# Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

> A native twining vine whose red trumpet flowers draw hummingbirds from spring into summer, followed by red berries for birds.

Also called coral honeysuckle, scarlet honeysuckle. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/trumpet-honeysuckle/

![Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) red tubular flowers with yellow tips among rounded leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/trumpet-honeysuckle-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2023-05-06_12_08_59_Coral_Honeysuckle_flowers_along_New_Jersey_State_Route_29_%28River_Road%29_in_the_Mountainview_section_of_Ewing_Township%2C_Mercer_County%2C_New_Jersey.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 10 to 20 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 10
- Grows wild in: The forest understory, stream banks, old fields and edges
- Native range: 27 states and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC), north to [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), south to [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL) and west to [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC)). Also recorded, not native, in [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO) and [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV)
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Fast
- Flowers: March to July
- Fruit: Berries, July to September
- First crop: 3 to 5 years
- Mature spread: 6 ft
- Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value, Salt tolerant
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their height and age are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

Trumpet honeysuckle is a native twining vine of the honeysuckle family, often sold as coral honeysuckle. It is not the invasive Japanese honeysuckle, and it does not overrun a garden the way that vine does. Its red flowers open as ruby-throated hummingbirds return north in spring, and they have no scent. The pair of leaves under each flower cluster joins into one round disk around the stem. Grow it on a trellis, an arbor or a fence in sun, where the hummingbirds can be watched from the house.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Trumpet honeysuckle grows fast, nearly three feet a year in our growth estimator. It is a twining vine that climbs 10 to 20 feet up a support or sprawls as a ground cover, and one plant fills 3 to 6 feet of fence. It keeps its leaves through winter in the Deep South and drops them farther north.

Whorls of red trumpets, yellow inside and 1.5 to 2 inches long, open from March into July, with a few more later. Hummingbirds are their main pollinators. Red berries about a quarter inch across ripen from July into September, and robins, finches, thrushes and quail eat them. Its leaves feed the caterpillars of the spring azure butterfly and the snowberry clearwing moth.

It grows wild from Connecticut south to Florida and west to Oklahoma and Texas, in woodlands, at forest edges and along streams. Vines planted in gardens have also gone wild in Maine, West Virginia, Missouri, Iowa and Kansas.

## How to grow Trumpet Honeysuckle

Trumpet honeysuckle flowers best in full sun and grows in part shade, though it blooms poorly in heavy shade. It wants a moist, well-drained soil rich in humus. Acid or limy ground suits it, and once rooted it rides out occasional drought, though not dry sand. Sun and moving air keep powdery mildew down. It tolerates salt, which suits it to coastal gardens. Its twining stems cannot grip a flat wall, so give it a trellis, an arbor or a fence. Set the support 3 feet from a wall, and set plants 3 feet apart. It burns readily, so where wildfire is a risk keep it out of the planting zone next to a house. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Tie the first shoots to the support until they twine on their own. Pick the berries as they turn red, and clean the seed out at once. Sow it outdoors in fall, a quarter inch deep, under a light straw mulch. For a spring sowing, chill the seed damp in the refrigerator for two to three months first. Softwood cuttings root easily too.

Water weekly through the first summer if rain is short. Deer browse the leaves and stems, so cage young plants where deer are many. Skip high-nitrogen fertilizer, which feeds leaves at the expense of flowers. Prune right after the spring bloom to shape it. Heading it back each year keeps leaves low on the support instead of only at the top.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. Hummingbirds carry its pollen, and so do clearwing moths and bumble bees. Aphids gather on the new shoots in spring, and a spray of water knocks them off. Powdery mildew and leaf spots can appear in hot, humid summers. Songbirds eat the berries, but they are toxic to people.

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Lonicera sempervirens](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lonicera-sempervirens/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lonicera sempervirens](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LOSE)
- [The Morton Arboretum: Trumpet honeysuckle](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/trumpet-honeysuckle/)
- [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Lonicera sempervirens](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278967)
- [Penn State Extension: Honeysuckle Species in Pennsylvania (Marquesen, updated March 10, 2025)](https://extension.psu.edu/honeysuckle-species-in-pennsylvania)
- [Native Plant Trust, Garden Plant Finder: Lonicera sempervirens](https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/plant/Lonicera-sempervirens)
- [University of Florida IFAS Extension, FPS-354: Lonicera sempervirens, Trumpet Honeysuckle (Gilman 1999, revised 2007)](https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FP354)
- [Missouri Department of Conservation Field Guide: Trumpet Honeysuckle](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/trumpet-honeysuckle)
- [Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Lonicera sempervirens](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lonicera/sempervirens/)
- [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Lonicera sempervirens](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/lonicera/lonicera-sempervirens/)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Lonicera chapter (Dubois and Blazich)](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Lonicera.pdf)
- [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Lonicera sempervirens](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/LOSE)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Lonicera sempervirens, Trumpet Honeysuckle](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148257/Lonicera_sempervirens)
- [New Jersey Natural Heritage Program: List of Endangered Plant Species and Plant Species of Concern](https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/parksandforests/njplantlist.pdf)
- [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Lonicera japonica, Japanese honeysuckle, Munger 2002](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/lonjap)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [How fast every tree and shrub we grow gets tall: growth rate, A to Z](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-rates/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md)

## Related

- Other honeysuckles (Lonicera) we grow: [American Fly Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-fly-honeysuckle/index.html.md), [Grape Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/grape-honeysuckle/index.html.md), [Hairy Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hairy-honeysuckle/index.html.md), [Limber Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/limber-honeysuckle/index.html.md), [Mountain Fly Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-fly-honeysuckle/index.html.md), [Yellow Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/yellow-honeysuckle/index.html.md)
- Trees to plant it under: [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md), [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) and [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Trumpet Honeysuckle, add ?species=trumpet-honeysuckle with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 4, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle&zone=4&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for Trumpet Honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate for Trumpet Honeysuckle as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle (add height=, years= and site= poor, average or good)
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Trumpet Honeysuckle is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Trumpet Honeysuckle needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 1 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=trumpet-honeysuckle:1
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant Trumpet Honeysuckle where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far Trumpet Honeysuckle goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=trumpet-honeysuckle&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Trumpet Honeysuckle flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=trumpet-honeysuckle