Honeysuckle

not sure what to do with this honeysuckle. It seems to have got out of control and I don't know how to cut it back. If i trim it back into the "non leafy" bits will it grow back? When is the best time to do it? I avoided trimming it back earlier as it smelt so lovely.

Any advice much appreciated as always :re snowman:

 

As far as I can see from the photos Snorky, it looks like Japanese honeysuckle, in which case it's as tough as old boots and won't mind being cut back hard. In fact, you could cut it down virtually to ground level and it would still come back next year.

Just remove any growth which has clambered into areas where you don't want it. It's probably best to thin out or remove any particularly dense, tangled clumps as it will just keep on growing until it gets 'top heavy' and falls away from the fence or the pergola.

As for when to prune it, any time between now and March would be fine. Don't leave it much later than that, as it needs time to produce the new spring growth which will bear those lovely fragrant flowers next summer. If you don't mind the way it's covering part of that fence in the first photo, perhaps leave pruning that part until early spring, otherwise you'll be looking at a bare fence for the next few months.

 

Thanks v much @Trunky , I wasn't sure it was regular honeysuckle as the flowers were yellow so Japanese would make sense. I'll give it a good tidy up soon-it's been looking a right mess from inside the garden.