Tatarian Honeysuckle

May 16, 2015

This spring I was able to attend some of the Bethel Extension Master's Gardener program. Though I was not able to complete the class, I did take away a desire to catalog things that I see in bloom and record the dates just for fun. I invite you to join me if you would like. I will most likely pass over some of the more obvious candidates for things that are new to me and of interest to someone who is passionate about using  native species in the landscape. Sorting out who belongs and who does not is my own personal passion.

Today, I begin with Lonicera tatarica L., commonly known as Tatarian Honeysuckle. It had been planted as a hedge between two properties under some large mature trees where it was happily blooming away in a fairly shaded environment. I must confess, I did find the plant rather fetching and so took a sample to bring home and identify. (Please note: Permission to do so was granted by the homeowner)

This lovey understory shrub turned out, however, to be Tatarian Honeysuckle, a plant listed as a banned species on the Connecticut Invasive Plants list. It is a close cousin to a more insidious invader, Lonicera japonica Thumb, or Japanese Honeysuckle. For those of you who do not know the highly invasive viney cousin, you can see Japanese Honeysuckle in bloom along wayside road sites everywhere in a couple of weeks... and I mean everywhere!!! which is what makes it so invasive, of course.

So here are some snap shots of the Tatarian Honeysuckle planting I saw. I bet there are some astute Master Gardeners who know exactly where this planting is. Hint, it pretty much right in the center of Newtown. Let me know if you know where it is growing!!!

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Tatarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica L)  5/15/2015