When to prune honeysuckle – experts share timing tips, plus advice on how to do it

Honeysuckle is a fabulous choice for cottage gardens and loved by many for its fragrant flowers. But, to keep these plants looking their best, an annual trim is needed.

'Honeysuckle thrives with regular pruning,' says Kiersten Rankel, an expert from plant-care app, Greg. 'It keeps the plant healthy, encourages lots of blooms, and prevents it from becoming a tangled mess.'

There are many varieties of honeysuckle, and different types call for different pruning times. While this may sound a little complicated, these varieties can be divided into three main groups, making it easy to know when to tackle them. Below, gardening experts share their advice for each.

When to prune honeysuckle – plus tips on how

As Nikki Bruner of Perfect Plants Nursery warns, pruning honeysuckle too late can hinder the growth of next season's blooms.

Whatever variety of honeysuckle you're growing, the following timing tips will help you get it right.

Kiersten Rankel

Kiersten Rankel is a certified Louisiana Master Naturalist and regularly volunteers with local community gardens and nonprofits to help restore critical ecosystems along the Gulf Coast. She earned her master's degree from Tulane University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology after her undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology, also from Tulane. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and tending to her 150+ houseplants and vegetable garden.

Nikki Bruner

Nikki Bruner is the marketing manager at Perfect Plants Nursery. With a passion for plants and expertise in marketing, Nikki combines her knowledge of the nursery industry with her creative thinking to promote and highlight the exceptional offerings of Perfect Plants Nursery. She is dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction and providing valuable insights for plant lovers.

When to prune early-flowering climbing honeysuckle

'Early-flowering varieties bloom on last year’s growth, so the best time to prune is right after flowering, in late spring or early summer,' says Kiersten. This timing allows the plant to grow fresh shoots, which will carry next year’s flowers, she explains.

'Start by removing any dead, damaged, or weak stems, then trim back the flowered shoots by about one-third.'

Top tip: 'Untangle and attach the remaining stems to a support to guide the growth of the honeysuckle, giving it a more compact appearance,' adds Julia Omelchenko, an expert from Plantum.

Julia Omelchenko

Julia Omelchenko has four years of experience consulting on botany-related topics for Plantum, an app that helps users identify plant species, diagnose their conditions, and get specific care advice.

When to prune late-flowering climbing honeysuckle

'Late-flowering climbing honeysuckles bloom on the current season’s growth, so the ideal time to prune is in late winter or early spring, before the growing season kicks off,' says Kiersten. 'This timing encourages strong new shoots and maximizes flowering.'

To prune this type of climbing plant, Julia recommends shortening old wood back to strong buds, removing weak twigs, and also removing densely growing shoots to improve air circulation.

Nikki recommends only pruning back what is necessary, though, to avoid chopping off blooms to come.

When to prune shrubby honeysuckle

There are different types of shrubby honeysuckle; deciduous and evergreen, and summer-flowering and winter-flowering. Like the early-flowering, climbing varieties, pruning should be carried out after blooming has finished.

This means pruning winter-blooming shrubby honeysuckles in mid-to-late spring, as Julia notes. 'Summer-blooming shrubs need pruning in late summer or early fall.'

Evergreen honeysuckles grown as hedging plants may need frequent pruning, Julia adds – 'two to three times between spring and fall.'

When pruning, she recommends removing dry and diseased branches first, then thinning out dense areas. 'You can trim long branches to maintain the desired size and shape of the plant.'

FAQs

What tools are recommended for pruning honeysuckle?

A pair of sharp pruning shears and a pair of gardening gloves are the basic toolkit for pruning honeysuckle. Loppers and even a hand saw can be useful for tackling thicker, tougher stems, while evergreen shrubby types can be trimmed with a hedge trimmer for a neat finish.

If your honeysuckle has been neglected for a while it can turn into an unruly mess. Whether climbing or shrubby, cutting it back to around 2-3ft in late winter will give it a fresh start.

Need more timing tips for your backyard pruning? Our guides on when to prune hydrangeas or when to prune roses are definitely worth a read.