Honey-suckles, Viburnum and Clematis

The Lyon Botanical Garden has a collection of 78 taxons of Lonicera, 83 taxons of Viburnum and 109 taxons of Clematis. These 3 genera represent a major collection, you can see most of them in the open air zone that starts in front of the alpine garden. Only a few non hardy species grow in the Big Greenhouses.

Lonicera hildebrandtiana

Status and conservation :

Two taxons amongst these 3 genera have a protection status (status IUCN).
One taxon is vulnerable : Viburnum bracteatum
One taxon is rare or threatened : Viburnum parvifolium

You can see several species that are very rare in collections :

Lonicera hildebrandtiana, coming from India and the south of China, has big fragrant flowers that are white when they open and get orange then. It is a low hardy plant and it grows in the camellias greenhouse.
Lonicera prostrata, coming from China, is – as its names says it – a small shrub with a prostrated habit. You can see it in the China bed in the alpine garden.
Lonicera subhispida from Korea
Lonicera purpurascens, coming directly from the Himalayas, with purplish flowers and dark blue berries.
Lonicera similis var. delavayi, climbing species from China with very long flowers

Viburnum atrocyaneum var. harryanum, from China, with bright and persistent small leaves and white flowers in April-May
Viburnum chingii, from China, is a species that was discovered only a thirty years ago, with nice pendent pink flowers.
Viburnum cassinoides from boreal America, with green leaves that turn red in autumn when bluish fruits appear.
Viburnum koreyanum, from Korea and Japan, this species is on the verge of extinction in Japan.
Viburnum lobophyllum, very spectacular in autumn when the plant is covered with its red fruits (unfortunately, the fructification only comes on old plants, our specimen are still too young)
Viburnum schensianum, very rare in cultures, with white flowers in May-June, followed by red fruits that turn black when they are ripe
Viburnum furcatum, from Japan has beautiful large leaves that get sharp colours in autumn.

Viburnum lobophyllum

Clematis akebioides is very beautiful when it is in bloom, with its yellow pendent small bell-flowers that contrast with the bluish leaves.
Clematis cirrhosa, from the Mediterranean region, gets covered by hundreds of flowers from December to March and illuminates the beds in winter.
Clematis delavayi, from the south west of China, is very original with its long composed leaves.
Clematis fasciculiflora and Clematis yunnanensis are two species that are very beautiful when they blossom. They grow in the camellias greenhouse.
Clematis fusca is very original with its thick and hairy purple-brown bell flowers

Clematis japonica is rare in culture and has small crimson-red bell flowers with white borders.
Clematis songarica comes from central Asia steppes. Its small white flowers appear in summer.
Clematis pitcheri, comes from the middle and the south of the USA and has beautiful purple bell flowers. This species is quite hard to grow.

The Botanical Garden’s collection :

The shrubs and climbing plants collection counts more than 600 taxons. The main collections are Clematis, Viburnum, honey-suckles, Berberis, Spiraea, lilac, hollies and spindle-trees. Each year the collection gets richer with species coming from Europe, North America and mainly Asia because China, Himalayas, Central Asia and Japan are very diversified zones with temperate climates.

Clematis pogonandra

Culture :

Most of the species we show you are hardy. However there are a few rules to respect :

- before planting a plant, knowing its geographical origin and its habitat is important in order to grant a good development.

- Clematis have a bad reputation and are said to be difficult to grow. The natural species are in the contrary often prolific and very floriferous. Most of the species prefer light and drained soils, a half shadow location or sunny with the bottom of the plant in the shadow. For the species coming from Central Asia steppes such as Clematis songarica or Clematis orientalis, it is better to forecast a very well drained soil (with sand or gravel) and a hot location. As the Clematis are very vigorous it is often necessary to cut them at the beginning of the spring and at least once every two years. It consists in cutting out thin twigs and tying up the principal branches

- Honey-suckles are low demanding shrubs. They need a sunny place in an ordinary and well drained garden soil. The species coming from Central Asia or the Himalayas prefer very dry soils with sand or rock.

Lonicera tangutica

In the wild, Viburnum are shrubs that often grow in shaded places under the trees in wet or dry forests…
It is necessary to know the origin of the plants before choosing its location. As an example Viburnum cotonifolium is satisfied with a quite dry place whereas Viburnum furcatum from Japan prefers wet atmospheres.

Generalities :

The genus Lonicera counts about 200 tree-like or climbing species that are shared out in the whole North hemisphere. Some species are very interesting for their ornamental characters such as Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera standishii that open their fragrant flowers during the winter. Other species are ideal to cover a pergola or a wall (Lonicera japonica, Lonicera henryi, Lonicera tragophylla…). Many species are still unknown in culture.

The genus Viburnum is also important with its 200 species shared out in the temperate zones (but also subtropical ones) mainly of Asia and North America. This genus contains shrubs with deciduous or persistent leaves. The flowers are generally white and sometimes pink. Several species are very decorative in the autumn as their leaves get sharp colours and their numerous red or black fruits appear.

Viburnum orientale

The genus Clematis represents circa 300 species all throughout the world. China counts for 147 species, 93 of them being endemic (i.e. they grow only in this country). The genus contains ligneous or herbaceous perennial vines, more rarely risen up shrubs, small trees or perennial herbaceous plants. The flowers are star shaped or pendent bell shaped. Many species grow under a temperate climate and are hardy, but some come from tropical or subtropical zones, these ones need to be cultivated in greenhouses.

Last modified: 06/07/2006 05:56 PM