Question
My elderly neighbour has a honeysuckle.  The flowers have not opened properly and have curled and shrivelled.  The leaves are fine.
Thanks

Answer
Lin:
There are a few things that may cause this. Often, tiny insects called thrips can get inside the flower and cause a distortion and sometimes abortion. Another thing may be contact with certain types of herbicides (weed killers)that can cause the growth to distort. Thrips are tiny-tiny-tiny insects that are hard to see on plants. They can move fast too. Many different insecticides are useful, however the problem comes in trying to get the insecticide inside the flower to get the bug. Check in with your local garden center for suggestions for insecticides.

Steve