Topic: Himalayan Honeysuckle

[Emm P]

I was given a young one of these this year.
Apparently they are a tender variety.
Does anyone know how far I should prune it back in the Autumn?

[Rosa_Mundi]

Do you mean Leycesteria formosa? If so, it's not tender in N. Yorkshire, and is quite happy to seed itself about.
Pruning - in theory, you can cut it to about two foot, but I think it would be better to leave it alone if small - pruning can cause stems to die back, and might harm it if not well established. I tend to cut out dead stems every year, and trim excessively long ones by about half - it took a long time to recover from the only hard prune I gave it.

[Mimi]

Mine was over 7 ft high last year and on a friends advice I cut it right down to about 6 inches all over.  Poor thing is only about 3 1/2 ft this year.  I think that next time I shall take your advice Rosa.

[Rosa_Mundi]

That's exactly what happened to me, Mimi - it sulked for ages  after a hard prune.

[tilts]

I agree, don't be too harsh and wait till the flowers have finished late autumn. They are the most beautiful colour and make a lovely show, they seed everywherere.  The canes were used as pipes & musical instruments in their native environment. 

[Val]

Glad you posted this Emm, I've had one for a couple of years and was wondering if to prune next spring, don't think I'll bother now, the birds like the berries and I love the plant and quite hapy for it to do its own thing, haven't had any seedlings from it yet though. :)

[Emm P]

@ Val  ;)

Many thanks Rosa - this one is about 3½ feet tall now.
I didn't know the Latin name for the plant.

The flowers are beautiful - so unusual for a Honeysuckle. They remind me of the shrimp plant flower - although a different colour.

[tilts]

It is also known as the Pheasant Berry....... if you've got one, you know why!

[Mimi]

Or also Lycestria Formosa.  I think   :-\