growing "gold flame" honeysuckle horizontally

13 years ago

I'm a lurker with my first ever honeysuckle. It's Gold Flame. I have it in a small bed surrounded by a low wall (around 30" high). I had planned to put up a T-shaped support to have the branches grow horizontally just above the wall. Will this work, or will the new growth try to grow vertically?

I'm in the Southwest, and the bed is in full sun. If it won't grow horizontally, I'll have to move it to a larger area where I can put up vertical supports. Would it be better to wait until spring? It's only been in the ground for about 6 weeks.

Thanks,
Cheryl

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Comments (4)

juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
13 years ago
I grew Gold Flame when I gardened in Zone 6. Its support was a section of an old iron fence about 5' long x 30-36" high, so just about the same height you're envisioning. This worked well and the vine display was lovely, Side branches will "drip" down from the leader you're training across the top of the wall, and some will reach up a bit, but I think you'll like the effect.

Below is a picture of Gold Flame along the top of a picket fence, giving you an idea of how it will look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Golf Flame Tops a Picket Fence
v1rt
13 years ago
juneroses, I have goldflame now about 2 months old. It's very slow growing and has tons of powdery mildew. I'm thinking of pulling it out and replace it with another vine. I also noticed or observed that it's not a climber meaning, it doesn't twine. How about yours?
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juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
13 years ago
It's been several years, but I don't recall a powdery mildew problem on my Gold Flame and our summers were certainly hot and humid. Maybe growing on an open fence that allowed the air to move through helped.

If mildew is already a problem on your young vine, I can understand why you're thinking of yanking it. I've read of others also having the problem, so you're not alone. There are varieties of honeysuckle that are labelled mildew resistant so you might check those out if you decide to replace Gold Flame.

Honeysuckle doesn't have tendrils that grab onto a trellis but it does tend to twine. If you decide to keep yours, observe which way the vine naturally wants to grow around a support and then guide other tendrils in the same direction.

Compared to coral honeysuckle, I did find the Gold Flame to be less robust, a trait I appreciated because of the small fence which supported it. I lucked out and had the right plant in the right place.
jadeite
Original Author
13 years ago
juneroses - thank you for your response! I was a bit intimidated by the reported growth expected. I'm going to go ahead with a support that will extend along the edge of the wall and hope the vines do extend down. That picket fence look is what I'm after.

virtuosity - I believe powdery mildew is one of the potential problems with this honeysuckle. Mine is quite healthy now but I live in a desert climate so humidity is low all the time. From what I've read, Goldflame needs some help when being trained on a structure.

Cheryl