Honeysuckle- It's just the Worst Thing! Fight It in Creve Coeur Saturday

This Saturday, Creve Coeur is holding its “1st Annual Honeysuckle Removal Day.”  It begins at 10am at Millennium Park.  Millennium Park is located behind BJC West at the southeast corner of Olive and Mason.  If you love live or work in Creve Coeur, enjoy volunteering, want to feel good about yourself or vehemently hate Honeysuckle, join us.  Drinks, snacks, garden gloves and good times will be provided by the City.  This event brings me great joy- I simply despise Honeysuckle.  In the short span of 3 years, “Team Tappmeyer” volunteers (along with the City’s help) have eliminated ½ acre of Honeysuckle.  In doing so, native flowers, shrubs and trees have returned.  Join us and see why removing Honeysuckle is so important.

Honeysuckle.  It’s the worst thing.  Ever.

It can overtake a neglected garden in just a few years.  It can fill roadsides, highways and parks unless measures are taken to remove it.  The South has Kudzu. It’s so thick and dense, it resembles packs of elephants and dinosaurs.  The Pacific Northwest battles English Ivy.  I have personally seen English Ivy so overgrown that it actually produces berries.  In our neck of the woods, it’s Honeysuckle.  We battle the innocent-looking Honeysuckle.

Perhaps you like Honeysuckle because it provides privacy.  I hate to admit it, but my Father loves his Honeysuckle.  Many a time I have tried to get him to get rip it out and plant something that actually benefits wildlife and provides privacy at the same time.  It’s like talking to the wall.  He isn’t going to budge.  Yes, it provides privacy.  It’s the first shrub to leaf out in the spring and the last to defoliate in the fall.  “Yes,” he’ll respond,  “Why should I get rid of something that makes me so happy?” I reply “Because it spreads like wildfire.  Because the berries it produces provide no nutritional value for wildlife.  Because, even the deer won’t eat it!”

Conversation over.  My Father still has his Honeysuckle.  But, I might be able to persuade you to think about beginning the arduous task of removing the Honeysuckle in your yard.  What are the steps needed to accomplish such a task?  It’s simple, really.  You’ll need a shovel, a hand or chainsaw and some Roundup. 

The first step is to determine if the Honeysuckle can merely be dug up or if a saw is in order.  If the ground is soft, as it is in spring after a rain, you can begin popping up the small guys.  The shrubs are shallow-rooted, so have at it!  Challenge yourself: is it possible to dig up 25 Honeysuckle in half an hour?  Sure it is!  Fill up that yard waste bag!  Now that you’ve warmed up, try your hand at the larger guys.  Bring out the pruning saw.

Cut the Honeysuckle down to ground level.  Within 15 minutes after cutting it down, apply Roundup (buy the concentrate- NOT the ready-mix type) or any other vegetation killer to the stump.  Using a spray bottle or pump sprayer, mix 20% Roundup to 80% water.  This is much stronger than what you would ordinarily use for spot treating weeds.  I prefer to do this on a still, sunny day when the chance of rain is low.  Quickly, you’ll master the art of removing Honeysuckle.  Give in to that euphoric feeling- you’ve mastered it!  So, what’s next?

The final step is to replace that dreaded Honeysuckle with shrubs that will actually add beauty to your yard and be beneficial to wildlife.  The Viburnum family is diverse and large.  Viburnum ‘Korean Spice’ boasts fragrant flowers in early spring.  Who doesn’t love Lilac’s purple flowers?  Witch hazel, the first shrub to bloom in the spring has bright yellow flowers.  Serviceberry and Spicebush are native shrubs that benefit wildlife.  The list goes on and on.  In just a few years you’ll have shrubs that enhance your landscape and aren’t invasive. In closing, check for seedlings that pop up in your landscape.  Yank them when they’re still small and smile.  Smile with the knowledge that you’ve done a very, very good thing.