Honeysuckle is one of the best plants in our hummingbird garden. For us in the north, this is one of the few perennials that reliably resprouts and flowers every year. It is invaluable for us in the spring and is one of the first flowering plants that the north-bound hummingbirds use. There is a heavy flowering in the spring, and then sporadic flowering throughout the remainder of the summer. In June 2004, we saw a hummingbird zip in quickly to the honeysuckle that is growing in a chain link fence at the rear of our backyard. This hummingbird would come in from the northwest, feed quickly, and always fly back toward the northwest. We think that this hummingbird was nesting nearby. It was very exciting for us to see a hummer on 25 out of the 30 days in June 2004, and we think that honeysuckle played a large role in this.
We have the straight species of Lonicera sempervirens and the cultivar 'Major Wheeler'. We highly recommend the latter cultivar. 'Major Wheeler' has redder flowers than the straight species and after heavy flowering in the spring, it will continue to sporadically flower throughout the summer and fall, and even have flowers present after the first frost.