The new growth is interesting. I have am growing it on two properties. At the one, colder location there was some branch loss during a recent sharp winter.

I've had it for a while, trying to use it as a mini hedge under a large bay window. It's not a good plant for a clipped hedge as it's constantly throwing up long, gangly new shoots. It might be better as a specimen. I'd imagine it could get 5 + feet tall and wide if left to its own devices. It seems a lot different than other selections of L. nitida. Flowers are not showy or scented as far as I can tell. Easy to grow-- mine's in sun with average soil and good drainage. On the plus side the leaves are glossy, which is always nice, but it's not a very exciting plant otherwise.

For a medium sized, durable shrub it is not a bad choice. I find boxleaf honeysuckle to be a very useful if somewhat uninspiring plant :-) It's evergreen, tolerant of quite a lot of shade, drought and salt spray and is not highly attractive to either deer or rabbit predation. 'Red Tip' seems to produce more long, gangly shoots than some of the other cultivars, but then it is the newest growth that produces the red tips so I guess that may be excusable :-) Flowers are insignificant and with no noticeable scent, although the bees love them. The growth habit is often described as like a "haystack" with lateral branches layering on top of each other. I prefer the plant to have minimal pruning, but many do use it as a low hedge and it responds well to shearing, in much the same manner as boxwood or Japanese holly.

My preference is to the cultivar 'Lemon Beauty', which offers chartreuse/lime and deep green variegation (great in a shady location) although Edmee Gold ('Briloni') is a newer, more compact selection with bright gold-green foliage, recommended for at least partial shade. IMO, this is a far better looking selection than the older 'Baggesen's Gold', which most often gives the appearance of being half dead or on its way to being dead.

Older properties in the Seattle area have box honeysuckle hedges or the remains of them. During the 1990 winter there was quite a bit of damage. I think somewhere I've seen a 10 degrees F. minimum temperature indicated for this species, that would be consistent with it holding up most of the time but taking a hit in a winter like the one in 1990.

Other plants on the Camano site said to be hardy to 10 or similar temperatures have also been damaged within the last several years, apparently it gets colder there than is usual in much of Seattle.

Years ago I also encountered box honeysuckle growing wild/as a planting remnant in the woods above a small lake with public access out somewhere like Kent or Auburn.