Japanese honeysuckle is a hardy perinial once established; will grow in most soil but thrives best in compost rich, well draining soil. It is a creeper, so stakes or trellis is needed for support.
This creeper requires full sun. While it will thrives under partial or full shade, it needs full sun to bloom. Propagated by cuttings, the first bloom will appear only after one year when planted under full sun.
And as its' name sake suggest, the flowers are sweet smelling and rich in nectar.
The flowers are harvested and used for tea infusion with medicinal properties. The tea is good for fever, sore throat and migraine. The flowers can also be dried for later use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_japonica
The Japanese Honeysuckle flower is of high medicinal value in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called rěn dōng téng (Chinese: 忍冬藤; literally "winter enduring vine"[citation needed]) or jīn yín huā (Chinese: 金銀花; literally "gold silver flower"). Alternate Chinese names include Er Hua and Shuang Hua.[5] It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties[citation needed], and is used (often in combination with Forsythia suspensa) to dispel heat and remove toxins, including carbuncles, fevers, influenza and ulcers. In Korean, it is called geumeunhwa. The dried leaves are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Jin Yin Hua (Japanese Honeysuckle, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae) is notable for its inclusion in the traditional Chinese medicine herbal formula Honeysuckle and Forsythia Powder. In pinyin, this formula is called Yin Qiao San. Traditional indications for use of this formula include fever, headache, cough, thirst, and sore throat.[6] For indications such as this, it is common to find Japanese Honeysuckle paired in Chinese medicine herbal formulations with Forsythia (Lian Qiao, Fructus Forsythiae Suspensae). According to Chinese medicine, these herbs, when combined, have a synergistic medicinal effect to address indications such as fever with headache and sore throat. This is why these two herbs are considered "paired herbs."
In Chinese medicine, Jin Yin Hua is classfied with a temperature property of cold. The cold designation specifically refers to, in this case, to Jin Yin Hua's antitoxin, anti-bacterial, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties.[7] Also, according to traditional Chinese medicine, Jin Yin Hua is contraindicated for patients with medical conditions that are diagnosed as deficient and cold in nature unless combined with other herbs to balance the temperature nature of Jin Yin Hua. In layperson terms, Jin Yin Hua is used in Chinese medicine to address what are called excess heat conditions such as fevers, skin rashes, and sore throat. Excess heat conditions are essentially inflammatory processes involving heat, redness, pain, and swelling often due to external pathogenic factors such as bacteria and viruses. The cold nature of Jin Yin Hua is considered to cool the heat nature of the heat related conditions. For example, Jin Yin Hua's antibacterial properties can help to cool a fever. In this case, the cold herb treats the heat condition. However, should a patient present with what is termed as a cold condition such as aversion to cold with cold limbs, cold and pain in the abdomen, and abdominal pain relieved by warmth,[8] then Jin Yin Hua's cold nature is said to be contraindicated for treating the pre-existing cold condition. Should an herbalist choose to use Jin Yin Hua in an herbal formula for a patient with a cold condition, he/she would then choose to balance the temperature of Jin Yin Hua with another herb that is warming in nature.
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