Does anyone grow Fragrant Cloud Honeysuckle vine? I am looking for something to replace not producing and too large for a space concord grape vine on the arch.
Here are my questions about it:
Does it worse it?
Will it stay on arch or will it try to get to near by fruit trees and flower bed as grape does?
Does it need to be pruned in summer to keep it on arch?
Will seeds be a problem in the garden when spread by birds?
Should I plant one on only one side of the arch or one on each side?
HI Galinas! I had two concord grapes on either side of an arch a little bigger than yours. Next to the arch was my house on one side and privet on the other. They climb and are very fast growing vines once they take hold. I pruned feet of vines and grapes from the privet every year. There was nothing on the house side for the grapes to cling to. Their tendrils are very, very strong and they will also grow back onto themselves. Concord are very vigorous grapes. I loved every one! (That the racoons didn’t eat!). Mine could grow vines up to six feet long in any direction in a summer.
I love the smell of concord in fall, this is why I planted it. But it just doesn’t produce when pruned to fit and requires pruning several times a summer otherwise it could chock all my fruit trees nearby, if unpruned it can easy reach the opposite side of the cherry tree, and it is somewhat around 10 '. And it doesn’t produce for me, 1-2 small bunches per side of the arch. I feel it doesn’t worse it. I would remove the arch too, but it has strategic use to prevent winter snow be pushed from the street to my yard. Had this problem before. They do not hesitate to do it when they see a tree. Artificial construction however stops them from using my yard as a dump. This is why I am looking for some other way to fill the arch, with something that can tolerate some shade from nearby trees and not that aggressive as concord. I think I am out of edible options, so turning to decorative.
My arch was predominantly in the shade and produced many clusters. It only got morning sun on one side.
Interesting, did you prune it yearly or just let it naturalize? I feel like it doesn’t like the severe pruning I do every year, but otherwise I will loose everything that surrounds it…
It was never severely pruned. It did take about 3 years to really produce. I think I pruned in March. I just took off the really towering vines from the previous years growth, the trunk of the vine was 4 « across.
