# Maximilian Sunflower



## Fishman43 (Sep 26, 2011)

Can be, depends on the variety, Oil seed tends to be better. Lots of pollen and the honey crystallizes quickly.


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## Merl (Mar 4, 2014)

I read in a seed catalog last week that some sunflowers does not produce any pollen at all . Check what variety you have because some is raised commericaly.


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## Dominic (Jul 12, 2013)

Many ornamental sunflowers are very poor choices for bees. Some agricultural varieties, if I recall correctly, are also to be avoided due to low pollen production and/or poor cross-pollination capability.

The (very) small sunflower plantation near my hive did not attract any of my bees, as far as I can tell. Plenty of sunflower bees (_Svastra obliqua_, or possibly _Milissodes spp._), but no honey bees. No idea what varieties they planted, though, but I guess the bees must have had better forage elsewhere at the same time.


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## Kenww (Apr 14, 2013)

Maximillion is not a typical sunflower. It's a native plant with very tiny seeds. It's actually perennial. I planted some last week. Don't know if bees like it. Wiki says insects like it.


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## Kenww (Apr 14, 2013)

Just realized that this is an old thread. Really like to know if the bees worked the Maximillian? I'm actually using them for other purposes, but I was hoping the bees would like them. They have lots of flowers. I'm using one patch to shade a mushroom garden and the other as a screen between my bees and the neighbors dogs. Hope they'll bark at me less if the can't see me.


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## Groem (Nov 22, 2013)

For me macimilian sunflower blooms in the fall. Leaves are falling/fell off the trees when its blooming for me. It is a contrast with bright yellow flowers and everything else in the landscape going brown and dormant. With not much else blooming, the bees are all over the flowers. It is so easy to transplant and split, so it can be spread easy. My clumps have been split and moved several times to get them in just the right spot. It grows out ward in a slow clumping spread. If it gets to much water it grows to high and falls over when it starts to bloom.


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