Honeysuckle Management

Management of Invasive Bush Honeysuckle and Japanese Honeysuckle in Wildwood

The opportunistic invasive Bush Honeysuckle and Japanese Honeysuckle vines can invade forests, meadows, creek areas, uplands and bottom lands.  These plants can easily take over areas and crowd out native plants and trees.  The honeysuckle bush creates a low, dense canopy that darkens the forest floor and prevents the regeneration of native forest trees and plants.  The honeysuckle vine strangles young trees, girdling them, and disfigures plants by wrapping around them tightly.  There are several tactics that homeowners and landscapers can undertake to rid land of these plants, as well as tactics to restore areas with native plantings. 

Once treated, areas that are eradicated of honeysuckle maintain less re-sprouting if re-planted with native plants and shrubs that compete with the invasive plants.  It is also important to re-plant, or to encourage existing native plants (that have been suppressed by the density of the honeysuckle), in order to prevent another invasive plant from taking over the space.  Honeysuckle, once eradicated, can re-sprout, even when sprayed after removal, so follow up treatments are essential to success. 

Resources for the landowner:

Missouri Botanical Garden Bush Honeysuckle  Honeysuckle identification, control, general information, and honeysuckle removal events in the area. 

Missouri Department of Conservation Bush Honeysuckles Control  Includes field guides, control recommendations, ecology, and habitat information.  

Grow Native and Missouri Prairie Foundation For information about native plants, proper plant choices to replace honeysuckle, and lists of contractors and/or consultants that engage in removal and restoration.

Shaw Nature Reserve Located in Gray Summit, Missouri. Shaw Nature Reserve is a premier location for viewing and experiencing native plant communities and habitats.  Twenty-four hundred acres are managed by ecological restoration specialists with beautifully restored forest, prairie, and wetland communities.  Classes and tours are offered to teach the control tactics for invasive plants and establishment of native plants and communities in Missouri.