Notching on leaf edges like that is typically the work of vine/root weevils. And they can affect many plants although the damage tends to be primarily cosmetic.

But tough to control (you have target both adults and the larvae and that requires different approaches) so many gardeners just deal with it :-))

So if it is weevils, they shouldn't affect the growth of the plant? If not, what are your thoughts about its slow growth?

Two years is not a very long time :-) Most vines take anywhere from 3-5 years (some a lot longer) before they really start to grow and produce well. I'd just suggest exercising some patience......that is one of your most valuable gardening "tools" :-)

I'm smiling over here.....Thank you gardengal48! (Thought I am still stumped why the other one I bought at the same time has grown to be three times the size in girth of the afflicted one!)

Different siting, different soil conditions, more or less water, wind exposure, etc., etc. Even two identical plants purchased from the same grower at the same time and planted side by side will not necessarily match each other wrt establishment and growth. That's just life in the gardening world :-)

Thought I am still stumped why the other one I bought at the same time has grown to be three times the size

===>>> in the proper planting season ... many of us bare root plants .. and then we find out.. one root mass was twice as big as the other ... i have to do this because a big gob of peat media in sand... leads to its own problems ...

never forget.. with perennials ..... when you buy a pot... you are not buying the plant above.. you are buying a root mass for the future ... i often tip plants out of the pots... and buy the one with the most/best root mass .... rather than what is above ....

there can also be issues with overly mature stock with bad circling roots ...

when you cant SEE a reason.. then default to wondering whats going on underground ....

now ...first pic .... these things arent like that purple clem on that wire trellis .... a vigorous HS can nearly take down a split rail fence in the decades to come .... so you might want to move this one.. in fall ... [in fact.. when it thrives.. it might break in thru that pet door and start talking over that room ... lol]

ken

this is how i look at future potential ....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Honeysuckle+Vine&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

btw.. since this was in the clinic ... i used to be a chemical warrior .. then i moved to acres ... and decided that i could not kill every darn thing that came along... so i quit spraying unless a plant was severely threatened... and even then.. probably not ... and frankly.. nothing ever died.. bugs have a way of moving on.. or changing and leaving.. before they destroy things ...short of the biblical plagues of course ... lol ...

the garden needn't be a disney drawing.. and not everything has to be perfect ... if you go a little zen on fixing everything .... it all takes care of itself ...

that said.. i know down south.. weevils are quite a bit more intense than my experience .... perhaps a call to your county extension office.. will get you local guidance on whether this is a small deal.. or a big deal ...

ken

root weevil adults damage leaves; usually only esthetic.

root weevil larvae are in the soil and damage roots & underground stem.

Thank you for the perspective about buying the root, rather than the plant! That's so helpful. The other honeysuckle is planted in another part of my yard and I'm realizing now gets probably 2x the amount of sun than the smaller one. When I say "three times bigger in girth" I don't mean the actual base stem, I mean the entire plant as shown:

"a vigorous HS can nearly take down a split rail fence in the decades to come .... so you might want to move this one.. in fall ... [in fact.. when it thrives.. it might break in thru that pet door and start talking over that room ... lol]"

Nonsense!! Like virtually all perennial vines, honeysuckles benefit from an annual pruning to keep size in check, clear out dead wood and foliage and encourage flowering. I have grown many, many honeysuckles in my time and none were so aggressive as to take over (or take down) anything!! These are not wisteria or passionflower vines and do not have that same sort of very aggressive habit.

Could this black stuff be a helpful clue to what's going on with myHoneysuckle vines being eaten up? And if so, does anyone know what its called? The back of the leaves look clear.

I guess it could be caterpillars of some type and what you are seeing is their frass. However, the notches have dried edges which would indicate the feeding damage is not current. The leaf with most missing does not look very much like weevil damage....more like the kind of damage from the cats. And more recent as well.

You may very well have more than one plant-munching culprit involved :-) While unsightly, the leaf damage is really of no concern to the vine. But I would keep inspecting the vine to see what you might find that would be causing the damage. Twilight or at dusk just as it is starting to get dark is often the best time as many of these creatures are more nocturnal in their habits.

I'll take a look tonight and report back!