How do I get rid of honeysuckle from flower bush?

Have a flowering bush that was started from my grandmother.bush this year it's loaded down with honeysuckle ..need to get rid of honeysuckle without hurting the bushThe bush is thorny and limbs are very close together so pulling them out would be very difficult Any ideas on what to spray on it that would kill honeysuckle and not the bush (shrub)

  3 answers
  • Try to get some clippers in there and clip the unwanted honeysuckle out, then with a paint brush, paint on the cut ends of the unwanted ends some round-up to soak into the cuts. just be sure it's not the good bush or it will harm it. There's no easy way.

  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on May 11, 2019

    Round-up.....it's absorbed thru plant leaves then into stem/stalk then root system killing plant. you need to add food coloring so you can tell where you are spraying ,hold sprayer low down onto plant leaves you are spraying,don't spray in wind/slightest breeze,don't get in wet solution(it dries quickly),wear disposable gloves.....follow the safety instructions on bottle, it has always said "hazardous" & the safety instructions have always been on containers. Buying concentrate & mixing yourself is best but it comes premixed. just respray asap if you see any new growing and do not let plants get flowers/seeds to spread even more. the more you kill just the tops the more the roots/rhizomes spread underground. just look for new plants starting and spray it before it gets out of control.get a good 2 gallon pump sprayer and not a back pack,because if it leaks on you well you could be joining all the civil suits of people who did not heed hazardous warnings. Put on some good leather gloves and a thick long sleeved jacket(leather works best) then begin cuttin out stalks/stems you don't want from the bottom up, snip stem then find it up farther and cut in pieces pulling them out as you get them released.Don't just cut bottom & try to pull whole stem out you'll damage bush you are trying to save.Do it in pieces. After it dies you'll see any you have missed. Round-Up works best/fastest(a few hrs-24hrs) when the plant is in growing stage so after you have cut them stems/stalks off and removed them wait 2-3 days until you see new leaves growing then put the Round-Up on the new leaves, you can use brush if they are hard to get to without getting spray on other plant just coat the leaves heavily several coats, make sure you add the food coloring to it so you can see what you are getting it on.you will need to keep repeating spraying new growth of honey suckle asap when you see it over next week maybe 2. Since I don't know how much or big it is or how old the plant is-the woodier the stalks the longer it may take to get all new growth killed off. Be sure to look for runners that come up around the area since the roots will try to recover the top being chopped off spray them heavily so it gets absorbed & kills plant roots.


  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on May 11, 2019

    I agree with Simple Decorating Tips, cut back the honeysuckle limbs to three or four inches and brush on the roundup. It will absorb into the cuts and get to the roots without harming your grandmothers bush as long as you don't get any of the roundup on it. It may take a couple of rounds to completely kill the honeysuckle, just clip the limb tip off for fresh cuts and reapply. I even killed a wild grape vine that was five inches across, growing next to my neighbors house with this hack. It took months of reapplying, but the wild grapes are very tenacious plants and the roots don't like to die very easily. It has been three years now with no new shoots coming off it at all! It was even going up under my neighbors siding and climbing and overtaking her lilac tree that is taller than her house.