Hi

I would closely look for aphids its normally the cause of bud drop on honeysuckle ... and treat as necessary before they open and even spraying at dusk is not good as moths overnight use it to feed on . Put a sheet of paper down and give the branch a good shake see what drops off.

Thanks Gnarly - I will tell my friend what you advise.

That's odd nothing ever bothers my honeysuckle (except my gardener who went 'hog wild' with his weed wacker! That's another story) Did you have a frost overnight?

Thanks Paul - but because I'm asking on behalf of a friend, I don't know . . . I will ask her.

The other possibility is water shortage, of course, although if the plant's been in longer than a year or so, that shouldn't be a problem.

Thank you Bamboo - I will give my friend all this info (if only she was on email, lol!).

Oh, tiresome if people aren't - I also like Facebook Messenger a lot, its so quick and easy... funny how we all get used to technology isn't it, I wouldn't be without it now.

Yes, I love email - it’s so much less tiring than talking on the phone!

Hope you’re doing well Bamboo?

I'm fine so far thanks - the only thing is, I've changed my diet radically, which has resulted in weight loss (boy do I miss cheese and dairy, its probably all that fat missing from my diet) so now my skin doesn't fit! Its quite an adjustment to make, bloomin' hard work, whole food plant based only... I didn't want to lose weight really, lost a lot in hospital from not eating for 7 days, but for anyone who wants to lose weight, I highly recommend this particular form of eating. I;m very keen to see what its done for my very high cholesterol level too...

Mixed messages then. Glad you're fine, but giving up dairy and cheese must be HARD. Hope the diet hasn't resulted in a loss of energy for you (that's my minor problem). I'm going to try swimming and cutting down the alcohol!

Ha ha... I'm guessing cutting back on alcohol isn't that easy either, luckily not something I like. No, no loss of energy that I've noticed, just dreaming a lot about coffee and walnut cake and brie... there are certain aisles in supermarkets that I used to frequent and now avoid like the plague!

That’s really tough for you, B. Let’s hope the “experts” know what they’re talking about, and that the regime works for you :)

oh blimey, no experts available here, Sheilabub - as far as the NHS is concerned, I can eat whatever I like, including sweets and chocolate, so long as I 'don't over do it'. Given they only get 2-4 hours of nutrition training during their seven year study to be doctors, what they know about nutrition generally, and worse, nutrition for various conditions, could be written on the head of a pin... So as usual, did me own tiring, tedious and exhausting research, including with the dietician at the Maggie Centre, and am winging it.

Good for you Bamboo :)

Back to the Honeysuckle problem . . . just spoken to my friend and she said "not aphids, not a frost, but highly likely to be short of water". So when she gets back home she will do her best to rescue the plant, and hope there are still some flowers to come. Many thanks to all of you for your help.

Aha! but to be honest, shortage of water often causes powdery mildew too, so if there's no evidence of that, it might not be, but worth giving it a good soak anyway...