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Can Asian honeysuckle pollinate Lonicera caerulea (honeyberry)?

megamawax
11 years ago

Hello,

I currently have many invasive Asian honeysuckles in my yard. I want to plant edible honeysuckles (Lonicera caerulea) to replace some of them. Will the Asian honeysuckles pollinate the edible ones, and if they do, will the resulting fruit be edible or toxic?

Additionally, the Asians that I want to replace with the edibles currently act as a privacy hedge, so I'd prefer to cut away some of the Asians to give the edibles time to grow in before completely chopping them away. Is this a bad idea?

Thanks.

Comments (4)

  • denninmi
    11 years ago

    Good question. I don't have any answers for you.

    But, I wonder about the timing. All of the other species of Lonicera that I grow here bloom either before (Winter Honeysuckle) or after (Tartarian, Japanese, Amur). None of them exactly overlap the Honeyberry in bloom season. The Winter Honeysuckle still has some open blooms when the Honeyberries bloom, but it is winding down its bloom cycle at that point. If you have genetically compatible species (??? that would take some Google research) that overlap in bloom time it would work, but I don't know is such genetic compatibility exists.

    As far as the fruit from such a cross, it is fine. People get confused about toxicity issues. The plant that would grow out from the seeds of such a fruit might be toxic, if one of the parents was, but the fruit body itself less the seeds is composed of tissue that is genetically 100% from the parent plant, so no problem there. And, I doubt the tiny amount of seed tissue would be enough to cause problems.

    Finally, in regards to cutting back your existing plants, I don't see any problem with doing that, other than the fact you're going to have a gap in your privacy hedge for a while. One issue I do see there -- you need to be aware that there is a DRAMATIC difference in mature height between different cultivars of honeyberry. I planted several at the same time a few years back. One of them grew to about 6 feet tall, but a couple of the others matured at only around 3 feet. The descriptions in the catalog should tell you, or e-mail the company.

    In terms the actual pruning of Lonicera, I do it to mine every few years, cutting to the ground. It's good for them, makes them regenerate vigorous new wood. Otherwise, they get old and full of dead wood, look scruffy, and ultimately decline.

  • megamawax
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks denninmi. That was a lot of useful information.

  • Bob2468
    11 years ago

    Asian honeysuckle cannot pollinate Lonicera caerulea. Not only are they too distantly related but Lonicera caerulea blooms much earlier. In the plant world it is very rare to have the pollen parent influence the fruit of the recipient plant. Pollen of course changes the genetics of the seeds but rarely does the flesh of the fruit alter. A rare exception but commonly known about is corn. Two compatible varieties of the same species are needed for Lc and for many fruit species.

  • megamawax
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks, Bob2468.