Training \"Major Wheeler\" honeysuckle?

Hello, all. I'm trying to grow "Major Wheeler" honeysuckle up some vertical and diagonal polypropylene cords, so I've been tying the stems loosely to the cords with twine. Even so, it shows no interest in grabbing on. What can I do to get the stems to twist around the cords like a morning glory? Or is this a bad way to grow this plant?

I have 'Major Wheeler' and love it. It is a non-clinging variety so it won't grab on. It climbs by twining its stems around a support and may need a little tying at first.

Thanks! When I said "grab on", I meant "twine around a support. Is there something I need to do to get it to twine around my cords? I do tie it to the cords, but it doesn't seem to notice. Maybe I need to tie it tightly enough to make sure it stays in contact with the cords?

Sorry, I've been away.

It prefers a trellis so the stems can be tied on. The thin stems like to have lots of little places to attach themselves and grow particularly well on rough wooden trellis structures and wire or plastic mesh.

Perhaps the polypropylene cords are too thick? Can you post a photo? I've attached airplane cable from ground to roof overhangs, arbors and extra tall fence posts and done well with jasmine, Carolina jesamine, honeysuckle and Mandevilla. The cable is strong and won't rust. I've been able to disconnect it, after years of growth, from the top of 15' structures for painting or repair and then get the cables back up with vines pretty intact.

Thanks again, @Cville_Gardener, and thanks, @MaypopLaurel. Maybe I should have gone with airplane cable or a mesh or something. Here are a couple of photos. Every twist of the vine around the cord I put there myself, tying it on if necessary. Not that I mind, since it just takes a moment every few days, but I was wondering whether the plant could do the work itself like some other vines.

I'm sorry I took so long to see this. I thought I'd checked more recently than May 28. Is there a way to get this site to let you know about a new response?

This message was edited Jul 15, 2023 3:44 PM

There are a couple of potential problems. It appears you have wrapped the vines counterclockwise while honeysuckle is one of the few that naturally twines clockwise. This forced misdirection can cause it to stop twining altogether. Another issue is the placement of the poly. While climbing vines stay close to their support, twining vines grow to a certain length, wave around while seeking support, and magically wrap. The poly is so close on the post that the vines would have to creep between that tight space. They will do that a bit as they branch but overall need more space to find and wrap the poly. So spacers such as hooks or nails or some way to move the poly out an inch or so from that post. I'll get some vine pictures this morning.

Thanks again!

At the base of the pillar (not shown in the photos), the cords are farther from the pillar, and the stems didn't wind around it there. From your answer, I'd guess that they hadn't reached that certain length yet. So that answers part of my question. I'll see what I can do about spacers.

On the sense of the helix--I did wrap one stem like a regular screw thread around a cord last year. It grabbed tight and stopped growing longer, though I see it has recently sprouted some branches. On the other hand, the ones I wrapped as shown in the picture have grown nicely. That's one reason that I've been wrapping them the way I have. (The other was my misunderstanding about morning glories and bindweed.) I'll try switching directions where I can, since you advise this, and see what happens.