Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'
Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold' · Caprifoliaceae
Tiny, golden-yellow, evergreen leaves crowd long, arching sprays, giving a fine, feathery texture. Yellow-green in winter and in shade.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers early May to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'
The planner designed this bed around box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' × 1, chartreuse leaves
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 4, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 24, pink
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Anise hyssop × 8, lavender
- 7 English lavender 'Hidcote' × 3, purple
- 8 Grecian windflower × 3, blue
- 9 Red spider lily × 7, red
- 10 Early crocus × 12, lavender
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- A classic partner for English lavender 'Hidcote'. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 10 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of three evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 9 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Low plants run along 96% of the front edge: verbena 'Homestead Purple' and Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch'. Verbena 'Homestead Purple' flowers longest, for 21 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A fast, fine-textured evergreen that clips into hedges and shapes like boxwood, or can be left to arch. It needs trimming two or three times a year to stay neat.
- Gold hedges and clipped shapes
- Fine evergreen texture
- Contrast with dark foliage
What to plant with box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': adds the flowers, late June to late July; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': adds the flowers, early June to early October; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lilyturf: adds the flowers, early August to mid September; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'
Does box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' need sun or shade?
Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'?
Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' comes from Yunnan Province, China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Inkberry 'Shamrock': the same job in a bed and the same size; wants moist soil.
- Globe arborvitae 'Little Giant': the same job in a bed and the same size; wants moist soil.
- Red twig dogwood 'Arctic Fire': the same job in a bed and the same size; medium leaves, not fine, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' look like in winter?
Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' keeps its chartreuse leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' good for bees and butterflies?
Box honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' is visited by songbirds.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early May to mid May; hanging bells; cream, white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; chartreuse
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Comes from
- Yunnan Province, China
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, salt, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.