Habitat

• native to Manchuria and Korea
• hardy to zone 3
• Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, Click Here.

Habit and Form

• a large deciduous shrub or small tree
• 12' to 15' tall with a similar spread
• upright and spreading branching
• becomes leggy at the base
• shape is rounded to broad
• typically multistemmed

Summer Foliage

• opposite, simple leaves
• leaves are 2" to 3" long
• 0.5" to 1.5" wide
• ovate to elliptic leaf shape with an acuminate leaf tip
• dark green color above, lighter beneath
• leafs out very early in the spring

Autumn Foliage

• ineffective fall color

Flowers

• 1" long white flowers that fade to yellow
• flowers are fragrant
• bloom time is May into June
• flowers borne in axillary pairs
• only moderately showy in bloom

Fruit

• 0.25" berries
• ripen in October
• ripe fruit is red
• moderately showy in fruit
• birds take the fruits readily

Bark

• color is gray or tan
• exfoliates somewhat in vertical strips

Culture

• full sun is best, but tolerant of shade
• relatively free of pests
• easy to grow
• adaptable to most soils
• needs occasional pruning to thin out the center of the plant

Landscape Use

• border
• difficult sites
• screen
• use should probably be limited

Liabilities

• self sows and can become an invasive species
• somewhat weedy and a rampant grower

ID Features

• brown pith
• red berries in fall
• opposite leaves with acuminate leaf tips
• largest of the honeysuckles
• white flowers fade to yellow

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Red Rem' - Introduced by the USDA, this cultivar purportedly is resistant to Honeysuckle Aphid infestation and bears a more profuse crop of red fruit. Given the invasive tendencies of this plant, this feature may not be preferable. Also, this cultivar is reportedly seed-produced, thus it is quite likely indistinguishable from the species.