GARDEN HAVEN Lonicera x purpusii Winter Beauty - Winter Flowering Honeysuckle, Plant in 9cm Pot

Lonicera x purpusii is a very hardy, deciduous, shrub Honeysuckle so won't need any support. Winter Beauty arose from a cross made by one of Hillier's nursery foremen, a Mr Alf Alford, in 1966 and has been granted the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It is a more vigorous flowerer than the original x purpusii and flowers as a young plant. If you would like winter interest, or a winter section to your garden, this has to be one plant to be included. In summer it is just a green bush, but in winter, when most else is resting, it awakens and astounds. The flowers are white/cream, relatively small and "scattered" along the branches from December to first leaf. As you walk past, especially on milder days, you will marvel at how such a fragrance can be produced and especially in the dead of winter! Often used as a cut flower but avoid cutting in frosty weather. The flowers are followed by small red berries that are a valuable source of food for garden wildlife. Easy to grow in full sun or semi shade in almost any soil that does not waterlog. Can be used in a mixed planting or as a stand alone specimen in the garden or can easily be grown in a pot or container. If it becomes too large it can easily be cut back in spring. When growing in a pot or other container. Use a good quality John Innes compost as this plant will be there a long time and peaty types of compost eventually degrade and become too packed and choke the roots. Ensure you feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmoscote pro 12-14 month applied in spring. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires for the whole year. John Innes is a soils based compost.