Purple Honeysuckle Plants

• Variety: Purple Honeysuckle — scented flowers, striking purple spring foliage
• Latin name: Lonicera japonica purpurea
• Type: Japanese semi-evergreen honeysuckle
• Flower: Deep pink and white trumpets
• Scent: Strongly fragrant
• Climbing method: Twining stems
• Height: To 6–7m
• Flowering: June–September
• Hardiness: Fully hardy
• RHS AGM: No
• Sold as: P9 and 3L deep pots, grown from cuttings by us. Peat-free compost
• Plant outdoors: Year-round
• Delivered: March–November typically. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Purple Honeysuckle – Bold Foliage, Big Scent

This is the honeysuckle you grow for the foliage as much as the flowers. In spring, the new growth emerges heavily flushed with ruddy purple — stems, leaf veins, even the undersides of the leaves carry that dark stain. It is as ornamental as many plants that are grown for foliage alone. As the leaves mature through summer, the colour softens and recedes to the veins, but the new stems remain purple throughout the season, giving the plant a structural warmth that plain green honeysuckle lacks.

The flowers are deep pink and white trumpets, sweetly scented in the way all Japanese honeysuckles are — strongest in the evening, carrying well on still air. They run from June through September, a long season that overlaps with the purple foliage display. At 6–7m, it is vigorous enough to cover a large pergola, fence, or archway. Semi-evergreen in most of the UK, it keeps its leaves in sheltered gardens and regrows fast from bare stems in colder ones.

Dark Foliage in the Climbing Border

Purple foliage lifts a planting scheme in ways that plain green cannot. Train Purple Honeysuckle alongside Halliana (cream flowers, plain green leaves) for a Japanese honeysuckle pairing where the foliage contrast does as much work as the flowers. On a warm wall, combine it with a white-flowered jasmine for a day-and-night scent relay: jasmine in the sun, honeysuckle in the dusk. Pale clematis threaded through the honeysuckle adds flower colour from a different texture, the flat clematis blooms against the tubular honeysuckle trumpets.

Why Ashridge?

We grow Purple Honeysuckle ourselves from cuttings, in peat-free compost with biological controls. Guaranteed, delivered by next-day courier, Which? Best Plant Supplier, Feefo Platinum Trusted Service. Browse all our honeysuckle varieties or the full climbing range.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the purple foliage last all year?

The richest colour is on the new growth in spring, when entire shoots emerge in a deep ruddy purple. Through summer, the purple retreats to the leaf veins and stems while the leaf blades turn green. The stems stay purple all season, and the next spring's growth brings the full colour back.

Is Purple Honeysuckle evergreen?

Semi-evergreen. In mild winters and sheltered spots it holds most of its leaves. In colder or more exposed gardens, it drops its foliage but regrows rapidly from spring. The purple new growth that follows is the plant's best feature.

How should I prune Purple Honeysuckle?

After flowering, trim back stems that have outgrown their space and thin congested growth to reduce the risk of powdery mildew. Honeysuckle flowers on semi-mature wood, so avoid hard annual pruning. A severe renovation cut in late winter will rejuvenate an overgrown plant, but expect a quiet year for flowers while it recovers.

Does Purple Honeysuckle attract wildlife?

The scented tubular flowers attract moths and long-tongued bees. Autumn berries feed thrushes and warblers. The twining stems create sheltered nesting sites. Few climbers offer as complete a wildlife package as honeysuckle.