honeysuckle stunted blooms, white powder on leaves

Toronto, ON(Zone 5a)

Hi

I'm a novice gardener with an 8 year old red trumpet honeysuckle growing over the railings of my front porch -- full sun, so hot and dry keeping in mind that I'm zone 5. It's been gorgeous, but I haven't been tending my garden much over the past few years and last summer my honeysuckle wasn't very happy. There was some white powder on the leaves, and the flowers would bud and try very hard to bloom but only a very few trumpets would bloom from each flower, if that makes sense, while the rest would wither back. The flowers seemed to have a sticky coating with black stuff. The leaves didn't curl, and the plant was otherwise quite vigourous. I'm not sure what else to report on, and I don't have photos because it was last summer.

My research suggests powdery mildew, sooty mold, and aphids, though I looked for aphids or other bugs last summer and couldn't see any. There are no "broomsticks". The weather is just starting to warm here, my honeysuckle is starting to put out leaf buds, and I'm not sure what to do when. I'm thinking that it could do with a really good feeding, but am not sure what that is for a honeysuckle. Should I spray with neem oil or insecticidal soap or something? And if so, should I do it now, as the leaves are just starting, or should I wait until the leaves are out more?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

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