Lonicera x brownii ‘Dropmore Scarlet’
Bright the flowers of this honeysuckle may be, and unusual for all that too, but not scarlet. In common with many of these orange-red honeysuckles, there is very little scent but the eye catching display, from July through to September, makes up for being invisible, olfactory-wise.
While it is not, that I can see, demonstrably scarlet, orange is good though!
I mentioned in the previous post, matching it with the violet-blue rambler rose Veilchenblau and I can see that this would work well – the honeysuckle can reach 4m and would be flowering, early blooms of course, together with the orange-scented rambler. Dropmore Scarlet is semi-evergreen except in the coldest of winters (I’m talking southern England with a dose of urban heat island effect too).
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: fertile, humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to September
- Hardiness: fully hardy
- Garden care: Cut back established plants after flowering, removing a third of the flowering shoots. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted compost or manure around the base of the plant in early spring.
The Teddington Gardener 