Get To Know Natives: Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle
Source: www.TurfMagazine.com
Spring Meadow Nursery has added Kintzley’s Ghost honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata) to its line of Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs. No, it’s not a “new” introduction, says the nursery, but they feel there will be a huge audience clamoring for this one-of-a-kind native honeysuckle. It’s deer-resistant, drought-resistant, attracts pollinators, and is non-invasive—with a highly interesting back story.
Missouri Botanical Garden, it was originally discovered and propagated in the 1880s by William “Ped” Kintzley, a professor at Iowa State University. He passed it along to family members thereafter, but it was never formally introduced into commerce. The vine disappeared at one point but was eventually rediscovered growing in the yard of a Kintzley relative in Fort Collins, CO.
In 2001, Scott Skogerboe of Fort Collins Wholesale Nursery was driving down a side street in Fort Collins, according to Plant Select®, when he slammed on his brakes to get a closer look at an unusual plant. At first glance it looked like a silver dollar eucalyptus because it was covered abundantly with silver-dollar sized white disks. Fascinated and curious, Skogerboe went to the door and an elderly gentleman answered and told the tale of this unusual beauty. He said it was a family heirloom. In the 1880’s, the man’s grandfather, William “Ped” Kintzley, had worked in the greenhouses at Iowa State and found this unusual form. He propagated it himself, and over the years, gave plants as gifts to members of the Kintzley family throughout the country. The vine was discovered to be an improved selection of the species.
Photos from Spring Meadow Nursery. For related reading, see: Groundcover Alternatives To Mulch 
