Columbus Ecological Restoration Program

It grows quickly, and tends to block sunlight from lower, native plants. Even after its stems are cut, they can still develop roots and regrow! By removing honeysuckle correctly, we can ensure that our ecosystem returns to its natural, balanced state.

You can help with honeysuckle removal by checking our future projects linked below, or to find out more about the process, please call Karl at 614-645-2863 or email him at kjhoessle@columbus.gov.

With help from 296 dedicated volunteers working 1184 hours we were able to clear and maintain 15.91 acres of invasive species, clearing 1,760.7 yards of shoreline and producing 204.5 cubic yards of mulch.

Honeysuckle is in the Caprifoliaceae family, and is in the Lonicera genus.  Lonicera comes from Adam Lonicer, Lonitzer or Lonicerus who lived in 15th century Germany. 

Tartarian honeysuckle was introduced to America in 1752 as an ornamental.  The rest came during the 1800's as habitat or erosion control.  By 1898 there were reports of the honeysuckle spreading into the wild.

There are five main variety of invasive species of  honeysuckle living in Ohio today. The bush variety are Tartarian, Morrow, Amur and Bella which is a cross between Tartarian and Morrow. The quickest way to tell if a bush variety of honeysuckle is invasive is by checking the stem. If the stem is hollow then it is invasive and if it is native it has a solid stem.

There is also a Japanese vine variety which is invasive. This vine strangle its host and can be identified by its dark berries and white flowers that grow in pairs. These flowers turn yellow later in the season. We do have a native variety called Trumpet, and it does not strangle its host. It can be identified by its red berries and red-orange flowers.