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For massed plantings, with the aim of clipping into a neat ground-covering block 500-600mm high (not a hedge), is Lonicera pileata or L. nitida species superior? What are the best cultivars for this purpose? I am not interested in alternate species, just these and their cultivars, as I've never really got a clear answer off the internet.

Differences in hardiness, pests, diseases, soil/light/water requirements would be very useful as would individual decorative merits (best scent for example).

George of all trades
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  • Neither, frankly, but if I had to choose one, L. pileata because it doesn't want to get up to 2 or 3 metres tall. Both are what I'd describe as untidy, rather gawky growers... – Bamboo Nov 19 '18 at 18:27
  • I just noticed your second paragraph - note that Lonicera nitida, whilst capable of producing fragrant flowers, will not if it is kept cut back to 60cm. Lonicera pileata does flower, but they are not fragrant, or not detectably so. – Bamboo Nov 19 '18 at 19:01
  • I agree with @Bamboo - Wikipedia is right when it says nitidia "often has the appearance of a haystack", not a nice neat 0.5m high hedge! Plants that look like haystacks are perfectly OK, of course - so long as that is what you *want* them to look like. – alephzero Nov 19 '18 at 21:33
  • Lonicera pileata is a wonderful, rather architectural plant with strong horizontal growth. The branches intermingle with the other branches of this species when planted en mass. Nitida would be great planted no more than 1 1/2 feet apart, certainly never in a straight line. Planted on the corners of a triangle. – stormy Nov 20 '18 at 04:45
  • Pileata works so very well as a high ground cover, one to 1 1/2 feet high, and it will grow to 3' high and as wide. No pruning necessary. No scent to get excited about. Flowers are insignificant. Evergreen, tough plants. Pileata worked well in zone 5, zone 4 in a protected micro environment. Great for large areas slightly sloped. These plants need drainage! A little fertilizer once or twice per year. What zone are you in George? I am surprised with the negative adjectives here for these two plants. Don't use straw as some type of mulch, it will get caught up in both of these plants. – stormy Nov 20 '18 at 04:53
  • @Bamboo I have certainly noticed a strong fragrance from _L. pileata_ and whilst unpruned plants do flower more profusely there are usually enough buried away to be noticeable. – George of all trades Nov 20 '18 at 14:03
  • @stormy I am not interested in my garden (necessarily) - I am a landscape architect working on large schemes across the UK so predominantly USDA 7b to 9a (RHS H5 to H4) – George of all trades Nov 20 '18 at 14:07
  • @alephzero unpruned yes, but the same can be said of unpruned _Buxus_ which is generally reckoned to produced the finest hedges and topiary (were it not for Box Blight, _Cylindrocladium buxicola_, that would be my first choice). – George of all trades Nov 20 '18 at 14:17
  • Better stick to L. pileata then, though, in regard to your last comment on Box where you talk about it as a hedge, I find that confusing - in your original post, you say you don't want a hedge as such, just massed low ground cover. I still wouldn't describe L. pileata as 'neat' (though a great deal neater than L. nitida). Note it's not listed as a fragrant plant. – Bamboo Nov 20 '18 at 14:20
  • I don't want a hedge, I was simply indicating that _Buxus_ looks untidy when unpruned yet can be effectively trimmed. – George of all trades Nov 20 '18 at 14:30
  • @Georgeofalltrades Well! This site has another Landscape Architect in the fold! Yay. Interesting. What we have as skills is as important to large scale as is small scale. What exactly are you working on? I love L. pileata and nitida...Boxwood, have you ever used sempervirens? One of the box plants that is soft in its growth, more floppy? Not sure of the species at the moment but how about Sweet Box? Or Rat Stripper? Wonderful higher ground covers which work best to shade out weed, grow well consistently, even on slopes, and lamely made plant beds. There is also the privet. Ligustrum. – stormy Nov 20 '18 at 23:45
  • Rat stripper or Paxistima canbyi, a native plant in Idaho, zone 3. Horizontal branching, evergreen, very much like box and lonicera pileata. I ran classes for ID on the campus of U of I and this was one of my favorites. Not found easily in nurseries. Sweet Box, Sarcococca confusa and the other species are incredibly fragrant! Ever green, same dang texture/fine. Zone 7b plus is oh so nice. These all work down into zone 3 very well. Doesn't mean they will work in 7B. How about Arctostaphylos uva ursi? Not as high, maybe gets to 10 inches high but a nice dense thicket of groundcover. – stormy Nov 20 '18 at 23:54
  • _Sarcococca_ sp. (Sweet box) are lovely but rather slow to establish and really do need shade unless they are on very good soil. Can't find any suppliers for Paxistima canbyi in the UK, which is a shame as it looks rather interesting. Arctostaphylos I've not used due to concerns about pH sensitivity (most of our sites are neutral to alkaline). _Buxus_ is essentially a no-go in the UK due to blight now. – George of all trades Nov 22 '18 at 14:02

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