This is my Lonicera bonsai that I started from a cutting. I am trying to grow as bonsai and I will be going through its progression below.
It is still needs a lot of development, but I still think it’s coming along nicely.
If you want to watch it in video format, you can watch the YouTube playlist below. The videos show the progression every month throughout the year, sort of like a time lapse.
Just be aware some of my earlier videos are not the best quality, but just like my trees, the quality slowly improves over time, so stick with them and they both get a little better towards the end.
Lonicera Nitida, it is a small broad leaf evergreen shrub. It is commonly used as hedging and topiary. It is part of the honeysuckle family and is often called “shrubby honeysuckle”. It has very small leaves and does not really look like your usual honeysuckle.
You can read more about their suitability in Is Lonicera A Good Tree For Bonsai?
Page Contents
2019
I started this lonicera in 2019 by taking some small cuttings from a hedge in my garden. I just cut some shoots off and placed them in water. Once one had rooted it was planted up into a small pot.
They were then just left alone for the rest of the year.
2020
In early 2020 I pruned the tree back in late winter, although there had not been much growth up until this point.
I also repotted the tree in spring. It hadn’t been in the pot long, but lonicera is a crazy root grower so it needed the repot.
After this it was allowed to grow out until mid summer when I pruned it back.
Then it was left to grow out for the rest of the year.
2021
I started 2021 by pruning it back in late winter.
When the buds started to swell in spring I repotted the tree.
It was then allowed to grow out until the end of spring, where it was pruned.
It was pruned again in the summer and then allowed to grow out for rest of the year.
2022
2022 was more of the same. It was pruned back in late winter and then repotted in the spring when the buds started to swell.
It was then allowed to grow out.
There wasn’t much action from this tree over the growing season. It took a long time to recover from the repot and didn’t actually grow until about August. This generally happened with all my trees this year, so I guess the conditions where just not right.
2023
2023 wasn’t a very exciting year. There was no pruning in later winter, due to the fact that there was no real new growth to prune back as it did not grow last year.
The tree was repotted, as it was root bound. This pot is tiny, so even if there is not a lot of growth …it is always going to fill the pot.
After this it was allowed to just grow. I did give it a light prune during the summer, but that was it. The good thing is that it did actually put on some decent growth after this, so this was better than the 2022 grow season.
2024
The plan going forward is to just keep repeating what I’ve been doing. It will be allowed to grow freely and then pruned back when it gets out of hand.
If you also have a Lonicera and are wondering how I look after it, you can read my Lonicera Bonsai Care Guide.
Hi, I’m Ian. I have been doing bonsai since 2014. I created this site to spread all the knowledge I have acquired over the years. Don’t forget to check out my Youtube videos where I show the progress of my own Bonsai each week or connect with me on social media.
You can read more about me and how I got into Bonsai on the About Page
