Concerned About Cutting Off Blooms On Cape Honeysuckle

Question

In zone 9 (Escondido, CA) and looking for flowering shrub (6 – 8 foot high 2′ wide) to provide cover for bedroom sliding door entrance. Lots of beautiful cape honeysuckles in the area but most are out of control, something not wanted in our small backyard garden. Had a bower vine planted there but removed it because the constant pruning needed to control it also eliminated all the flowers. Would planting and subsequent pruning to keep it under control cause it to suffer the same fate? In the attached photo, the bower vine is shown on the left attached to the step railing leading to the entrance.

Answer 1

The photo didn't come through, but proper pruning should prevent the loss of flowers. For Bowers' vine, cutting back hard after flowering should keep it in check. But then you lose some privacy. Cape honeysuckle can be grown as a shrub, but it too needs regular pruning.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/bower-vine/growing-bower-vine-plant.htm

https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/index.cfm?tagname=red-orange

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-9-10-11/zone-9-evergreen-vines.htm