How do I prune honeysuckle and jasmine?

Two twining climbers that become bare tangles if left alone, the different timing each needs, and how to renovate a bird's nest of dead growth without losing the plant.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 1 hr
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Prune climbing honeysuckle and summer jasmine straight after they flower, cutting back the flowered growth and thinning out the tangle. Prune winter jasmine immediately after flowering in early spring. All three tolerate hard renovation — cut to about 600mm in late winter — but lose a year's flowers when you do it.

Honeysuckle and jasmine share a habit: they twine rapidly, they build up a mass of dead growth inside the plant, and they migrate upwards leaving bare stems below. Neither is difficult to prune, but both are commonly left alone for years and then attacked at the wrong time of year, which costs a season of flowers.

What you'll need

Secateurs
Loppers
Gloves
Pruning saw for old stems (optional)
Soft ties

Step by step

Work out which plant you have and when it flowers.Climbing honeysuckle — Lonicera periclymenum and its relatives — flowers in early to midsummer. Summer jasmine, Jasminum officinale, is white and scented and flowers from June to September. Winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, is bright yellow on bare green stems from November to February and is not a true climber at all.
Prune climbing honeysuckle after flowering.Immediately the flowers fade, usually late July or August. Cut the flowered shoots back by about a third and remove any growth that is tangled, dead or heading where you do not want it. This gives the plant the rest of the season to make wood for next year.
Thin out the tangle rather than shearing the surface.Honeysuckle accumulates a mat of dead twiggy growth under the green surface. Reach in and pull or cut out the dead material, and remove a few whole old stems at the base. Trimming only the outside makes the mat worse every year.
Prune summer jasmine straight after flowering too.In early autumn. Cut back the flowered shoots and thin out congested growth. Summer jasmine flowers on the current year's growth, so a light late-winter tidy is also acceptable, but the after-flowering cut keeps it under control better.
Prune winter jasmine as soon as it finishes flowering in spring.It flowers on wood made the previous summer. Cut the flowered shoots back to two or three buds from the main framework, and take out a proportion of the oldest stems at the base. Left unpruned it becomes a heavy sprawling mound with flowers only on the outer surface.
Tie winter jasmine in as you go.It has no way of attaching itself and will simply flop. Train the main stems onto wires or trellis and shorten the side shoots back to them each spring.
Renovate a hopeless plant in late winter.All three tolerate being cut back to about 600mm from the ground in late winter or early spring. Expect no flowers that year, and often reduced flowering the following one. Feed and mulch immediately afterwards and train the regrowth as it comes.
Feed, mulch and water after any hard cut.A hard-pruned climber has to rebuild a whole framework. A compost mulch in spring and thorough watering through the first summer after renovation makes a real difference to how fast it recovers.
Check for nesting birds before cutting anything dense.Honeysuckle in particular makes ideal nesting cover. Between March and August, look and listen carefully before starting; disturbing an active nest is an offence.

Tips

Honeysuckle is one of the most reliable mildew sufferers in a dry position. It is a dry-root problem, not a wet-weather one — mulch and water rather than reaching for a spray.
Honeysuckle also attracts aphids heavily in early summer. On an established plant this is cosmetic and the aphids feed a lot of blue tits; leave it alone unless the plant is young.
Shrubby honeysuckles — Lonicera nitida used as hedging, and the winter-flowering Lonicera fragrantissima — are different plants pruned differently. This guide covers the climbing ones.
Winter jasmine layers itself readily: any stem touching soil roots. Detach and pot rooted sections in spring for free plants.

Common mistakes

Cutting winter jasmine back in autumn to tidy it — The flower buds for the coming winter are already on the shoots made that summer, so an autumn cut removes the entire display in the season when you most wanted it.
Shearing honeysuckle over like a hedge — It leaves the dead mat inside untouched and produces a hollow shell of growth with a bird's nest of dead twigs behind it.
Pruning climbing honeysuckle in spring — It flowers on growth made the previous year, so a spring cut removes the flowering wood.

If it doesn't work

Mass of dead twiggy growth under a green surface

Cause: Years of trimming the outside only — Fix: Reach in and pull the dead material out, remove some whole old stems at the base, and thin annually after flowering from now on.

White powdery coating and shrivelled leaves in summer

Cause: Mildew, from dry roots — Fix: Soak the root area deeply and mulch. Honeysuckle against a wall almost always has this problem and almost always needs more water.

Flowers only at the very top

Cause: Never thinned or renovated — Fix: Take out a proportion of the oldest stems at the base after flowering and train the replacement growth low and sideways.

Winter jasmine with flowers only on the outer surface of a mound

Cause: Never pruned or tied in — Fix: Establish a framework on wires, cut the side shoots back to two or three buds each spring after flowering, and remove some old stems at the base.

Questions people ask

When should I cut back honeysuckle?

Immediately after it finishes flowering, usually late July or August for the common climbing honeysuckles. Renovation of a badly overgrown plant is done in late winter instead, accepting the loss of a season's flowers.

Can I cut honeysuckle right back?

Yes — established climbing honeysuckle tolerates being cut to about 600mm in late winter and regenerates strongly. It will not flower that year.

Why is my honeysuckle covered in greenfly?

It is one of the plants aphids most reliably colonise in early summer. On an established plant it does no lasting harm and supports a lot of garden birds. Improving the water supply reduces the stress that makes it worse.

Is winter jasmine a climber?

Not technically — it has no attachment mechanism and behaves like a lax shrub. Tied onto wires it performs as a wall plant, and left free it makes a spreading mound.