Trees, shrubs and flowers that can help your bees

The Quest for the Good Life Bees pages, sharing ideas with others

This page was last updated

18 February 2012

Welcome to our plants for bees pages.

Honey bees need to forage for nectar and pollen. These are stored in the comb within the hive. They are used to feed young and act as stores for the winter months. Plants that are rich in either or both nectar and pollen are a real asset to a bee keepers garden. Indeed they are important in any garden. Not just to honey bees but Bumble Bees and Hover Flies as well.

Thinking about the honey bee and the way it feeds. Its proboscis is only about 7 or 8mm long. Flowers with complicated double heads and long tube like flowers means the honey bees cannot reach the nectar. Others insects like Butterflies and Bumble Bees are more successful in these types of flowers. So for honey bees think simple flowers, nice and open for access. Honey bees bringing home pollen to the hive

As they gather the nectar, they also pick up the pollen on their hairs. These are moved to the legs and the pollen baskets. This is where humans benefit. This picking up, moving and shifting pollen from plant to plant helps with pollination. Our crops benefit, and so do we. What they have in their baskets they take home and store it in the hive.

You can see in the photograph many bees trying to get in and out of the hive. Quite a few of them are also fully laden with pollen on their back legs. This will all end up stored in the honey comb for winter use. This photo was taken in September and shows how late flowering plants are important. If the weather is warm then they can continue to gather but only if the plants are there to do so. Equally a warm early spring will allow flying temperatures but they will not be able to replenish stores if there are no early flowers to coincide with their activity.

Really we think about the beginning and the end of the flowering season more than the middle. Once the trees are out in flower then there is an abundance. But beware of the June gap. That bit when the trees and hedges have finished, but the summer flowers have not yet opened. This can be a tricky time too, so we do look for plants that might help then also.

The plant lists below have been assembled using many web sites and books to refer to acting as cross references. It is not a definitive list and may not be 100% accurate but it has been expanded and improved as far as possible (and continues to be).

In thinking about your garden as a place to help bees and insects you are taking a “holistic” approach. A definition of holistic is ...

“Emphasising the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts”

Considering how things interact together and rely on each other, including us! What mankind has damaged in his global quest for wealth you can, on a very small scale begin to redress the balance. Remember if every garden in the world did this then what an improvement that would be! So even if you don’t keep bees, using these plants will give your insects a boost, delight you as a gardener and give you the satisfaction of doing something useful.

Other things to remember are:-

Some of the trees listed (eg Sugar Maple) will not flower until it is more than 20 years old!

Most of these plants are not native, we hope to be able to highlight the native ones soon.

The flowering season will vary with weather and individual years

As gardeners, we have responsibility to match the best plants to our gardens. Soil type, location, local conditions could affect growth. You should always research each plant before buying and planting to see what type of soil it needs, where to plant it in the garden and if it has any warnings such as poisonous seeds for example. Plants that do not thrive in your garden will not produce much nectar for bees.

These lists are taken from the same database but listed according to different parameters such as flowering times or whether they are trees or flowers. They are in pdf format so you will need Adobe Reader to open them. Just click on the type of plant you want to look at (eg:- Shrubs) and wait for the download to open.

Please note that these lists should be considered as sources of food for all pollinators, in that we include Honey bees, Bumble bees, Hover flies and Butterflies and Moths. These are not “honey bee” exclusive lists.

Take a holistic approach to your garden and encourage all pollinators, with honey bees being one of many to enjoy your efforts.

Some examples of late flowering plants that bees are attracted to