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Lonicera ‘John Clayton’

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  

John Clayton’ is a cultivar of Coral Honeysuckle’s forma sulphurea (yellow form). It has the same charming leaf forms as Coral Honeysuckle and lovely warm yellow 2-inch trumpet-shaped flowers. It blooms in late spring, when the arriving hummers are drawn to the trumpet-shaped flowers, and continues flowering sporadically until fall. It also produces many inedible (for people), but very showy, orange/red berries for the birds. The vine is not as large as the species Coral Honeysuckle, and lends itself to fences or small trellises in full sun or mostly sun. It is evergreen in the Deep South. Honeysuckle ‘John Clayton’ was originally found (1991) on the grounds of a 17th-century Abington church in Virginia, and is named after a colonial botanist. This yellow Honeysuckle is a selection, not a natural variety, and is not listed with USDA separately from Coral Honeysuckle. It is beautiful, and obviates any need for a potentially invasive yellow honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)!!!

Key Info

Scientific Name: Lonicera sempervirens L. cv. 'John Clayton"
Common Names: John Clayton Honeysuckle
Family Names:
Plant Type:
Light Requirement: , ,
Moisture Requirement: ,
Leaf Retention:
Bloom Times: , , , , ,
Flower Color: Yellow
Special Characteristics: , , , , , , ,

Additional Info

Habit: Twining semi-woody vine, 8-10 ft. long, with yellow flowers followed by bright-red /orange berries; older stems have papery brown exfoliating bark. Tap root.
Height: 8' to 10'
Spread: 3' to 5'
Soil Conditions: Moist well drained; acidic to basic, prefers organic; sandy, sandy loam, medium loam, clay loam, clay.
Leaves: The opposite leaves, up to 3 inches long x 2 inches across, are oval, glossy, with entire margins. They are usually smooth and hairless on both surfaces, green above, with a white bloom below. Leaves of upper nodes can be sessile. Directly below the flowers, and where branching occurs, the opposite leaves merge around the stem (perfoliate). Leaves turn yellow in fall in NC, but are evergreen in winter in the Deep South.
Flowers (or reproductive structures: The inflorescence consists of several closely spaced whorls of 3-6 narrow, sessile, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers borne on the stem tips, above the disc-shaped leaves. Corollas are tubular,1-2 inches long, with five lobes, five yellow anthers borne near the corolla throat, with the stigma projecting slightly beyond the anthers.
Fruit: Each fertile flower develops into a single fruit about 3/8 inch across. Each fruit becomes bright orange/red when it is ripe and contains a single seed. They are inedible to people but consumed by birds, and are ornamentally significant.
Natural Distribution: There is no natural distribution for this cultivar.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FACU
Pollination: Coral honeysuckle is cross-pollinated by the Ruby-throated hummingbird. The honeysuckles with pale flowers attract a greater range of pollinators: typically Sphinx moths and butterflies as well as hummingbirds (Illinoiswildflowers.info).
Wildlife Connections: The plant leaves support larvae of Spring Azure, the Hummingbird Clearwing and Snowberry Clearwing Moths, among other insect. Flowers provide nectar for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds and attract bees and butterflies. Fruits are consumed by Quail, Purple Finches, Goldfinches, Hermit Thrushes, American Robins. Deer browse the leaves.
Propagation: We propagate this from cuttings.