Lonicera purpusii, the &#;Winter Beauty&#; honeysuckle, offers us deliciously fragrant winter blooms.
Key Lonicera purpusii facts
Name – Lonicera purpusii
Family – Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle family)
Type – shrub
Height – 16 to 32 feet (2 to 3 m)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary
Foliage – deciduous or evergreen
Flowering – December to April (winter)
Caring for it is easy and both foliage and blooming are extremely ornamental.
Planting Lonicera purpusii, the Winter Beauty honeysuckle
Lonicera purpusii are planted in fall, but it&#;s also possible to plant them up to spring. Apart from these two ideal periods, avoid freezing and strong heat.
- They also require well drained soil, so best avoid stagnant water.
- The ground must stay cool, even in summer.
As for placing, favor any sunbathed exposure.
- Part sun is also very suitable.
Pruning and caring for Lonicera purpusii, the Winter Beauty honeysuckle
It isn&#;t really necessary to prune it: your Lonicera purpusii can do well without ever being pruned.
- If you wish to reshape or your honeysuckle or balance the branches somewhat, wait for blooming to be over.
When y
Lonicera × purpusii
Species of honeysuckle
Lonicera × purpusii, the Purpus honeysuckle, is a hybridspecies of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It originated as a cross of garden origin between two Chinese species, L. fragrantissima and L. standishii.[1]
Growing to &#;m (&#;ft) tall and broad, it is a somewhat untidy shrub with ovate leaves and small paired cream/yellow flowers in winter. The flowers are strongly fragrant with the typical honeysuckle scent.[2] It is extremely hardy, tolerating temperatures down to −20&#;°C (−4&#;°F) and a wide range of conditions. In a favourable environment it may be evergreen but is otherwise deciduous. In the latter case, the flowers are borne on the bare branches.[2]
The widely grown cultivar 'Winter Beauty' is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3] It flowers best in full sun.[4]
References
[edit]Lonicera à purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
honeysuckle 'Winter Beauty'
A rounded, deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub about 2m tall, with paired, ovate dark green leaves, and abundant small, tubular, sweetly-scented cream-white flowers 2cm long, on the bare branches in winter and early spring, occasionally followed by red berries
Ultimate height
â metresTime to ultimate height
10â20 yearsUltimate spread
â metresMoisture
Moist but wellâdrained, WellâdrainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit |
| Spring | Cream | Green | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Green | Red | |
| Autumn | Green | ||
| Winter | Cream |
Aspect
Southâfacing or Northâfacing or Westâfacing or Eastâfacing
Exposure
Exposed or ShelteredHardiness
H6Botanical details
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Native to GB / Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy
- Potentially harmful
- Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling. Pets: Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
- Genus
Lonicera
Lonicera x purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
Lonicera x purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
Honeysuckles (Lonicera) are mostly hardy twining climbers, often grown for their fragrant display of summer flowers. Most are deciduous but some are evergreen. They are frequently grown for their ability to cover unsightly walls and outbuildings. The hardy climbing types need their roots in shade, and their flowering tops in sunlight or very light shade. 'Winter Beauty' is one of the best of the winter flowering shrubby honeysuckles, bearing sweetly fragrant creamy white flowers on bare stems, from late winter.
Propagation by cuttings
From Mid Autumn TO Mid Winter
Take hardwood cuttings of up to .3m from this years growth, making a clean from above a shoot and remove any soft growth. Nearly fill a container with fine grit at the bottom, to enable free draining, and a suitable compost. Place the cutting, having dipped he end in a rooting compound first, with a third of the cutting showing.
Propagation by cuttings
From Early Summer TO Mid Autumn
Semi hard wood cuttings are taken from the current years growth from late summer to mid autumn the botto
.