Honeysuckles love the Arizona heat and the hummingbirds love the honeysuckle. Now that is a desert garden delight!
As long as I water this thirsty honeysuckle shrub it will produce abundant blooms most of the year. The narrow, orange, tubular flowers give enthusiasm to the garden with their bright colors.
Our orange honeysuckles are fast growing perennial plants that are low maintenance. Care for your honeysuckle with regular watering and pruning to keep the growth under control. With 180 species of honeysuckles, genus Lonicera, you can pick from pink, yellow, white, orange, red, etc., flowers. Honeysuckles belong to the Caprifoliacea family which includes all types of woody shrubs and fragrant vines.
When choosing a honeysuckle to grow, be sure to check the label as some varieties are hardier than others and can cope with frost. Also, there exists a few species of honeysuckle that are considered invasive such as Japanese honeysuckle.
Pruning tips for honeysuckle vines: Prune your plant in later winter when it is dormant. With pruning shears, remove dead blooms from your honeysuckle as soon as you see them.
Tree, fence, trellis or wall; honeysuckle vines will climb on anything to seek out the sun.
Our garden has become a very busy place. It is October in the Arizona desert and our honeysuckles are still blooming. What a joy to sit quietly and watch the butterflies and hummingbirds feast on the bright tubular flowers.
These heat tolerant honeysuckle plants did well even in full desert sun as long as they received their daily water.
In the photo above is Lonicera arizonica which is a native Arizona Honeysuckle. It is a perennial vine or shrub that you find in the open at elevations of 6,000 – 9,000 feet. According to Northern Arizona University, this native honeysuckle was used by Native Americans to cleanse the bowels. Navajo tribes used the leaves of the Lonicera arizonica to induce vomiting. Can I eat the red berries from the Arizona honeysuckle? Yes you can eat the berries but it will have a purgative effect.
