the two Hs i grew were beasts .. my inclination would be to suggest that they would not be happy as potted plants ... and not very easy to tame .. especially in a 12 inch pot ...

this link indicates 10 to 12 feet tall and 3 to 6 foot wide ... it doesnt sound like a balcony plant to me

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/lonicera-italica-harlequin

as to the extensive growth after flowering ... well.. thats part of what i include in the definition of beast ... certain proclivities toward world domination ...

whats you plan for winter?? ...

it probably should go in the ground for winter ... if thats an option ...

with a new plant.. it wouldnt surprise me if the bloom cycle is out of whack... with shipping.. repotting... etc .... and not being a mature plant ...

ken

I don't have any ground to put it in. I have left my clematis and roses in as small pots as 10" without issues so it will be left to the elements in a corner with 3 roses, 2 clematis and one raspberry pot.

Would it not work as a large bonsai in this pot with some root pruning? I just moved it from 10" to 12" pot.

i saw your other post.. with more pix of you balcony ... you are very experienced in all this ... and im sure if anyone can do it.. you can .. or a lest kill it trying... lol.. like every good green thumb .. lol ..

i was just trying to impress upon you its vigor .. i once had a HS grow down a wood slat fence 10 feet or so.. in just a few years ... there wasnt any beating that thing back with a stick ... but it wasnt this one ... so im just generalizing ...

also i wasnt sure you had experience overwintering pots.. but you do.. so .....

good luck. and keep us posted ....

ken

ps: one of the definitions of a green thumb.. is that someone who has killed every plant 3 times .... before they perfected how to grow it .... now go to it ... lol ...

Haha! If it is as vigorous as that (I know the Japanese honeysuckle is that way and is endangering natural habitats but thought a variegated variety would be more tame. Variegated versions of other plants are usually less vigorous.) it would survive my efforts to kill it. :) My most tragic murder of this year is a decent sized Vanda orchid called Rapeepath yellow. I bought earlier this year, got it to develop a spike and then lost it completely to a bacterial infection within days. The most likely culprit is yellow/orange water dripping for a plant potted in a fresh potting mix (Sta green). Aren't these potting mixes supposed to be sterilized. The last pic is what the blooms would have looked like. I am still heartbroken about it.

but thought a variegated variety would be more tame. Variegated versions of other plants are usually less vigorous.)

==>> great logic ... but.. as an example.. i once read.. a redwood could grow to about 380 feet ... before gravity will not allow it to pump water any higher ... soo.. in theory... a 250 foot tree might be called a dwarf version ... lol ...

though it is well known that any leaf short of green.. has less chlorophyll producing potential ... it technically has less vigor potential ... but that doesnt mean they will be significantly smaller ...

lol.. disease or bugs.. is not murder ... imo ... thats ma nature at her evil best .... but bonsai.. severe root pruning ... or lack of proper plant culture variables.. is within your realm.. and could be murder ... lol ... and of course there is loving things to death ... which might be second degree.. lol .... and then down to gross negligence.. but i digress .. lol ...

ken

Lonicera japonica

Yes, bonsai is doable, but it's a complicated art, needing a different skill set. You won't have a lot of flowers. Lonicera roots love to roam far, so what you must do, do it quickly. It will continue to decline in the root bound pot.

Ken, I like your analysis of how criminal law should be extrapolated to plants. That is some original thinking. I bet plants would be very pleased with such an advocate of their rights.
Jay, that is a very pretty bonsai. When I said bonsai, I didn't mean the size of traditional bonsai. If I confine the Harlequin honeysuckle to it's current pot by root and foliage pruning as needed (only borrowing those two concepts from bonsai culture) it might give me a version that is in between traditional bonsai and full fledged vine, sort of a forced dwarf vine/shrub. I ay or may not succeed but what I have got to lose except some very valuable growing real estate on 15'x5' balcony. I am also growing a mango and an avocado tree with somewhat similar goals. We shall see...