Lonicera Fragrantissima Leaves
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Lonicera fragrantissima commonly called winter honeysuckle or fragrant honeysuckle is a somewhat stiff branched deciduous shrub with a bushy spreading habit.
Lonicera fragrantissima leaves. Paired oval leaves to 7cm 3in long dark green above blue green beneath. Flowers small about 1 cm or so creamy white not very showy lemon scented and extremely fragrant. The leaves are up to 9 centimetres 3 5 in long by 4 5 centimetres 1 8 in wide. The flowers are a magnet for winter active bumblebees.
Lonicera fragrantissima winter flowering honeysuckle. Beloved for its extraordinarily fragrant winter blooms lonicera fragrantissima sweetest honeysuckle is a bushy deciduous shrub. In mild climates it may bloom from december into march. Leaves opposite simple elliptic to broad ovate 2 5 7 5 cm long dull blue green to dark green midrib covered with bristles.
Lonicera fragrantissima is considered invasive in many states. Partially evergreen with sweetly fragrant cream coloured semi double flowers. Typically grows 6 10 tall and as wide. The budded branches may be cut for fragrant indoor arrangements.
In late winter to early spring a profusion of highly fragrant short tubed creamy white flowers line up along each stem before the leaves emerge. It spreads by suckers so it is easy to dig up some and transplant them to other locations. Lonicera fragrantissima is a delightful winter flowering shrub bearing fragrant cream white flowers on almost leafless branches. When mature it is a bushy tangle of slender spreading branches.
I read in english gardening books that they suggest planting lonicera fragrantissima in a mixed hedge to provide the fragrance while other shrubs provide the interesting leaves and structure. You can still find unattended stands thriving at crumbling old homesteads and graveyards. The seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals that eat the berries. Lonicera fragrantissima is tough and handles our dry summers with only very occasional watering.
These are sometimes followed by dull red berries. The winter honeysuckle bush lonicera fragrantissima was introduced from china in the mid nineteenth century and its delightfully fragrant flowers soon became a favorite with gardeners and landscapers. It can form a dense understory thicket restricting native plant growth and tree seedling establishment. The purple flushed green leaves appear in spring.
Lonicera fragrantissima from burncoose nurseries shrubby honeysuckles available online to buy information. This honeysuckle a species of bush honeysuckle is a shrub usually growing 1 to 3 metres 3 3 to 9 8 ft tall sometimes reaching a maximum height around 4 6 metres 15 ft. Deciduous or semi evergreen. Extremely fragrant lemony short tubed creamy white flowers appear in early spring before the leaves emerge.