Sweet Scent Of Winter

This Southern heirloom is as easy to grow as it is fragrant.

The lyrical botanical name of winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragmntissima, emphasizes its very sweet, lemony fragrance. It is best known for its small yellowish flowers that can perfume an entire garden. The name honeysuckle brings to mind vines that bloom in spring and summer, but winter honeysuckle is an 8- to 12-foot-tall shrub that blooms in mid- to late-winter and thrives in sun or partial shade in almost any soil.

A Traditional Favorite

Discovered in China in 1845, it was soon brought to America. Today this shrub is often found marking old homesites and cemeteries all over the South. It is an ideal choice for background plantings and privacy hedges. Winter honeysuckle is very tolerant of cold, heat, and drought and maintains a nice form with little or no pruning. Used as a hedge, it can be pruned in spring after blooming.

Bernice Smith resides in the southcentral Texas town of Yoakum and first planted winter honeysuckle in the mid1930s at her parents' farmhouse "near the back gate where we could enjoy the fragrance as we passed by during January and February. We also cut stems in bloom for use indoors," Bernice says. "We called it standing honeysuckle because of its upright form. Our plant bloomed and grew even during the drought of the 1950s when irrigation water was too precious to spare."

Spreading the Joy

Bernice's clump has been divided several times to share with friends and family, but this plant can also be propagated from cuttings in early summer or from seeds found in the red berries that ripen in June or July. And if you don't get them, the birds will.

Although it's not a spectacular plant, it flowers in winter, its fragrance is welcome, and its hardy character is a real asset. Like many of the plants popular in the last century, winter honeysuckle is enjoying renewed popularity. Few plants will thrive with less attention.

WILLIAM C. WELCH

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jan 2005
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