Photo: Flowering Bush Honeysuckle, Elaine Mills
Alyssa Ford Morel
Some invasive plants are sneaky. They pop up in one’s garden without explanation or obvious origin and force gardeners to take action on the spot, lest they be forgotten and allowed to grow and spread. Some of the sneakiest are the Bush Honeysuckles, several species of Lonicera with Eurasian origins. I’ve encountered Bush Honeysuckle plants two feet high that clearly have been growing for a year or more in areas where I know I’ve recently spent time gardening, and yet somehow missed their presence. Sneaky.
Flowering Bush Honeysuckle, Elaine Mills
The name Bush Honeysuckle is also sneaky, implying a plant of a certain size. Several years ago I was explaining to a volunteer at an invasive pull how to recognize and remove Bush Honeysuckle, when he pointed at another plant further away and asked if it was also a Bush Honeysuckle.
“No,” I said, squinting without my glasses. “That’s a tree.”
My curiosity roused, I went over to see what the tree was, and was embarrassed to realize it was indeed a Bush Honeysuckle grown to 20 feet. I’ve since encountered many more such giant Honeysuckles, pruned at the bottom and considered trees by their caretakers.
Like so many invasive plants, Bush Honeysuckle has positive qualities that mislead Americans to plant it widely. Its flowers are attractive and fragrant, and its berries are tasty to many birds. Unfortunately, like other invasives (as defined in 1999 by Executive Order 13112 signed by President Clinton and amended by President Obama), it easily escapes cultivation, spreading rapidly in the wild and out-competing the native plants that support local food webs. Those berries that attract birds are high in carbohydrates instead of the healthy fats our birds need. It is also allelopathic, producing chemicals harmful to native plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Studies have shown it has chemicals that can hurt or kill native insects and young amphibians.
Fruiting Bush Honeysuckle, Elaine Mills
So, what to do about this sneaky plant? First, we must identify it correctly. It has a branching growth habit, with leaves held opposite each other. When a branch is cut, a clear hole can be found in the center. In spring, the pretty and fragrant tubular white to pink flowers that fade to yellow are helpful in identification as are the bright red late-summer berries that persist into winter.
Bush Honeysuckle can be pulled by hand when it is young, and dug up when larger. Plants too tricky to be dug up can be cut low and an herbicide carefully applied to the new growth.
Sweet-shrub, a.k.a. Carolina Allspice, Elaine Mills
There are many great replacement plants. If you want a native shrub with fragrant flowers, consider Sweet-shrub, a.k.a. Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus), which is native in some southern parts of Virginia but does well in Northern Virginia. It has dramatically beautiful maroon flowers with a fruity scent from April to July. Sweet-shrub is seldom severely damaged by deer and likes sun to part shade.
Black Chokeberry, Elaine Mills
Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) offers nectar and pollen to bees from white to pink-tinged flowers in April to May, and black fruit from September through November which appeal to many birds. Its size of three to six feet, both tall and wide, makes it a great fit for many suburban yards, and it offers attractive fall coloring that varies from yellow to orange to crimson. Despite the off-putting name, the berries can be used for jams, juices, and natural red coloring.
Arrowwood viburnum, Elaine Mills
Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) earned its common name because the very straight branches were used by Native Americans to make the shafts of arrows. Normally six to ten feet tall and wide, this shrub likes sun or some shade. It has showy white blooms in May to June, followed by attractive fruit in the fall. There are many cultivars of Arrowwood Viburnum which are propagated vegetatively by cloning. For good cross pollination and fruit set, it is important to have at least two Arrowwood Viburnums that are genetically different from each other.