Alberta Invasive Plants Council
Edmonton Horticultural Society
Blogs and Blooms – Donna Balzer
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Find my blog Blooms and Spoons on Grit.com!- Rhubarb Cake June 4, 2013Celebrate rhubarb season with cake!
- Red Lily Beetles May 16, 2013Red lily beetles are a serious threat to your lily plants - here are a few tips to combat them.
- Baked Apples - Your Way! May 2, 2013Baked apples are scrumptious on the grill or from the oven - plus, you can customize the toppings!
- Artillery Fungus April 10, 2013If you have wood mulch in your garden, you may be inadvertently encouraging a very messy, unwanted pest....
- Recipe: Fruit Smoothie with Corn Shoots March 25, 2013Add flavor and nutrition to your fruit smoothies with greens you've grown yourself.
- Rhubarb Cake June 4, 2013
- See more of my photos at There is A Light!
- Hoodoos. June 7, 2013
- Bridge across the Bow. June 4, 2013
- Wave goodbye. May 26, 2013
- Unfurling. May 12, 2013
- Bee beautiful. May 10, 2013
- Spring has sprung? April 29, 2013
- On the rails. April 24, 2013
- Tree spirits. April 9, 2013
- Pirouette. April 3, 2013
- Rainy day sunset. March 24, 2013
- Check out what I’ve been reading at The Door is Ajar!
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- I’m part of the 20 Lines a Day community!
- renewal redux June 18, 2013 whocouldknowthen
- Motives? June 17, 2013 karringtonkenendy
- our words June 16, 2013 whocouldknowthen
- Find out what I’m listening to on These Scoundrel Days!
Posts I Like
gardenhobby
/ August 5, 2012I just read your article in Calgary Gardening regarding the honeysuckle vines; mine are planted in full sun ( my garden is west ) but never flowered more then just once / season and did not grow more then 4ft ; I have them for 5 y now
What do I do wrong?
Sheryl
/ August 7, 2012Hi! Thanks so much for checking out my blog; I’m happy that you’ve been reading Calgary Gardening! Regarding your honeysuckle vines, your west orientation is perfect for them. Quite often they will bloom most profusely in June-early July and then fall off during the season; to prolong the flowering time, you can do a couple of things. Prune the vines very lightly in late winter or very, very early spring – do this when the weather changes and there’s no longer any chance that temperatures could drop severely. You can’t wait too long into spring or else the vines won’t bloom at all. Don’t prune too hard, and don’t do this if the vines are young (yours are established, though, so you should be okay). Also, try an application of a balanced fertilizer both at the start of the season and again in late June or early July; that may help out with the flowering. Sometimes if the weather doesn’t co-operate (too wet, too dry etc.) they won’t bloom throughout the summer, either. I’m not sure why your vines have stopped growth at 4 feet – of course, the height given in the article is the maximum range and so is not always achievable in every geographical location, but I’m thinking your vines should get a bit bigger than they are currently. The applications of fertilizer may assist with that; also, if you haven’t done so already, try mulching the roots with bark chips (or even, if you have the space and inclination, your favourite groundcover plant that can grow underneath the vines). Although honeysuckle are really hardy and thrive in our crazy winters, any help with the cold and the horrible freeze and thaw cycles we have in southern Alberta might help. I really hope this gives you a few solutions! Please do keep me posted on how it goes!