Add Some Sweetness to Your Garden with Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle Vine

The peaches and cream honeysuckle vine (Lonicera periclymenum ‘Inov 86’) is the perfect way to add both beauty and fragrance to your outdoor space. This fast-growing vine produces an abundance of pink, white, and magenta tubular flowers from spring through late summer, filling the air with their sweet scent. I’ve fallen in love with this plant and want to share why I think everyone should plant it in their garden.

An Overview of Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle Vine

Native to Europe, peaches and cream honeysuckle is a deciduous woody vine that can reach lengths of 5-6 feet tall when given support. It can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 4-9, so it thrives in most parts of the country. This vine features dark green oval leaves and clusters of pink and white flowers The blooms emerge a soft peach color in spring then turn to shades of magenta and white as they mature Each tubular flower lasts about a week, but new blooms continually open providing months of color.

One of the best things about peaches and cream honeysuckle is its heavenly fragrance. On warm spring days when the vine is in full bloom, its sweet perfume permeates the air Many gardeners grow it near doors or patios so they can enjoy the scent as they lounge outdoors Hummingbirds and butterflies also love the nectar-rich blooms. After the flowers fade, small bright red berries appear in late summer. These berries attract birds before the vine loses its leaves in winter.

Growing Conditions for Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle

Peaches and cream honeysuckle thrives in full sun but can tolerate partial shade. It prefers moist, well-draining soil but is adaptable to different soil conditions including clay, sandy, acidic, and alkaline soils. Once established, it is quite drought tolerant. Like most vines, it grows best when given a structure to climb. Provide a trellis, arbor, fence, or post for it to scale up. It can also be grown as a ground cover on slopes and allowed to trail over walls. Pruning is not necessary but you can trim it in late winter to control size and shape.

This vine grows moderately fast, adding several feet of length each year. It’s self-clinging, using small aerial rootlets to adhere to surfaces as it climbs. However, some lightweight support like garden twine may be needed to train young vines until they latch on. This honeysuckle is hardy and trouble-free with excellent resistance to common diseases like powdery mildew that affect some vines. It’s even deer and rabbit resistant!

Why Plant the Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle Vine

Here are some of the key benefits that make peaches and cream honeysuckle such an outstanding choice:

Long Bloom Season

While many vines only flower for a couple weeks this honeysuckle blooms for months! Flowers open from mid-spring through late summer, especially in hot climates. The blooms appear on and off through the season as different cycles begin and end. You’ll enjoy wave after wave of color in your garden.

Intoxicating Fragrance

Very few flowering vines can compete with the amazingly sweet scent of peaches and cream honeysuckle. Its perfume carries on the breeze, enveloping you each time you’re near. There’s no better way to experience your garden’s beauty than immersing your senses in the fragrance of this plant.

Low Maintenance

Once established, this carefree vine needs little attention to continue growing and blooming every year. It handles environmental stresses well and has excellent disease resistance. Just provide full sun, occasional water during droughts, and prune once a year, and it will thrive season after season.

Attracts Pollinators

The nectar-filled tubular flowers of peaches and cream honeysuckle are a magnet for pollinating insects like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Watching these energetic visitors flock to your blooms is entertainment in itself! By providing food for pollinators, you’ll increase the biodiversity in your yard.

Versatile Uses

With its ability to spread out as a ground cover or climb up supports, this plant is useful in many different garden situations. Grow it on slopes for erosion control, along fences or arbors to add vertical interest, or let it trail off containers on decks and patios. It’s even well suited for espalier against walls with horizontal supports.

Unique Color Combination

The flowers open in a soft blushing peach shade then gradually morph to eye-catching bicolor blooms in white and shades of pink, magenta, and purple. The mix of colors on each flower cluster provides lovely visual interest. You’ll find the changing colors intriguing as flowers mature.

With so many positive attributes, it’s easy to see why peaches and cream honeysuckle deserves a spot in any garden. This vine covers itself in deliciously fragrant flowers over a long season, making it a real standout. Add in the easy care and growing habits, and you simply can’t go wrong.

Tips for Planting Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle

Plant peaches and cream in spring as growth begins. Here are a few tips to get your vine off to a good start:

• Choose a sunny location protected from strong winds. Morning sun is ideal. Provide a structure for the vine to climb like a trellis or arbor.

• Prepare a hole twice the width of the container and the same depth as the root ball. Amend the soil with compost to improve drainage.

• Carefully remove the plant from the pot and loosen circled roots. Position in the hole with the top of the root ball at soil level.

• Fill in around the roots and pack down gently. Water thoroughly until the soil is moist but not soggy. Add mulch around the base.

• Water young plants regularly the first year while roots establish. Once mature, water during droughts but avoid overwatering.

Follow these tips for planting success! Proper site selection, preparation, planting, and care will give your vine the healthy start it needs to begin covering your trellis in no time with peaches and cream blooms.

Enjoying Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle Year After Year

With very little care needed, peaches and cream honeysuckle vine provides lasting beauty. Just water occasionally, fertilize in early spring, and prune any overgrowth after flowering. As the vine matures, it will completely cover its support in each new season with abundant fragrant blooms to delight your senses. The lush green foliage fills in to provide a nice backdrop the rest of the year.

In cold climates, some gardeners cut their vines back almost to the ground in late fall for winter protection. Then they are amazed when rapid spring growth quickly covers all signs of pruning with new foliage and flowers! This hardy, carefree vine truly earns its place in the garden. The sensory pleasures it provides will linger in your memory long after the blooms fade each season.

So for a vine that keeps on giving, plant the peaches and cream honeysuckle this spring. You won’t believe how fast it transforms fences and arbors into breath-taking focal points. The sweet perfume will brighten your mood while the colorful blossoms attract hummingbirds and butterflies to entertain you for months on end. This vine perfectly blends aesthetics and fragrance for an enchanting addition to your garden. Let peaches and cream honeysuckle infuse your yard with beauty and joy!