Lonicera sempervirens on house?

11 years ago

I just found 'Major Wheeler' and bought it before having a dedicated space for it (classic gardener conundrum). I don't have any pergolas or arbors, and all of the fences in my backyard are all my neighbors' so I can't plant there in case they replace them (which I hope they do soon).

I do have a wooden lattices in front of my elevated deck (several panels, about 5 ft tall and wide) but when the lattice needs replacing I'll have to chop the vine so I'd rather have something herbaceous there like passionflowers I have now.

A final idea I had was to grow the honeysuckle up the gutter using a gutter trellis. The issues with that is the main one I'd love to do it on is on the corner of the screened-in deck and my wife has questions about bugs getting into the house from the vine (ants?). My other option is to grow it on the gutter on the other side but I'd have to grow it in a container since the ground around it is covered in a hardscape patio.

What are my options? Does the gutter trellis idea sound doable? Will I attract too many bugs up the side of my house? Should I try to grow it away from the house? Any pointers are most welcome.

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northraleighguy
Original Author

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Figured I'd update this post since when I first created it I couldn't find anything that really helped me with what I wanted to do that wasn't just a traditional trellis. First thing I'll say is I'll never grow passionflowers in the ground anywhere near my house again. Both native types - passiflora incarnata and passiflora lutea - spread around the yard and every week I was pulling tens of sprouts. The Variegated Frittilaries loved it and it was fun seeing caterpillars but what a headache. Keep them in containers, or way out in the woods. So I stuck with Loniceras.

I went with two trellises on two sides of my house (one by the deck, another on the other corner) that wrapped 180 degrees around half the gutter and grew Major Wheeler on it. These were cool trellises but a little pricey. I liked this setup, I just had to keep it trimmed or it would look a little unkempt on the house. And since Lonicera sempervirens is a twining vine I didn't worry about it attaching to or ruining the hardiplank. And I don't think ants like this vine because I didn't see many of them. The hummingbirds go crazy over this vine and I got great pictures of them over the years.

Then I had the other corner of the screened in deck that I wanted to do something with so I used two strings of metal twine between eyehooks in the soffit and near the bottom of the deck. I did two strings because I felt that a honeysuckle vine might have difficulty twining up just one. Here I went with Lonicer sempervirens 'John Clayton' which might be my favorite vine. It's a vigorous grower and the color is awesome.

But we moved out and I inherited a trellis over some stairs to the backyard on which I'm growing three Major Wheelers.

I still want a John Clayton vine so I created a single post support for it in the back based on the instructions from here. I'll update this post with a picture after it's grown a bit.

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Comments (6)

dbarron
11 years ago
It won't climb the gutter by itself...and it's not destructive other than the leaves retaining water a bit more on the surface.

It's not a fast grower, I wouldn't put it where you have to cut it away in the future.
bogturtle
11 years ago
I would never, actually, grow a vine on a house. And would put a lattice at least a foot away, for one that will not attach, like ivy or trumpet vine will. Nobody could convince me to grow Ivy or Trumpet Vine, period. But I have 3 beautiful sorts of L. sempervirens. Trellis now comes in vinyl, brown, white or gray, and framing pieces to match. Mine are driftwood stained treated lattice and last for years, but strong vines mess them up. They pry the trellis slats from each other, as the vines get thicker.
As to ants, great patience is needed, but I use Terro, which is sugar water with Borax. The ants swarm around it for days, drink it up and take it home to poison all the rest. Works like a charm but what looks like zebras around a waterhole is disturbing, at first.
Where we live, we can expect a yearly invasion, each Spring, but my wife no longer panics, as she knows how well the product works, and she sets it out, herself.
Definitely would grow Passionflower in a container. Mine romps yards from where first planted. Why not Morning Glory, Cypress Vine, or another annual?

L. sempervirens 'Magnificum'.
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northraleighguy
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Bogturtle. Do you have a pic of your trellis before it was covered with that great vine? Is it pyramidal? Does it have a planter at the bottom or is it planted in the ground?

I have both passiflora incarnata and passiflora lutea on my lattice under my deck. They're both in sunken containers but I noticed a couple of sprigs growing a foot away so I think containment has been breached. Would like the replace with the coral honeysuckle but again I'm worried about growing things in the house. The ants loved that passionflower.

I need to add shrubs to the front of this part of the house but that's the subject of another post.
frankielynnsie
11 years ago
How did you get your vine full all over? My Major Wheeler is full and fountaining at the top of the trellis. I know I should do something but it blooms so well and long that I hate to disturb it. My hummys love it.
dbarron
11 years ago
I'd like to know too. The only time I've ever had a vine look that good and full, is the runaway clematis at my parents house. It's about thirty years old, and it roots at the nodes, and there's always new plants coming up...to cloth the old bare stems.