The Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora, otherwise known as the Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 or Japanese Honeysuckle ‘Halliana’, Hall’s Japanese Honeysuckle, is a rather well known climber plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its high maintenance and moderate growth, this climber will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its variegated colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family, the genus Lonicera and the species Japonica, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 (lith-OH-dor-uh dif-FEW-sa).
As with other Lonicera’s, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora is a plant native to the Korea, Native to Japan and Manchuria and China..
You might be wondering why your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 can grow up to 15′ – 30′ (4.5m – 9m) in 15′ – 30′ (4.5m – 9m) and 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm) in 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora a relatively large climber compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful spreading shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ (180cm) free so the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora prefers to have soil with good drainage, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this climber will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this climber is well known for its long bloom season and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora produces some beautiful blue, or gold/yellow and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora have a beautiful variegated color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora is well known for being able to attract butterflies, birds and hummingbirds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Lithodora Diffusa ‘Monrik’ Plant Patent #26,250 owners agree that this climber will look great in most mediterranean, cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora’s best location within your garden is in wall-side borders, ground covers, pergolas, arbors, trellises, banks and slopes, and in walls and fences, others use it for landscaping in a poolside, container, mass planting, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Heuchera, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Hakonechloa will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Swirlin’ Grace® Lithodora, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
