Cape Honeysuckle in bloom in Arizona

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I planted this Cape Honeysuckle here at The Tropical Paradise about twenty years ago and it blooms consistently every winter. The *secret* to getting it to bloom is to avoid treating it like a hedge. Don't ever, ever, use hedge trimmers on it! Treat it like a flowering shrub, like a rose bush, by hand-trimming it. All you have to do is avoid trimming off the forming flower buds. It's easy by hand, impossible with a power hedge trimmer.

Your Cape Honeysuckle will bloom like crazy all through the winter. After the blooms have spent, just trim them off for neatness, and trim back some of the long vining shoots. You can keep Cape Honeysuckle at any size you want. I keep mine at about 2 1/2 feet tall.

And watch out for dive-bombing hummingbirds!

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