“This great success was anything but random. Through a collaborative effort with the INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) and SAPHINOV (a group of French nursery growers), our dream of diversifying the genus of Lonicera was realized. After 15 years of tireless effort, generous funding and some failures, we were able to breed a Honeysuckle with a compact, bushy habit while still keeping the big, scented blooms and improving on Winter/Spring blooming and healthy foliage. Peaches & Cream, Sweet Tea & Candy Swirl came to us through endless selecting for big red flowers, compact shape, the combination of evergreen foliage and wonderful fragrance, as well as a good resistance to mildew and aphids. Though at times it had seemed impossible, our efforts are rewarded as we bring to you Peaches & Cream, Sweet Tea & Candy Swirl Lonicera. These are the compact, cold-hardy Honeysuckles with exotic, fragrant blooms that everyone will be talking about!”

By Concept Breeder: INRA Lonicera periclymenum Sweet Tea ('Inov71')