Do you remember eating the nectar from honeysuckle when you were a kid? I can recall a bush (or several) at my elementary school, and every year when it was in bloom, a crowd of kids would rush over to it to gently break open the flower, pulling the nectar out through the base and licking it clean. We all thought it was the greatest plant because it gave us a tasty, tiny treat, and it smelled great. Now that I’m older, I know better: Japanese honeysuckle may taste delicious, but it is wreaking havoc on native trees.
Honeysuckle can climb 80 to 120 feet, strangling trees and weighing down their branches. The vines grow aggressively, the roots spread by rhizome, and the seeds of its fruit are dispersed by birds and small mammals, allowing it to spread even farther. It will take over your yard quickly if it is not controlled, and it will take over woods and parks as well, smothering and killing any native plants in the process.
How Can I Fight Back?
- Seedlings and small infestations can be hand-pulled, but make sure to get all of the root system or it will grow back.
- Mowing or cutting back the vines can help in the short term to keep it from killing your trees, but is not a permanent solution.
- The most fool-proof way to kill it is via chemical control. Foliar sprays can be effective, but may need to be repeated. Treat in the fall after the first frost for the best result. Alternatively, the stems can be cut and brushed with a chemical such as glyphosate any time of year, as long as the ground isn’t frozen.
After treatment, monitor the site to ensure no new seedlings have sprouted and stems have fully died back. Dispose of any dead plant materials in the trash, not in your compost pile. Once you’re satisfied that it’s truly dead and not going to come back like a zombie, consider planting a native shrub in the bare spot.
Join the movement! Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM is a community-wide effort to save our trees from invasive plants. https://www.fairfaxprism.org/
