Go tropical in a big way with honey bush. This vigorous, evergreen shrub from South Africa has huge, 12-inch-long leaflets that are a pretty blue-green or silvery hue and often serrated. The leaves have a smell that resembles peanut butter or hazelnuts when crushed.
Honey bush is most valued for its foliage. In warm climates, it is grown as a perennial. If it remains in the ground over the winter and if it’s not cut back completely, 1- to 2-foot-tall flower spikes begin to form in winter and turn burgundy in early spring. In cold climates, it is grown as an annual or confined to a container, where it will create an impressive focal point in short order. When grown as an annual, it remains much shorter but the leaves are still large.
Honey bush is toxic to humans and pets.
Honey Bush Overview
Where to Plant Honey Bush
Select a location in full sun or partial shade. The soil quality and pH are secondary but the soil should have excellent drainage.
Plant honey bush as a focal point in the back of a bed or a border. Although it is more like a perennial than a shrub—especially if you cut it all the way back each spring—it needs ample space. The sculptural foliage grows all the way to the ground so there is no need for underplanting it. Instead, surround this large-foliage plant with annuals or perennials that have smaller leaves and different leaf colors, or with ornamental grasses.
How and When to Plant Honey Bush
Plant honey bush in the spring so it has the entire growing season to get established. Dig a hole at least twice the size of the nursery pot and just as deep. Place the plant in the hole and backfill with the original soil so that the top of the root ball is flush with the soil. Tamp down the soil and water it well and continue to water it regularly during the first growing season in the absence of rain to encourage a strong root system.
Space the shrubs 9 feet apart.
Honey Bush Care Tips
Honey bush requires only minimal maintenance.
Light
Honey bush prospers in full sun. Partial shade is acceptable as well, especially at the upper end of the zone range, to shelter it from the hot afternoon sun.
Soil and Water
Honey bush thrives in moist, fertile soil although it also tolerates lean, dry soil. It is equally adaptable in terms of soil pH and grows in acid, neutral, or alkaline soil. Good drainage, however, is important. Soils that remain excessively wet during the winter are not suitable.
Until the plant is established, it needs frequent watering. After that, it is drought-tolerant yet benefits from extra moisture.
Temperature and Humidity
Honey bush is a tender perennial that needs to be grown as an annual or overwintered indoors in areas with cold winters. Even within its zone range, it should be planted in a location where it is protected from strong wind.
The plant does not have any particular humidity requirements.
Fertilizer
In average to poor soil, honey bush does not grow taller than 5 to 6 feet. If you would like to contain its growth, skip the fertilizer. Poor soil is also more conducive to bloom.
For lusher foliage, feed it a complete, all-purpose slow-release garden fertilizer in the spring when the new growth starts. Alternatively, spread a 2-inch layer of compost around the base in the spring.
Pruning
With its sprawling, suckering growth habit, honey bush tends to look unruly. Fortunately, it takes well to hard pruning. In the spring, cut all the stems back to a height of 3 inches above ground level. New stems and foliage will soon emerge. Because honey bush blooms on old wood (stems from the previous year), it won’t bloom that year—usually a minor downside for a plant that is primarily grown for the texture of its foliage and not its flowers.
Potting and Repotting Honey Bush
To grow honey bush as a perennial below zone 8, use a container with large drainage holes and fill it with well-draining quality potting mix. The container should be 8 inches larger in diameter than the root ball so the plant has sufficient space for at least a year before it outgrows its container.
Remember that container-grown plants need more frequent watering than plants in the landscape.
Replant the honey bush to a larger pot with fresh potting soil when it fills the container or roots start to emerge from the drainage holes.
Pests and Problems
The most common pests on honey bush are aphids and whiteflies. The latter also appear on plants indoors (greenhouse whiteflies); they multiply rapidly in warm, moist conditions. Washing the foliage with a hose helps with removal but may have to be repeated.
How to Propagate Honey Bush
Propagation of honey bush can be done with basal or softwood cuttings in the late spring or early summer. You can also dig up and replant one of the numerous suckers that grow around the base of the plant, which is typically the easiest method since they already have roots.
Types of Honey Bush
There are two known cultivars of Melianthus major:
‘Antonow’s Blue’
This variety is hardier than the species. The powdery-blue, deeply lobed 18-inch leaves have pink edges and arch gracefully like ostrich feathers. The flowers are silvery-pink. Zone 7-11
‘Purple Haze’
The silver-blue foliage of this cultivar is finer than the species. As the leaves with white undersides unfurl, they show a purple tint. The red flowers sit atop burgundy-red stems. The growth habit is more spreading than the species and tends to fill out right to the ground. Zone 8-11
Honey Bush Companion Plants
Sedum
Upright sedum with dark leaves contrasts beautifully with the foliage of the honey bush. Most sedums grow over a wide zone range. Make sure to select a cultivar that is adapted to a warm climate, such as ‘Vera Jameson’ and ‘Purple Emperor’. Because upright sedums tend to form tight clumps of foliage and don’t spread, plant it in small groups. Zone 3-9
Coral Bells
Thanks to extensive plant breeding, the foliage of coral bells is available in a whole range of rainbow colors. Choose a variety with purple or burgundy leaves such as the popular ‘Palace Purple’ cultivar. These perennials are extremely easy to grow as long as they aren't kept too wet. Make sure there is good drainage. Just like the honey bush, coral bells don't like sitting in water. Zone 3-9
Coleus
A fast, vigorously growing annual plant around honey bush is coleus. There are numerous striking varieties of coleus to choose from, both with veined foliage and edged foliage, and tall varieties such as ‘Mississippi Summer’ as well as trailing ones for sunny locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where does honey bush grow?Honey bush is native to the southwestern Cape in South Africa. It has been introduced as an ornamental plant around the world.
Honey bush is native to the southwestern Cape in South Africa. It has been introduced as an ornamental plant around the world.
- Is honey bush invasive?Honey bush has become invasive in certain places, such as New Zealand but not in North America. Note that honey bush is different from the highly invasive non-native honeysuckle shrubs such as Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).
Honey bush has become invasive in certain places, such as New Zealand but not in North America. Note that honey bush is different from the highly invasive non-native honeysuckle shrubs such as Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).