Re-Discovered Perennial Foliage
This incredible eucalyptus look-alike is cold hardy and vigorous. Thought to have gone extinct, Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle was spotted in 2001 in Fort Collins, Colorado by are local horticulturalist.
Origin: In the 1880s William Kintzley was working in the greenhouses at Iowa State University when he spotted this unique honesuckle hybrid. He named it and propagated it himself and gave samples to members of his family. The specimen spotted at a residence in Fort Collins was growing on as a family heirloom with a grandson of William Kintzley.
Kintzley’s Ghost honeysuckle grows 8 to 12ft tall and 3 to six feet wide. USDA hardy in zones 4-8. Prefers well draining soil.
It is a beautiful plant with silver/white flower brachts, pale yellow flowers, and leaf sets that are paired in a similar fashion to eucalyptus.
We are cutting hardened up new vines and woody vines for floral work and they are looking good. We’ll be propagating more of these plants by cutting this summer to multiply our stock.
You may be familiar with bush honeysuckle (the invasive type) which does work well in the early spring for foliage, as long as the leaves are fully formed.
Kintzley’s Ghost is non-invasive, but fast growing. It is described as a “rare heirloom native honeysuckle”. If you have an arbor that you are trying to cover quickly, this might be a good plant for the job if your climate is suited to it.
Here are a few sources for Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle plants: