Honeysuckle Color

I planted a red-blooming honeysuckle along my fence. Why did the flower change to yellow the following season? —Wayne "Hap" Post, Vernon Hill, Virginia

Melinda:>/b> The native red honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) can be yellow to orange and usually turns redder as the flowers age. Many red varieties of nonnative honeysuckle are the results of hybridization.

Whether naturally occurring or a hybrid, mutations can occur in plants, resulting in a change of flower color. Breeders take advantage of these mutations to develop and introduce new flowers for the landscape.

Sometimes, these mutations give us a differently colored plant than what we purchased. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to make the flowers change back to red.