Tired woody, mostly bare honeysuckle -REMOVE?

ampersand

As above.

I've been here over 10 years; it was woody, flush and ancient when I arrived.

It grows just inside the gate and immediately along the adjacent kitchen, above and below the window. Old cane struts and wire and a variety of wood block supports were being well used by the time I moved here.

Several years ago, a well-meaning neighbour pruned back its wild jungly growth. It can still attack me, drench me after rain, as I come through the tall solid gate. To me, it's never really recovered its former lush foliage, flowers, berries and has remained rather scrawny, woody ever since, except for a few long wavey roof height stems which cannot stay where they are.

Reading around subject, having nearly decided to remove it and ask about another scented climber, I've now seen a suggestion to cut it back to about 2' from the ground, then re-train next spring. I suspect this severe felling may finish it off entirely, which will leave me more or less where my decision was heading

This strip of earth is narrow, beneath kitchen window along path.

Any advice please?

REEN

I just cut out the scruffy old growth that has flowered (when the birds have polished off the berries,) and tie in the new thin growth. That's worked for 25 years.

Eenymeeny

I had spindly honeysuckle just as you describe it, growing through thick ivy, never flowered. I removed the ivy, cut the honeysuckle down to about 10inches high and have trained all of the much improved growth through wires this year. It hasn't flowered but I'm hoping for great things next year!
I think that honeysuckle enjoys more sunlight than the experts would have you believe.
I'll follow this post with interest...thank you for posting.

ampersand

Oh my goodness, Em - you've put a marker out there now :-)
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Just in from sweaty out front digging, as it's time to stop, sit out back, listen to tennis.
I could add that the clematis amandii with whom it previously tangled looks patchy too. Reading about that detailed exactly what I see - plenty of new metres-long shoots, but also long trails of shiny brown, crispy dead leaves on ditto stems, in themselves rather handsome things, but I didn't feel I should be seeing them in summer.

Ah well, it's been home, in an old last year's nest, for 3 more broods this year and more great cascades of new leaves are rushing along the guttering.

Quick shower now, then sitting and listening and looking out - and will eat the 5 rogue potatoes and first 2 figs at some dinner time point ce soir.

I will cut the honeysuckle well down and then see what happens....and let you know, eventually :-)

sheramber

Sprinkle some GROMORE around the roots and work it in to the soil

ampersand

Thankyou.
Have equivalents to gro-more. Always put in little h-m mix of various things that feel right.