FNPS Plant Database

Lonicera sempervirens

coral honeysuckle
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Ginny Stibolt, Ixia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Ginny Stibolt, Ixia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Ginny Stibolt, Ixia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

coral honeysuckle

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Lonicera sempervirens

Family:

Caprifoliaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

vine

Size:

Stems 12.0 to 15.0 ft long 

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

coral (pinkish with orange tints)

Fruit Color:

red, green

Phenology:

Evergreen, may be deciduous in parts of northern FL. Blooms spring to fall.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Bark

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Given a trellis or fence this plant makes a great hedge. It can also make a good groundcover though it will not bloom as well as it does with support.



Expect this plant to be evergreen in most of Florida but deciduous in colder areas.

Considerations:

If growing on a trellis, will need to be trimmed back annually.

Availability:

Big Box Stores, Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

To harvest the seeds, pick the fruit when they turn bright red. Thoroughly clean the flesh from the seeds and dry. Propagation can also be accomplished using soft or semi-hardwood cuttings taken in the summer or fall. The cutting should be made at an angle and root hormone applied to the cut face. Reduce the foliage by about one third and place cutting in a rich soil mix, keep moist. Air layering is another method of propagation that can be successful with trumpet honeysuckle.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■□□□□□□□□□

Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Clay, Loam

Soil pH:

Circum-neutral to calcareous.

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Hummingbirds, Birds

Larval host for  Spring Azure ( Celastrina ladon ) and Snowberry Clearwing ( Hemaris diffinis ) butterflies. 

Flowers attract hummingbirds. 





 Birds, especially cardinals, eat the seeds - digesting the outer flesh of the fruit and aiding in distribution of the seed.

Native Habitats:

Upland hardwood forests, floodplains, secondary woods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Loading Florida counties…

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Coral honeysuckle's bark exfoliates.



Climbs by twining

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Hammer, Roger. 2015.  Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in tropical Florida.  University Presses of Florida.



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Request an update