Lonicera japonica Hall's Prolific - Japanese Honeysuckle

The Lonicera japonica Hall's Prolific is a vigorous Japanese Honeysuckle, climbing, very hardy, easy to grow, which offers a beautiful and very long flowering period, with a powerful fragrance, ranging from white to buttery yellow. Excellent in every way, it flowers almost continuously from July to September, on beautiful foliage that will persist more or less depending on the severity of the winter. This superb variety will quickly fill any support available, be it a tree, a pole, a pergola or a fence, without requiring much maintenance or special skills. A hardy, useful and extremely decorative plant in the garden!

The Japanese Honeysuckle, in Latin Lonicera japonica, is a climbing and woody plant that is more or less evergreen in winter, belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae. This botanical species is native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). It is found in thickets, rocky areas, at the edge of woodlands, and along roadsides. In France, it has naturalized itself, mainly in the Midi and the West, where it invades hedges. In nature, this plant shows vigorous growth (up to 10 m (33ft)) that is reserved for somewhat wild open spaces.

The variety 'Hall's Prolific', obtained in 1980 in the United Kingdom by Piet Brand, stands out for its increased floribundity and somewhat more modest growth. At maturity, this fast-growing honeysuckle will reach approximately 6 m (20ft) in height and 4 m (13ft) in width. Its long stems wrap around any support they encounter, but can also crawl and form ground cover. They bear simple, unfused leaves that are long oval-shaped and pointed at their tips, measuring 4 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) in length, arranged in an opposite manner. From the beginning of July (or June depending on the region), a multitude of tubular flowers, 3-5 cm (1-2in) long, appear. They continue to bloom until the end of summer if the soil does not dry out too much in July-August. Divided into two white lips, they expose their prominent stamens. Over the course of hours, the white colour changes to pale yellow and then buttery yellow, creating a beautiful gradient of colours on the plant. This strongly scented flowering attracts many pollinating insects. It is followed by the formation of small fleshy black-purple berries, which are not edible but highly appreciated by birds. The fragrance of the Japanese honeysuckle is at its peak in the middle of the night and evolves throughout the season. It reveals notes of lily of the valley and jasmine at the beginning of flowering, and then of oregano in July-August.

This remarkable 'Hall's Prolific' honeysuckle is planted in open ground, away from harsh sunlight, with the base shaded. It is naturally perfect for covering anything that needs to be concealed: fences, wire mesh, poles or sheds, even old ailing trees, as long as there is a support available. It is less known for its ability to climb on very narrow supports, transforming the smallest pole into a majestic vegetated column. It can also be allowed to colonize the ground, in a somewhat wild area of a large garden. It forms a beautiful association with clematis. It also has its place in a hedge, alongside climbing roses or rambling roses, flowering shrubs such as lilacs, mock oranges, deutzias, or arbustive ceanothuses. The evergreen foliage under a moderate to mild climate allows you to camouflage a wall or fence even in winter.