Lonicera nitida Readybag

Shrubby Honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida)

Lonicera nitida Readybag hedging is a small leaved evergreen hedge with dense foliage.  It gives a great privacy screening option for low to medium height hedges.  It is a fast growing plant and requires regular trimming to help it maintain its shape.  It is capable of being kept around 60 cm tall to make a low parterre style instant hedge. Shrubby Honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) Instant Hedging can be grown up to around 150 cm tall but at this height it needs to be cut with a taper to allow light into the base to stop them going bare.  It is recommended that to get the best out of Shrubby Honeysuckle Hedging it is trimmed with a taper at all heights.

The Shrubby Honeysuckle has been much talked about as a replacement for Common Box (Buxus sempervirens) and it will make a reasonable alternative especially with its small leaves.  When trimmed regularly it can make a very sharp edged formal hedge.  The Shrubby Honeysuckle is suitable for growing in most soil types and can also tolerate light shade.

Unlike the climbing Honeysuckles the Shrubby Honeysuckles do not have large highly scented flowers.  If left untrimmed it has non-descript flowers that are followed by black berries.  This is an easy hedging plant to grow giving good results in all reasonable soils.

Shrubby Honeysuckle was introduced to the united Kingdom in 1908 by Ernest Wilson from Western China.