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Honeysuckle looks dead

Sharron.quinnSharron.quinn Posts: 3
in Problem solving
My Honeysuckle was doing so well, lots of flowers bloomed. 
After summer, I started to notice red berries at the end of the stems. Now it has hardly any leaves on it. It still has a few new flowers on the top. Is it dying? 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Have you a photo?
    Most are deciduous, so it's perfectly normal for them to have no foliage, or very little,  now, depending on where you live, and how mature the plant is. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Do you know which variety it is Sharron ? If not, a photo would be a help. As @Fairygirl says, a lot of them are deciduous, so tend to look a bit bare at this time of the year. 
    Welcome to the forum by the way  :)
  • Sharron.quinnSharron.quinn Posts: 3

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    A gorgeous honeysuckle ... one of my favourites .... gorgeous flowers, perfume and berries .. I have one here near my back door.  They need a good deep root run, humous in the soil, keep the roots damp and shady and their heads in the sun.  It would be hard to give it too much water.  If they're allowed to get too dry at the roots they'll be susceptible to Powdery Mildew and the leaves will turn black and fall.  That's why they're rarely successful in pots.

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





  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    That is lovely honeysuckle,  and a deciduous one as well. A bit more info about it here 
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93077/i-lonicera-periclymenum-i-serotina/details
  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    Sharron.quinn said:

    I have an established honeysuckle that looks like this and acts like this. Currently pretty bare with just some red berries. It’s in the wrong place in a dry border but I don’t think I can risk moving it or cutting it back hard.

    ive also the yellow flowering honeysuckle which is evergreen in comparison.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2020
    @Ilikeplants  next year, starting mid March, give it two or three buckets of water poured slowly over the root area at least twice a week. 

    More often in warm dry spells. 

    Don’t stop until mid September. 

    You’ll be amazed at the improvement. 😊 

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





  • IlikeplantsIlikeplants Posts: 894
    Thanks Dove, when I get a chance to improve that border I’ll also mulch it. It’s competing with some apple trees there too so it needs some help.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2020
    Mulching will be great ... in the wild they’re a plant of ditch banks, hedgerows and damp woodland fringes ... they live lots of organic material around their roots. 
    Feeding clematis food as directed on the pack works with mine too. 😊 

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





  • Sharron.quinnSharron.quinn Posts: 3
    Thank you so much for the advice guys. I'm so happy it's not dead, as I love it so much. 
    Can't wait to see it in all its glory next year. 
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