The Best Native Honeysuckles to Get Pollinators and Hummingbirds Flocking to Your Garden – plus the Non-Native Plants to Avoid

Honeysuckle is a popular plant within the Lonicera genus, which includes around 160 different species native to various parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia. While there is a glorious diversity of honeysuckles, you are always better off planting native varieties in your garden.

Where there are good options, there must be bad ones. These are the invasive non-native species that are always best avoided, as they grow quickly and overtake local flora. While they may look attractive, they can suppress native plants and harm local biodiversity and wildlife.

If you want to grow honeysuckle, opt for native plants. They are better suited to your soil and climate, and their nectar and berries support a wide range of pollinators and birds. Here, we take a look at some of the best native honeysuckle that not only look gorgeous but will be adored by bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, birds, and more.

5 of the Best Honeysuckles for a Wildlife-Friendly Garden

We want to help you make the smartest decisions for your garden and local wildlife, so this guide reveals five of the best native honeysuckle shrubs. Plus, we reveal some of the worst non-native honeysuckles to avoid planting in your yard.

Ahead of planting climbing honeysuckle, it is advisable to have the support or trellis in place beforehand. Such a structure could be a trellis, pergola, arch, wires, or an arbor, such as this attractive metal arbor for climbing plants at Wayfair.

1. Coral Honeysuckle

Lonicera sempervirens is commonly known as both coral honeysuckle and trumpet honeysuckle. It is native to the eastern United States, and a hugely popular native honeysuckle species for any gardener looking to establish a buzzing wildlife garden.

The vigorous vine produces tubular coral-red flowers that are a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and moths. Then come red berries in fall that are popular with birds, including finches, robins, waxwings, and other songbirds.

You can grow coral honeysuckle in US hardiness zones 4-9, in either full sun or part shade. The flowering climber works perfectly when scrambling over a trellis, fence, or arbor. If you want a climber to attract hummingbirds, this one should top your list.

You can get a live coral honeysuckle plant at Amazon to add to your garden

2. Yellow Honeysuckle

Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava) is a fast-growing climbing plant native to the central and eastern United States.

It is a woody native honeysuckle species that produces tubular, fragrant yellow flowers with protruding stamens, which provide perfect access for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The strong night-time fragrance of the plant also attracts nocturnal pollinators to the native plant, such as moths.

In late summer and fall, the vines' reddish-orange berries draw in birds such as thrushes, warblers, robins, and bullfinches.

A yellow honeysuckle is suitable for US hardiness zones 5-8, and will flower best when planted in the full sun. It can grow to 10-20 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide, and can be grown to cover a fence, trellis, shed, or other structure.

3. Orange honeysuckle

Orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) is native to the northwest United States, where it is commonly seen growing in woodlands and forest edges.

This native honeysuckle has gloriously large trumpet-shaped orange-yellow flowers in early summer, which make it a magnet for hummingbirds and their long beaks. The flowers are not fragrant, but do stand out impressively against the large, ovate, dark green leaves.

An orange honeysuckle is also a great option to attract butterflies, as it is known as a host plant for caterpillars that develop into several species of native butterflies and moths. As with others on this list, the fruit also provides essential food for birds later in the season.

Orange honeysuckle is suitable for zones 5-9 and can reach heights of 10-20 feet. It has a natural sprawling growth habit, so the climbing plant needs support. This can include growing it up a garden arbor or trellis. It can be planted in full sun or partial shade, but it prefers moist, well-draining soil.

You can get a live orange honeysuckle at Amazon

4. American Fly Honeysuckle

Not all loniceras are large, climbing plants. A good example of a more shrubby honeysuckle is Lonicera canadensis, known as the American fly honeysuckle or Canada fly honeysuckle. It is seen through southern Canadian provinces and the northeastern US states.

This deciduous native honeysuckle shrub reaches 3-6 feet in height. Its pale yellow spring flowers are perfect for migrating hummingbirds and pollinators looking for a food source early in the season. The fruits appear as a pair of small red berries on long stalks, and are eaten by robins, goldfinch, mockingbirds, and more.

An American fly honeysuckle is a woodland plant that prefers moist soil and a shadier planting spot. It can thrive as a shade-loving plant under a tree and even grow in full shade.

5. Twinberry Honeysuckle

Lonicera involucrata goes by many names, so you may hear it called twinberry honeysuckle, bearberry honeysuckle, California honeysuckle, bracted honeysuckle, or the black twinberry honeysuckle.

Don’t get confused by all the names; the important thing to remember is that it is native to large parts of North America, from southern Canada down to northwestern Mexico, and it benefits many native insects, birds, and mammals.

The yellow long-lasting blooms appear in pairs and are surrounded by showy bracts. The flowers attract large numbers of bees, along with butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds and small mammals adore the berries that follow.

A twinberry honeysuckle is very versatile. It prefers well-draining soil and full sun to part shade. Reaching heights of 6-12 feet, it is highly ornamental and can bring year-round interest to flower beds or be used as an attractive, low-maintenance plant for garden screening.

You can get a live twinberry honeysuckle from Cache Valley Mountain Plants

What Are the Non-Native Honeysuckles to Avoid?

Now you’ve seen this selection of native honeysuckles, you may understandably want to know which honeysuckles are invasive. The following six are invasive plants that will aggressively spread and can out-compete local plants.

• Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
• Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
• Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)
• Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)
• Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)
• Bell’s honeysuckle (Lonicera x bella)

These invasive climbers can rapidly spread throughout an area as birds feed on the fruits and spread the seeds far and wide. The birds don’t benefit from eating the berries of non-native honeysuckles, as they are not as rich in fats and nutrients, but they unwittingly help the invasive species spread.

Even if you have a smaller space, you can still enjoy the fragrant blooms of a honeysuckle by growing it in a pot. It may sound surprising, but honeysuckle, including native honeysuckle, can thrive in larger containers in a small yard or on a deck, patio, or courtyard.

For the best chance of success when growing honeysuckle in pots, place the containers in dappled sun or part-shade. The containers should also be filled with a potting mix that is both well-draining and moisture-retentive.

Whether in the ground or containers, native honeysuckle will benefit from regular pruning. When you prune honeysuckle, the right time depends on the flowering. Early-flowering varieties are trimmed after blooming, while late bloomers are pruned in late winter or early spring.