Pruning early-flowering honeysuckle
Honeysuckle that flowers early is best cut back as soon as it finishes its display, usually about now. The aim of pruning Lonicera in September is to create a pleasing framework on which flowers will form next year. Flower buds set in one growing season and open the next, so never remove all the summer’s new stems or you’ll have no flowers next year. Instead, aim to create a framework of main stems, tied in to the support, with short shoots of a few buds coming off them. If your honeysuckle needs regenerative pruning, wait until late winter.