeysuckle #141; RAB p. 990, 174-2-4; AG page 220, 51-7
Location: Aberdeen, NC
Date: April 29, 2022
Japanese honeysuckle #141; RAB p. 990, 174-2-4; AG page 220, 51-7
Photo by kylaluaz
Location: Aberdeen, NC Pages Lake park
Date: April 24, 2023
Japanese honeysuckle #141; RAB p. 990, 174-2-4; AG page 220, 51-7
Location: Fairfax, VA
Date: 2022-03-30
Location: Aberdeen, NC
Date: April 29, 2022
Japanese honeysuckle #141; RAB p. 990, 174-2-4; AG page 220, 51-7
Location: my garden in Dawsonville, GA (zone 7b north Geogia mountains)
Date: 2022-05-09
Location: Woodbridge , Va
Date: 2019-05-17
Location: Tarlton
Date: 2018-05-26
Location: Tarlton
Date: 2018-05-27

It smells good in summer. It is still so terribly bad in my opini
Location: Wood County, TX
Date: 2020-04-10
Growing wild

Wikipedia
Location: Fairfax, VA | September 2022
Location: Northeastern, Texas
Date: 2017-04-23
Invasive species but it sure smells nice!
Location: Botanical garden of Crete
Date: 2022-06-01
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-01-17
a messy vine mass in winter
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-01-17
leaves in winter

Date: 2009-04-28
Photo courtesy of: Shimizusatsuki
Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI
Date: 2011-06-06
Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI
Date: 2011-06-06
Photo by SongofJoy

Photo courtesy of: MomentsForZen
Location: Richmond
Date: 2014-08-21
This is the same bloom cluster as in my previous photograph. The

credit: William Rafti of the William Rafti Institute
Location: Plano, TX
Date: 2013-05-27
Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI
Date: 2011-06-06
Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI
Date: 2011-06-06
Location: Northern KY
Date: 2011-11-08
Growing along the side of our property, I've been battling it sin
Location: Northern KY
Date: 2011-11-08
Growing along the side of our property, I've been battling it sin
Location: Growing along side our property in Northern KY
Date: 2007-01-05
Everything green you see in this photo is Japanese Honeysuckle, e
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - near Lake Ontario, zone 6a
Date: 2013-06-23

Date: 2009-04-28
Photo courtesy of: Shimizusatsuki

Date: 2009-04-28
Photo courtesy of: Shimizusatsuki
Location: Chicago
Date: 2020-06-22
Location: Northern KY
Date: 2007-01-05
Growing along the side of our property, I've been battling it sin
Photo by TennesseeDave
Location: Pterourus troilus (spicebush swallowtail) on Japanese honeysuckle; when still, look for the missing orange spot in 3rd position from rear of hind wing
Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield
This plant is tagged in:
Image Image

Comments:
  • Posted by LoriMT (Dawsonville, GA - Zone 8a) on Mar 7, 2022 9:45 AM concerning plant:
    Found so commonly throughout Georgia that it is considered an "heirloom", Lonicera japonica is actually an invasive species that smothers and chokes out native plants. Lonicera japonica is a category 1 invasive plant in Georgia.
  • Posted by bxncbx (NYC - Zone 7a) on Dec 14, 2016 6:30 PM concerning plant:
    This plant is considered invasive in the Northeastern US. It is banned/prohibited in CT, MA, NH & VT according to the USDA.
  • Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on Apr 23, 2012 12:30 PM concerning plant:
    Honey bees get nectar and light brown/tan pollen from this plant.
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Aug 8, 2018 10:31 AM concerning plant:
    This species is native not only to Japan, but also to China and Korea. It should have stayed there. I know it has pretty leaves and nice, very fragrant white flowers. However, it is rampant growing, getting all over everything. It is a very invasive plant, as some birds will eat the black berries and poop them around. It is so horribly common in the Mid-Atlantic, where it creates very messy growth all over shrubs, trees, and structures. It can kill off smaller, younger woody plants by girdling and covering them over. It takes a long time to clear it off something by pruning. It is like a noxious parasite. Unfortunately, some conventional nurseries are still selling the 'Halls' cultivar of this thing.
Plant Events from our members
dragonfetti On October 13, 2014 Obtained plant
From Seedfrenzy on eBay.
WebTucker On April 29, 2022 Bloomed
» Post your own event for this plant

« Add a new plant to the database

» Search the Honeysuckles Database: by characteristics or by cultivar name

« See the general plant entry for Honeysuckles (Lonicera)

« The Honeysuckles Database Front Page

« The Plants Database Front Page