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How poisonous is honeysuckle?

PyraPyra Posts: 152
in Plants
Ok bear with me, this is very likely a daft question. 

I want to plant a honeysuckle along an east facing fence. There's lots of space for it to spread out, gets full morning sun. But it's listed as toxic. As far as I can find it's just the berries that are and you'd need to eat a lot of them. 

Is the correct? Or am I over thinking this? Thanks for any input. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We've got a garden full of honeysuckles ... always have had ... have reared a family and had countless dogs, cats and other pets (as well as a smallholding full of animals)  We're all still here. ;)  

    The woodlands and hedgerows are full of honeysuckle and other toxic plants ......... potato plants and rhubarb leaves are both toxic .... unless you have a child with a severe learning disability and obsessive behaviours  (I'm not being funny ... it's the area I used to work in) there is absolutely no need to worry about honeysuckle.  

    Just make sure the roots can reach nice and deep into the soil, incorporate lots of organic material like compost etc into the soil, and make sure that the soil is always damp beneath the surface (stick your finger in up to the first joint.  Water it with buckets full rather than jugs .... you'll have a beautiful honeysuckle that you can enjoy  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PyraPyra Posts: 152
    Brilliant. Thanks @Dovefromabove! I thought it was probably fine. But it's always a good idea to check 😂 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
     B) 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    I'm still here.
    When I was a baby, and babies were routinely put outside, I was left in my big pram in the shade of a honeysuckle. Which I then, apparently, relieved of its berries... I am not recommending this, of course, and I was taken to hospital. But the incident was never spoken of as a trauma, more an example of a silly thing to do, so it was obviously not too bad - and I did have to eat the berries for it even to be an incident at all.
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • PyraPyra Posts: 152
    @LG_ that's fine. I'm glad you were fine 😂 I was worried about my toddler getting them, but it should be fine. He's not left unattended in the garden anyway.
    Thanks!  I did think I was worrying about nothing. 
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