Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => GARDENING AROUND THE HOUSE => Topic started by: Finsky on March 17, 2005, 08:06:41 am

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Finsky on March 17, 2005, 08:06:41 am

I have searched 40 years plants which beed are fond of. The best are evel weeds and nature are full of them.

But there are some plants which are garden flowers and "bees lowe it"  flowers. But not many.

Leonurus cardiaca is a plant which make bees and bumble bees mad. Rthere are so much bees that surely flower are not rapid enough to exrecete nectar or pollen at that speed.  I got Leonurus fron London Kew Garden. It belongs also in Finland to native vegetation.

One flower may have thousands of little flowers
http://images.google.fi/images?q=Leonurus%20cardiaca%20&hl=fi&lr=&sa=N&tab=wi

I also tryed Leonurus sibirica last summer, and it was guite good for bees, but not like L.cardiaca. It has bigger flower.

Perennial Verbascum species are good. They give only pollen.

All poppies are good for pollen.

Here is some flowers
http://www.swsbm.com/Images/Images_H-L.html

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Lesli on March 17, 2005, 07:22:50 pm

Last summer, mine loved the mints: catnip, especially. They were all over it, along with fat bumblebees.

They also loved the goldenrod and asters (which can be garden flowers, but around here grow wild in huge numbers).

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: latebee on March 17, 2005, 11:18:33 pm

One of the things that surprized me when I started keeping bees was thir preferences in flowers. Finsky in my opinion, you are correct in your assesment, they seem to prefer native wild plants over most cultivated species. I had never really noticed before I had bees what drew them in. A real shocker for me was how they go for sumac(rhus),when it is in bloom the shrubs are just loaded with bees. Another big surprize was how they love onions(alliums) of any kind. Some of the plants they prefer really dont have flowers as I typically think of flowers,like willow(salix) or filbert((corylus)and maple(acer). Lots of fun to watch them work.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Finsky on March 17, 2005, 11:30:39 pm

I heard that in USA or in Canada there are not so plenty of willows. Is that true?

In Finland  during May different kind of willows are paractically only food for bees.  Willow pollen is "light" protein source. Bees need over 20% raw protein content, but willow has  15-18%. Legume pollen has 60% rawprotein.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: latebee on March 17, 2005, 11:47:40 pm

I cant speak for the entire region, but locally especially near wet ground there are plenty of willows. bleep willows,black willow, gold and green weeping willows. Also some other type of shrub willow that I cannot identify.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: latebee on March 17, 2005, 11:49:16 pm

oh oh---- I got bleeped for using the common name of this willow!!!!! :o
 sorry I did not mean to appear vulgar.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Finsky on March 18, 2005, 12:01:14 am

Here is a valuable report from pollen plants from Australia.

 Nutritional Value of Bee Collected Pollens
A report for the Rural Industries Research and
Development Corporation 2001

http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HBE/01-047.pdf
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Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Lesli on March 18, 2005, 06:10:45 am

Quote

oh oh---- I got bleeped for using the common name of this willow!!!!! Surprised
sorry I did not mean to appear vulgar.

Hehe. Does the word start with a b and end with a d? That's the only word I can think of that would get grabbed by the filter, and yet be used as part of a plant name.

Anyway, we have lots of willows around here. There's a swamp half a mile from my house. Lots of water-loving plants.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Jerrymac on March 18, 2005, 07:19:21 am

I'm thinking another name for cat.  P_s__y willow

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Finsky on March 18, 2005, 09:29:45 am

In Finland we call those white willow flower buds  "cats of willow".  And the yellow ones male flower " cats of willow are open".  The open female willow flower is green, and  a few have looked what kind it is.

This is female/girl  willow and the second is a boy

(http://www1.bos.nl/~dvuijk/plants/data/Salix-lanata/y992110.jpg)



(http://www.punchstock.com/image/itstock/6668053/large/itf053012.jpg)

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: leominsterbeeman on March 18, 2005, 04:00:06 pm

Pussywillows are adored by bees and they are a source for pollen early in the year.  They are pretty pervassive in the northeast.

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: latebee on March 18, 2005, 06:07:17 pm

There---------- leominsterbeeman you said what I was bleeped for,at least now eveyone knows what I was talking about. Thanks

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: leominsterbeeman on March 19, 2005, 09:42:21 pm

Found this on the maarac site.  Good look at honey/pollen sources/ done by season.

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/floral-sources_files/frame.htm

Title: "Bees love it" plants
Post by: Finsky on March 20, 2005, 03:28:41 pm

Quote from: leominsterbeeman

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/floral-sources_files/frame.htm

Very good! We have different kind of climate, but I got some ideas.
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