Lonicera confusa (Soft-leafed Honeysuckle) - This is a twining evergreen to semi-deciduous vine which climbs with support to 1o feet and spreads to 25 feet. It has soft grayish-green foliage and produces delicately fragrant white flowers, which change to pale yellow as they age. The bloom period is late spring and early summer with some rebloom in fall with flowers that have two curled petals (a smaller one on top and a larger one on bottom) and long stamens.
This vine does best in cool coastal full or half day sun or in light shade with regular to occasional watering. It is seaside tolerant and cold hardy to about 15° F. This is a very attractive vine with a much softer appearance than the more commonly used Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'.
Lonicera confusa grows wild in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, as well as in Nepal and Vietnam. The name for the genus honors Adam Lonicer, a 16th century German mathematician, physician and botanist and the specific epithet means "disordered" or "confused" and perhaps references the name for the plant as some (such as in the Kew database) consider this species to be a synonym of L. japonica while many others considered the two species to be distinct and it certainly is quite different from the only Lonicera japonica we see in the nursery trade, which is the variety a href="plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=1013" target="_blank">Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'.
Our thanks to Landscape Architect Sydney Baumgartner for introducing us to this nice plant in the late 1980s - we have grown it on and off at the nursery since 1991 and we also grow the large Giant Burmese Honeysuckle Lonicera hildebrandiana.
The information about Lonicera confusa that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.
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