Himalayan Honeysuckle

Himalayan honeysuckles (Leycesteria formosa) are in bloom right now in Seattle. You can't miss them, with these stunning flowers.

The actual flowers are these little white bells that you see above. The showy purple bracts that surround them are what catch your eye. These flowers will give way to berries (you can see a little red berry starting to form in the photo above) that are popular with birds. The berries start out green, turn red and then finally, black.

Himalayan honeysuckles are shrubs not vines, as are typical honeysuckles (Lonicera sp.) They grow quickly to fill a space 6' x 6'. In particularly cold winters, you may see significant die back on these plants. But don't give up on them right away. Cut away the dead branches and wait a bit. They are vigorous plants and often come right back when the weather starts to warm and the days are longer.