Lonicera villosa - (Michx.)Roem.&Schult.
(Michx.)Roem.&Schult.
Mountain fly honeysuckle, Fuller's honeysuckle
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Heather Pickard
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kedmunds11
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kedmunds11
Description
Lonicera villosa is a deciduous Shrub growing to 1.5 m (5ft) at a slow rate. It is in flower from April to May. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw or preserved. A milder flavour than most edible honeysuckles, they can be eaten raw but are mainly used in making jams, jellies and refreshing drinks. There is a distinct bitterness in the flavour, even when fully ripe.
Distribution
N. America - Newfoundland to Alaska, south to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and California.
Where It Grows
NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada, Québec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, United States, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio (Ashtabula Co.), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Cultivation
Prefers a good moist soil in a sunny position, fruiting less well when grown in the shade. Closely related to L. caerulea. Polymorphic.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage. Layering in autumn.
