Whether with its slender, winding shoots, its irresistibly fragrant flowers or its bright coral-red berries - the honeysuckle knows how to build up a fan base. If you can't get enough of it, you have the opportunity to multiply it.
How to propagate honeysuckle?
Honeysuckle is easy to propagate: propagation by cutting and weighing down shoots on the ground, sowing seeds after they have matured or propagating by cuttings using head or partial cuttings in summer. Be sure that honeysuckle seeds are highly toxic and kept out of the reach of children and pets.
Lower propagation: The easiest method for honeysuckle
The easiest way is probably to propagate using lowering plants. Here you don't need to worry much about the offspring. Here's how to do this method:
- bend soft shoot to the ground
- score lightly with a knife (where the roots should form)
- weighing it down with a stone
- cover with soil so that the shoot tip shows out
- Moisten the soil
The best time for this propagation method is between March and May. By autumn at the latest, new roots will have formed and the shoot can be separated from the mother plant. The new plant is then placed in its intended location.
Sowing is worth it for those who are patient
If you don't necessarily want to propagate the honeysuckle as a single variety, you can harvest the seeds and sow them. The seeds can be sown in potting soil (€6.00 at Amazon) immediately after they have ripened between September and October. It is best to prefer them at home.
The seeds are covered thinly with soil and kept moist. The average germination time at a temperature between 18 and 20 °C is 4 weeks. After cultivation and when the plants have at least 4 leaves, they can be planted out in a protected location.
Propagation of cuttings: Summer is the best time
This should be noted:
- between June and August is the best time
- choose well-ripened but unwoody shoots (no diseased shoots!)
- Cut 10 to 15 cm long head or partial cuttings (e.g. when thinning the honeysuckle)
The lowest leaves are removed so that only 2 to 3 leaves remain on the cutting. Then the cutting is placed in potting soil and the soil is moistened. Rooting occurs fastest at a temperature between 20 and 25 °C.
Tips & Tricks
Attention: If you want to sow the seeds, you should not keep them at home where children and pets have easy access. The seeds are highly poisonous!
