[klaaar]

A client has a steep, rocky bank behind the house. The bank is about 200 feet long and 25 feet wide. One half is thickly covered in honeysuckle- the naturalized variety that some call terribly invasive. I believe it is 'Halliana.' (I personally love this plant).

The middle of this bank is a rock face where there is very little soil. The existing honeysuckle faces a challenge to spread across this area to the other half of the bank, where there is enough topsoil to grow plenty of weeds and a declining population of crown vetch.

Since the honeysuckle is fantastic as a ground cover on one side, we want to establish it on the other. I am hoping to take roots or stems or a combination thereof, and transplant them into the other half of the bank. Can this be done easily, with success? If so, should we do the transplanting in the fall, or wait until early spring?

I hesitate to buy containers of honeysuckle to plant, only because I'm not sure it will match the existing stuff. I've seen this kind of honeysuckle growing wild for 30 years. I honestly don't know if the exact type is commercially available today.

[Forge]

I am not sure where you are located...here in WA, there are plenty of 'native plant' nurseries in which you can purchase plants that match what is growing in the wild. I imagine that would probably be your easiest solution, as I am not sure that you could propagate the honeysuckle without collecting seeds, rooting some cuttings with hormones or maybe some air layering. Direct transplant of wild plants does not have a high success rate, especially with vines. At least in my experience.

[phototropic1]

How wide is the rock face?

This stuff should be no problem to transplant.

[klaaar]

The rock face is about 20 feet wide. It is more or less soil-free.
I am in southeast PA.

[phototropic1]

Ok, I asked how wide the rock face was because I was thinking you could stretch some twine or netting across and let the vine twine around it until it reached the other side. But with a twenty foot span, that idea seems idiotic!!! Might work, but I seriously doubt it is worth the trouble.

I've seen Jap. Honeysuckle sold at nurseries, but always wince when I do. The plant really aggravates the hell out of me because of the way it has taken over woodlands and woodland edges in my part of the country. I'm sure you've heard and know all that, so I'm not gonna preach. That being said, though, it does have its merits. And if it is already on the other part of the slope, why not try to establish it on the other?

Do you know any relatively small scale wholesale growers in your area? If you do, they might be willing to custom grow some for you. You might collect cuttings for them and have them grow a bunch of 4" or quart pots for you. Honeysuckle roots readily at leaf nodes, suggesting that cuttings would root quite easily. We've had some growers do custom growing for us for plants that are difficult to find. In some cases, we located the seeds or plugs and they just took care of the growing and in other cases they took it from start to finish. But, if you are willing to take the inititiative of offering to collect cuttings, the fire under their seat will already be lit. Good luck!