Lonicera
nitida are a great, if little used, species for bonsai, very
fast growing, naturally minute (3-4mm) leaves and have the
ability to bud back like crazy. The only real drawback is
they can take a little while to develop decent trunks and
they have a shrubby habit, producing suckers that form many
thin trunks instead of one fat main trunk.
Lonicera/Honeysuckles
are commonly known as vines/climbers that flower prolifically
during the Summer, however, there are a few Lonicera/Honeysuckles
in the genus that are shrub-like (commonly known as shrub
honeysuckles) that produce tiny, fairly nondescript flowers
and are often used as hedging. Shrub honeysuckles include
L.nitida, L.pileata and L.morrowii.
This
Lonicera nitida 'Baggesens Gold' (a yellow-leaved variety)
honeysuckle was dug up from my neighbours garden in June 2004;
not a great time to collect any plant but it was a case of
digging it straight away before my neighbour threw it out!
It had been kept pruned to a height of around 5ft for years,
when I reduced the height of the tree, I could see that that
nearly all of the interior growth had been shaded out for
years and had died.
