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Author Topic: What's flowering: Queensland  (Read 144218 times)

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #20 on: July 28, 2017, 07:04:10 pm »
We checked all the hives yesterday.
All are alive some are too strong. An issue with Italians - they keep on breeding and eating even when there are few flowers around and the stores dwindle.
All had enough honey in the brood box to see them out till Spring - I hope.
Even saw some SHB. We are now having such mild winters - no frost anymore where I have the hives and yesterday it was 27C...and this is mid winter.
Tallowwwod is budding up on the hill and if we get some rain the clover will be just perfect.
I'm making up a lot of nuc boxes. I think I'm ready for Spring. The demand for nuc's this year is even greater then last year. A busy time ahead.

We are a bit inland along the Mary and my guess is that place along the coast and Brisbane way Spring has arrived

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2017, 06:29:37 pm »
Is this the end of winter? Temperatures for the next week are supposed to ramp up to 31C. This is still supposed to be winter.

If it was not soo dry a lot would flower but I have no idea how plants will react to this event?

Paulownia's are flowering not far from here. It odes not look promising for rain and without rain the Clover will be disappointing and without Clover we will be limited how many splits we can make.

Offline Anybrew2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2017, 03:39:55 am »
Early 20's here and dry as,there is canola flowering but there is none near me. I'm hoping for some rain to kick off the season. With this warm weather and lack of food I could see strong colonies starving real easy around here. I didn't rob my Bee's that hard so they should be ok.

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #23 on: August 12, 2017, 10:41:58 pm »
All goooood here in the subtropics, bees are going flatchat with combs fuller
than ticks on a bull's bum going uphill!
Darwin teetree is in full bloom (yummy honey), the mangoes are about done
with some late bloomers - in time really but yeah, tis a weird year - and the lychee
is getting to 100% open. Open woodlands trees should start any time soon and
the few travelling BKs we see have delivered their hives in anticipation.
Not a boom year as such but certainly a lot earlier blooms than most years past.

Cheers.

Bill

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #24 on: August 16, 2017, 05:06:59 pm »
http://www.bobthebeeman.com.au/african-tulip-tree-ebook.asp

A "heads up" for this monster problem now well in bloom in the tropics.
What the article fails to mention is this plants affinity for seeking out water
in shallow earth, it loves underslab moisture and sewage lines which weep.
As I recall the initial reason it was banned in suburbia.... way to late for
it's escape into the scrub around domestic populations.

You see it you own it... c'saw the bassid    :angry:

Cheers.

Bill

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #25 on: August 23, 2017, 07:42:30 pm »
The Holly Basil has just about stopped flowering and I have pruned the bushes back. We planted 100's of them on a steep slope. Dry as at the moment. They would flower again if we would get some rain.
I found a small branch from a Euc on the ground - possibly E saligna or E grandis[/i] ( Sydney Blue Gum or Flooded Gum) - I have to check. The branch was covered in buds - far from ready to flower but still good to see.
The Jaboticabas are flowering and the bees go crazy over them. We have quite a few large bushes/small trees and it is wonderful to see and listen. It won't fill any hives but it is a positive - some hope.

Offline PhilK

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #26 on: August 24, 2017, 12:30:58 am »
Not sure what is flowering in Brisbane proper, but we are getting a lot of honey coming in with fresh white wax being built in all our hives around the city and suburbs

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #27 on: August 29, 2017, 03:56:28 am »
Just noticed that the Native Rasberries are coming out - poor flowering.

The mist weed is nearly finished. The bees generally like it but I saw no bees on them. It is so dry - the Mary River has just about stopped flowing.
No clover to be seen.

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #28 on: August 30, 2017, 09:58:48 am »
Yeh, like..
Bees working the lychee like mad things, pollen wise it has to be the bottlebrush and lantana
getting a workout. They are hitting the avocados but cannot see them gathering pollen offn 'em
which they usually do.


Cheers.

Bill

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #29 on: August 31, 2017, 04:16:58 am »
Lantana? I don't think I have seen bees on Lantana here... I always believed that Lantana was of no value to bees at all here. Could you please have a close look?

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #30 on: August 31, 2017, 06:52:44 am »
Lantana? I don't think I have seen bees on Lantana here... I always believed that Lantana was of no value to bees at all here. Could you please have a close look?

Yeh, like bindii (soliva sessilis) it is a stop of last resort,  but as a
first forage after a heavy dew you will find them working it.
Maybe they are chasing water with the pollon being an accidental
load.. when I see a bagged up  bee I'll surely shoot it, no worries ;-)

Cheers.

Bill

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2017, 04:56:24 am »
It is very dry here. We had no decent rain for months.
We missed the clover and with it the chance to get some early honey and make lovely splits.
Very few swarms around.
The White Cedar is out - a bit of pollen - if we are lucky.

Offline felmo1

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #32 on: September 18, 2017, 09:29:26 pm »
Hello Max!  Silky oaks flowering and Goyas and Bleeding hearts are nearly flowering in.  Very dry here in Montville but bees seem to be finding enough to keep busy.  Have noticed a lot of them foraging the grasstree flowers and euphorbias which are abundant atm also.  Euphorbias are good value in dry times as they are so hardy.  I prune them harshly when they are getting a bit scraggy and they are off again in no time.  They seed easily and would complement your holy basil hill I reckon.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #33 on: September 19, 2017, 07:41:33 am »
Hi felmo,
No Silky Oaks flowering here as yet. maybe  14 days behind.

I have to try the euphorbias - even the Holly basil is struggling - thanks for the suggestion. I guess the deer and roos would not eat them either. What a bonus.

Offline felmo1

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #34 on: September 19, 2017, 08:20:56 pm »
Hi Max, I will pot half a dozen euphorbias up for you, our pleasure  Have just inspected the frames and they are looking good, I think.  Will pop out with the plants when they are ready.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #35 on: September 20, 2017, 04:45:38 am »
Great! Thanks.

Would you like some Holly basil or Rosemary plants? I have been propagating them here and can't do any planting in the dry.

I had a look at some hives today and they are looking quite good.

Yesterday I did the Spring check on a mates 7 hives and some even had some honey in the lid. You figure!

The weekend is going to be hot....no rain.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #36 on: October 12, 2017, 07:42:53 am »
We had about 66 mm of rain two weeks ago and the EVERYTHING is flowering. We just took off 300 kg pus of honey off and the flow is just starting. The jaboticabas are just wonderful at the moment...some gums, Lilly Pilly and even the weeds will flower soon again.
Looks like more rain is on the way. fantastic.

All too late for lots of splits. We missed the Clover - sad about this but at least there is hope again.

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #37 on: October 19, 2017, 09:29:15 pm »
Here at Crystal Waters - on the upper Mary River we had 244mm ( about 10") of rain .

While it washed out some of the blossom it will do a lot of good for the longer term. The Euc's will recover and should be budding before long. May get a normal season next year.

The Jaboticaba's have finished but the Brazilian Cherries are still flowering and the Silky Oaks are in full bloom.

There are some Iron Barks out. The Grumichama's  are just starting and the E. torreliana is about to flower.
More rain predicted for tomorrow.

The dams are pretty well all full. We may get a decent season after all.

Anybody have some news on Brush box?

All too late for splits

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #38 on: October 28, 2017, 05:43:12 pm »
Went to the Bee Expo at Imbil. The Brushbox are flowering on the Imbil side of the mountain - not yet on the South side but it looks like it will start soon.

I t has been a good few years since we had bruhbox flowering nicely here.

Looks like a good flow coming on.
We have the Waterhousia along the river too about to open up.

The beekeepers I meet at the Expo were all happy and positive.

The difference some good rain makes!

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #39 on: November 01, 2017, 05:59:07 pm »
Well, that rain we  had two weeks ago has made a huge difference.

The Grumichamas are flowering and the LillyPillie's are just a ball of flowers. The BrushBox is still holding back here. Is it flowering in other parts of Qld?
I have seen it flower at Imbil.