Lonicera nitida 'GOLDEN GLOW'

Lonicera is a large and variable genus consisting of small, ground-covering plants as well as mid-sized shrubs, and even tall climbers. Most of them bear fragrant flowers, many of them are evergreen, and some produce edible fruit. The genus was named in honour of German botanist Adam Lonitzer (1528-1586), a physician and a professor of mathematics and medicine at the University of Marburg, but most significantly a keen and enthusiastic botanist. He married a daughter of his publisher who published all of his works until his death in 1555 when Adam took over and continued to focus on botany and writing and publishing more books until 1577.

Lonicera's common name is honeysuckle, possibly due to its fragrant, nectar-rich flowers which attract bees for production of honey. Box honeysuckle is a small evergreen shrub whose leaves resemble those of buxus (English box). It commonly grows about one meter or a little over tall, and is used as a groudcovering plant or a filler. It is also a good box substitute now that they are disappearing owing to the box tree moth.

Golden Glow is a Dutch introduction of box honeysuckle, found by Hendrik Johan Harmen Nijland in his nursery Nijland Siergroen in 2008 as a natural mutation of an older variety Maigrün. It makes small, 1-2 cm long, broadly ovate, evergreen leaves which are rich golden yellow in winter and spring, and chartreuse in summer and early autumn. In other words, the colder the weather the more yellow they get. In late spring may appear small, creamy white to pale yellow flowers that may be followed by small, nontoxic berries.

It exhibits naturally cascading, rather fast growth which is most picturesque if left unpruned. Yet it can be pruned or trimmed to all possible shapes. Golden Glow honeysuckle is commonly used as an understory of trees or large shrubs, in mixed borders side by side with shrubs with different foliage colour, or as an informal hedge and along pathways where it is frequently sheared. It is protected by these patents: PP26598 (USA – 2016) and EU 41131 (Europe – 2015).

Box honeysuckle is very easy to grow as it easily adapts to most soil types apart from water-logged. It may only be slow to establish in heavy, compacted ground where it will be prone to winter sunscorch. Its branches are flexible and do not suffer from breaking under heavy snow unlike twigs of box plants. They easily root as soon as they touch the ground and should be removed quickly unless you are growing it as a space filler where spreading is expected. It will grow in sun or shade, and can be pruned at almost any time, preferably in early spring for denser branching, or trimmed/sheared once or twice during the growing season, latest by early September. It is fully hardy to -24 °C (USDA zone 6) and withstands a few degrees lower with some leaf loss in late winter (they re-emerge readily in early spring).

Last update 27-09-2021