Is honeysuckle invasive in Ohio? Which ones are banned, which are native

Short answer: four non-native honeysuckles are on Ohio’s invasive plant list and can’t be sold or propagated. Ohio also has native honeysuckles worth planting: trumpet honeysuckle and wild honeysuckle (vines) and northern bush honeysuckle (a shrub).

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Which honeysuckles are banned in Ohio

Ohio’s invasive plant rule, OAC 901:5-30-01, lists Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Amur honeysuckle (L. maackii), Morrow’s honeysuckle (L. morrowii) and Tatarian honeysuckle (L. tatarica). The rule says no person shall sell, offer for sale, propagate, distribute, import or intentionally cause the dissemination of a listed plant in Ohio. It allows you to dispose of and control the plant as long as you don’t spread it. The rule does not contain a requirement to remove plants already growing on your property. The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s list took effect January 7, 2018 (OIPC summary).

Native Ohio honeysuckles

OSU’s Ohio Weedguide names trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) and wild honeysuckle (L. dioica) as native vines: their top leaf pairs fuse into one double leaf, and berries are red to orange. The Ohio Native Plant Society notes Ohio also has a native bush honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera.

How to tell invasive bush honeysuckle apart

OSU Extension (CFAES fact sheet): arching shrubs 6–20 ft, among the first to leaf out in spring and last to drop leaves in fall; opposite, untoothed leaves; paired fragrant tubular flowers; red (sometimes orange-yellow) berries. Older stems are hollow, while native honeysuckle has a solid stem.

What to plant instead

For bush honeysuckle, the Ohio Native Plant Society suggests ninebark, gray and silky dogwood, northern arrowwood, winterberry, chokeberry and spicebush; The Nature Conservancy adds serviceberry, American hazelnut, witch-hazel and black haw. For Japanese honeysuckle vine, TNC suggests trumpet honeysuckle, virgin’s bower and Virginia creeper.

Details: Amur honeysuckle in Ohio · Japanese honeysuckle by state.

Common questions

Is honeysuckle invasive in Ohio?

Four species are on Ohio’s invasive plant list (OAC 901:5-30-01): Japanese, Amur, Morrow’s and Tatarian honeysuckle. Native trumpet and wild honeysuckle are not.

What honeysuckle is native to Ohio?

OSU’s Ohio Weedguide lists trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) and wild honeysuckle (L. dioica) as native vines; the Ohio Native Plant Society notes the native bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera.

More Ohio guides

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