Lonicera japonica Sinensis - Chinese Honeysuckle

The Lonicera japonica Chinensis (sinensis) is a beautiful form with purple-tinged foliage of the famous Japanese honeysuckle, often planted in gardens in cold regions. This particularly vigorous climber, with significant growth, is interesting in slightly wild areas of the garden or to quickly cover a large wire fence. Its beautiful foliage, often evergreen, is adorned with beautiful purple shades, forming a superb backdrop for its long flowering, white with a hint of deep pink, and highly fragrant. It is also interesting for its ability to twine around very narrow supports, such as unsightly iron bars, pillars, or a clothesline post. Like clematis, this climbing plant requires little maintenance: it thrives with its head in the non-burning sun and its feet in the shade, in rather moist, ordinary soil.

The Japanese honeysuckle is a climbing and woody plant of the caprifoliaceae family, native to East Asia. In nature, this plant exhibits vigorous growth and rapid growth, making it suitable for larger, slightly wild spaces. The 'Chinensis' form is a beautiful mutation of this wild species. It is distinguished by its almost glabrous foliage, slightly purple. Its natural vigor, allowing it to produce branches over 10m (33ft) long, needs to be controlled. Its long stems twine around any supports they encounter, but can also crawl and form ground cover. They bear simple, ovate leaves arranged in an opposite pattern. From June onwards, a multitude of tubular flowers measuring 3-5 cm (1-2in) appear and continue until late summer. Divided into two lips, initially reddish-pink in buds, they open to reveal prominent stamens and a pastel throat: from cream-white, it turns cream-yellow when ripe. This highly fragrant flowering attracts many pollinating insects. It is followed by the formation of small, fleshy, black-violet berries, which are not edible.

This superb Japanese honeysuckle Sinensis is planted in the ground, away from harsh sunlight, in shaded areas. It is naturally perfect for covering anything that needs to be hidden: fences, wire mesh, or sheds, as long as it has a support. It is less known for its ability to twine around very narrow supports, transforming even the smallest pole into a vegetated column. It can also be allowed to spread on the ground, in a slightly wild area of the garden. It forms a beautiful combination with clematis. It also has a place in a hedge, alongside flowering shrubs such as lilacs, mock oranges, deutzias, or even arbustive ceanothuses. The evergreen foliage in a moderate to mild climate allows you to camouflage a wall or fence even in winter.