How to Prune Honeysuckle

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Honeysuckles are beautiful and fragrant plants that grow in the form of bushes and vines. However, they grow very quickly and can overtake other small plants in your garden. To contain your honeysuckle shrub or vine, or to control an overgrown honeysuckle plant, yearly pruning is necessary.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Pruning a Honeysuckle Shrub

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  1. It’s best to wait until after the flowering season to ensure that the branches are producing blooms. After the plant blooms, look for branches that didn't produce any leaves or flowers. [1]
    • Avoid trimming the plant during the blooming season, as this can halt growth and cause the flowers to wilt prematurely.
    • Disinfect your pruning shears with rubbing alcohol or bleach before using them to reduce the spread of pests and diseases.
  2. Look around the bush for any dead branches that have no leaves or didn’t produce blooms. Make note of areas where branches have snapped or bent. Around the bottom of the plant, look for any branches that have bugs on them or have wilted leaves. [2]
    • Cut infected and broken branches before “shaping” the bush by removing healthy branches.
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  3. Cutting at an angle helps water run off the end and prevents the chances of stem rot. Try not to cut branches straight across, as this can kill the rest of the branch because water will pool on the surface, and it invites pests to burrow into the branches. [3]
    • Always use sharp pruning scissors or long-handled loppers to prevent minuscule cracks from forming in the branches.
  4. Leaving a tiny bit of the old branch will encourage regrowth. To find a bud, look for an area where a leaf or another branch meets the branch that you want to cut. This is an area where growth occurs. [4]
    • If any part of the branch is extremely damaged or diseased, cut it back to a healthy main branch at the center of the bush, also called a “parent branch.”
  5. Select some of the long, healthy stems in the middle portion of the bush, and prune them to a bud near the center of the bush. This will allow more sunshine and air to penetrate into the middle and lower part of the bush, encouraging further growth. [5]
    • Avoid removing more than ⅓ of the healthy branches on your bush at any time, even if it is overgrown.
    • If you have a lot of long branches at the top of the bush, you may want to trim some of those to the center of the bush. This can also increase the amount of sunshine that reaches the lower part of the shrub.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Maintaining a Honeysuckle Vine

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  1. Honeysuckle vines can grow quickly and spread out quite a bit during the blooming season. After the season is over, re-shape the plant to a more manageable size. [6]
    • During the first few years of growing a honeysuckle vine, refrain from cutting more than 1/3 of the stems. Cutting too many stems off of the plant can cause it to die.
    • Disinfect pruning shears with rubbing alcohol or bleach to reduce the spread of pests and diseases.
  2. Use your hands or pruning scissors to remove any remaining brown leaves or flowers from the vine before you begin to shape it. This will give you a better idea of the size and shape of your vine and can draw your attention to areas where the vine needs more water, sunlight, or airflow. [7]
    • If one area has a lot of dead leaves, prune around the area with your scissors to increase light and air flow to that part of the vine.
  3. The top portion of the vine tends to be more tangled than the bottom, and cutting off stems here promotes growth later in the season. Cut only the tangled stems, and work slowly at the bottom of the vine. [8]
    • If you want to redirect the vine, trim more off of one side of the plant to encourage growth in the opposite direction.
    • Avoid trimming any stems from the bottom of younger plants, as this “old growth” tends to support the plant. Without it, the vine might die.
  4. Leaf nodes are the part of a stem where the leaf begins to form from a “parent stem.” Hold your scissors at a 45-degree angle at the node, and make a clean cut all the way across the stem. [9]
    • No matter where you’re cutting, use this technique to prevent diseases and pests from overtaking the vine.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Trimming an Overgrown Honeysuckle

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  1. During the winter, the honeysuckle bushes and vines are dormant, and more severe pruning won’t harm the plant. Aim for early winter to avoid the flowering period, but pruning in late winter is also acceptable, as long as the plant does not have any new growth. [10]
    • Pruning in the winter also tends to increase flowering in the following years because the branches can heal completely before blooming.
    • Avoid severely pruning honeysuckle more than 1 time every 2-3 winters. Over pruning could kill the bush.
  2. Using a hand saw or loppers, trim all of the stems so that just 1 ft (0.30 m) of growth remains. It will continue to grow, but the plant will not produce flowers for another 1-3 years. [11]
    • In this case, it’s okay to cut even the oldest and thickest branches. They will make up the majority of the remaining bush and will produce new growth in the following years.
  3. For a more gradual rejuvenation of the plant, remove only ⅓ of the branches, starting at the top of the bush and working to the bottom. The plant will still produce flowers from its remaining branches in the following spring. [12]
    • In this case, you will remove ⅓ of the branches each winter for 3 years in a row, until the bush is a reasonable size.
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  • Question
    Should I remove the berries?
    Christy
    Community Answer
    When you prune your honeysuckle, you should remove the berries. This will prevent the honeysuckle from spreading around your yard, or to other peoples property, causing a harmful invasion of honeysuckle in the area.
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      Tips

      • Maintaining a yearly schedule for pruning your honeysuckle plant will prevent it from becoming overgrown.
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      Warnings

      • Check with your local government to check the status of honeysuckle before planting it in your garden. In some places, it is considered an invasive species, and planting it is illegal.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://gardenerdy.com/honeysuckle-bush
      2. ↑ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/honeysuckle/prune-honeysuckle-plants.htm
      3. ↑ https://gardenerdy.com/honeysuckle-bush
      4. ↑ https://gardenerdy.com/honeysuckle-bush
      5. ↑ https://www.gardenguides.com/127915-trim-honeysuckle-bush.html
      6. ↑ http://www.thegardenhelper.com/honeysucklecare.html
      7. ↑ https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/pruning_plants_that_ascend
      8. ↑ http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2006/021806.html
      9. ↑ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/honeysuckle/prune-honeysuckle-plants.htm
      1. ↑ https://www.gardenguides.com/127915-trim-honeysuckle-bush.html
      2. ↑ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/honeysuckle/prune-honeysuckle-plants.htm
      3. ↑ https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/honeysuckle/prune-honeysuckle-plants.htm

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To prune honeysuckle bushes, wait until after the blooming period, and start by trimming any dead, damaged, or diseases branches. When cutting branches, use sharp pruning shears to cut at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch in front of a leaf bud. If you're cutting a honeysuckle vine, work from the top of the vine to the bottom, cutting the most tangled vines just above a healthy leaf node. For tips on controlling overgrown honeysuckle bushes and vines, read on!

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      • Sharon Austin

        Sep 20, 2020

        "I have a honeysuckle vine, which is more than 6m high. I have just moved into the property and need to cut it back ..." more
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