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Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle foliage

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Other Names:  Boxleaf Honeysuckle, Shrubby Honeysuckle

Brand:  Bloomin' Easy

Description:

Valued for its white flowers in spring and pinnate yellow-gold leaves on a mounded, cascading habit; the fruit is purple and inedible and rarely forms when clipped regularly; visually stunning when spilling over walls or container edges

Ornamental Features

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle has attractive gold-variegated green foliage with hints of chartreuse which emerges yellow in spring on a plant with an arching habit of growth. The tiny glossy oval pinnately compound leaves are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter. It is clothed in stunning lightly-scented creamy white tubular flowers at the ends of the branches in late spring. It produces deep purple berries in late summer.

Landscape Attributes

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a shapely form and gracefully arching branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects
• Disease

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant will benefit from an application of bonemeal and/or mycorrhizal fertilizer at the time of planting. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Thunderbolt™ Box Honeysuckle makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.