The sweet aroma of “Breath of Spring” will make your head whip around in search of the source. Lonicera fragrantissima (a melodic pronunciation makes one want to use the Latin instead of the common name: low-NISS-er-ah fray-gran-TISS-uh-muh) blooms in mid- to late-winter. The tiny ivory blooms with yellow stamens are unexciting, but the scent will make you swoon. On a warm day, honey bees flock to the flowers. Common names include “Sweet Breath of Spring” and “Winter Honeysuckle” but don’t confuse it with Winter Jasmine, featured last week.
Like other members of the honeysuckle family, Breath of Spring can be intrusive. It is on the list of invasive shrubs for SC, GA, TN and VA. Its seeds are spread by birds and critters. Prevent spread by hard pruning as soon as petals fall (mid-March in the Mary Snoddy garden) before seeds ripen. Since Lonicera blooms on new growth and grows like the wind, cutting it back almost to ground level results in plentiful flowers in the next bloom cycle. Without pruning, it grows larger each year, attaining heights of 9-12 feet. Arching stems, similar to Forsythia, result in a rounded, thicket-like shrub.
Due to its height (and somewhat gangly appearance), this one is best used in the back of the border or in the edge of woodlands where it will tolerate any type of soil (prefers acidic to neutral), any amount of sun or lack thereof (prefers sun to part sun), and almost any level of soil moisture (prefers moist, well-drained, not boggy). If ever there was a can’t-kill-it shrub, this is it.
Deciduous to semi-evergreen and hardy from zones 4 through 8, Breath of Spring is not browsed by deer or rabbits. It can be grown near Black Walnut trees. It requires no maintenance beyond the yearly pruning, and can be used as a coarse privacy hedge if available space will accommodate its spread of up to 15 feet. If you want to establish a hedge, strip the lower leaves off 9-inch stems and just push them into the ground along the desired hedge line. Most will take root without any help from the gardener. You can also cut blooming branches to enjoy its wonderful lemony fragrance indoors.
The tiny flowers of Lonicera fragrantissima pack a wallop of lemon-like fragrance.
This Breath of Spring was not pruned in the last two years. It is 12 feet tall and 15 feet across. All blooms are on the outermost portion of the stems’ (newest) growth. On this warm winter day, every branch is alive with honeybees. It is located in the edge of woodlands, where it receives 6 hours of sunlight during winter, and about 2 hours during summer when the surrounding trees are in leaf.