Garden Plant: Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle
Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle
Product Description: Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle
Marvelous Feature Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle Vine
- Completely Unique Honeysuckle
- Three Seasons of Interest
- Easy, Quick-Growing Native
There is a good chance You’ve never seen a Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata x Lonicera prolifera). We hadn’t seen one until recently… and now we can’t get it out of our minds! This is unlike any honeysuckle You’ve ever seen and unlike any other on the market today.
It begins its display in spring with a flush of pretty blue-green leaves. Then, in the late spring/early summer, it covers itself in bunches of small yellow tubular honeysuckle flowers that have a sweet, slight fragrance as you brush by. So far, it’s akin to many other honeysuckles, right?
But, here is where things get good. Behind every flower is a perfectly circular, silvery-white, eucalyptus-like bract that stays on the vine well into the winter, long after the flowers have faded. It looks like hundreds of full moons against the foliage! As if that isn’t enough to set it apart, in the fall a little orange-red berry appears in the center of each silvery bract, dressing the entire vine up to match the autumn season.
This stunning and unique vine was originally bred in 1880 by Ped Kintzley at Iowa State, but was lost to the public until 2001 when one was spotted in a side alley yard in old Ft. Collins, CO. . The owner of the house, Ped’s grandson, had never really thought about the uniqueness of the vine he had. Thanks to an observant gardener, we can now offer this award winning honeysuckle to you!
A sure conversation piece, this vine is vigorous, cold-hardy, aphid-resistant and fast growing. It makes a spectacular centerpiece in a moon garden, reflecting the evening light with white and silver colored plants and flowers.
These will surely sell out – especially at these prices – so make sure to order yours early.