Honeysuckle

Hi All.
Need some more advice please as the more I research on google the more confused I have become.Looking to plant a honeysuckle on one side of our arch.We already have a honeysuckle on one side,no idea of name but it flowers around July& August.It is semi evergreen and has reached around 3m tall.
Would really like a long flowering H/suckle that is scented as my other half likes to sit under the arch in evening drinking her cup of tea and taking in the fragrance.

The problem is a lot of info give different flowering times for certain H/suckles and their size.Some I have looked at grow 7m x2m which is way too big for arch.Another problem so I have read is certain H/suckles can be invasive and can smother other plants.
The Lonicera Periclymenum seems to be a good example as it flowers all summer but grows to 7m.It does seem to me the longer flowering varieties seem to be the tallest.
Any suggestions for a H/suckle for a arch and does not really what colour it is.An alternative I suppose could be a Clematis but not sure if fragrance is as good ,or better than H/suckle.
Thank you

 

Hi there

First of all, how big and strong is your arch? Two untended honeysuckles + flimsy structure = matchwood.

I'm surprised you've found a Lonicera periclymenum which flowers all summer. This is our native honeysuckle, which is commonly grown in two selected forms, 'Belgica' and 'Serotina', or 'Late Dutch'. As the name suggests, 'Late Dutch' comes into flower later than 'Belgica'. In my experience, however, both have one good flush of flowers followed by a few stragglers and then that's it for the year. I also grow 'Graham Thomas'. It has clear yellow flowers and is at its best around midsummer, before degenerating into a scraggy mess for the remainder of the season. I give all these plants a very severe haircut as soon as the flowers are over. They're very tough and they don't seem to mind.

Lonicera japonica (maybe that's what you already have) is evergreen and has a fairly long flowering season. It also has a delicious scent. But it's vigorous and needs a firm hand. I've just started growing a variety which is supposed to stay small. It's called 'Honeybaby', but mine is too new a plant for me to pass any verdict on it! There are some pretty variegated forms of Lonicera japonica, but beware. I grew Lonicera japonica aureoreticulata once. It was a long time before I twigged that it was never going to flower. It's grown more for the beauty of its leaves than anything else.

My favourite honeysuckle doesn't flower for very long, but it is wonderful. It is called Lonicera 'Americana' and it has a powerful scent which is usually described as 'clove'. It has flowers of yellow and purplish pink, like little fireworks.

Hope this helps.