# Honeybees LOVE staghorn sumac!!! And mullein



## BEE J (10 mo ago)

Yesterday I found that there were TONS of honeybees on the staghorn sumac patch next to our house. 

I was wondering what they've been foraging recently.  They also love to forage on the mullein plants in the morning.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

BEE J said:


> Yesterday I found that there were TONS of honeybees on the staghorn sumac patch next to our house.


@BEE J:

Understanding that you follow Dr. Sharashkin (as do I), his point about prioritizing sumac as a honey producer in marginal farming areas makes a lot of sense to me- it produces a lot of nectar if one has a significant population of it in their area.


----------



## Lumberman (Jul 20, 2021)

That’s cool. I have a ton of it around me!


----------



## BEE J (10 mo ago)

Litsinger said:


> @BEE J:
> 
> Understanding that you follow Dr. Sharashkin (as do I), his point about prioritizing sumac as a honey producer in marginal farming areas makes a lot of sense to me- it produces a lot of nectar if one has a significant population of it in their area.


Interesting to hear. I didn't know Dr. Sharashkin talked about sumac as a nectar source. 
Here in Halifax we have a lot of it so that's great!


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

@ about the 25 minute mark of the attached video:


----------



## PFiji (Dec 25, 2016)

I planted a decent amount of Staghorn Sumac this year. Really hoping it pays off in the future!


----------



## BEE J (10 mo ago)

PFiji said:


> I planted a decent amount of Staghorn Sumac this year. Really hoping it pays off in the future!


I'm sure it will!


----------



## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

Although I appreciate staghorn sumac as a nectar source,I would never plant it as it can be very invasive and is very difficult to eradicate.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Jack Grimshaw said:


> I would never plant it as it can be very invasive and is very difficult to eradicate.


Understood. The context for this thread is Dr. Leo's suggestion that sumac is a good nectar source that can be promoted in forested environments that are not well-equipped for traditional agricultural purposes.

When encouraged in a wooded setting, sumac becomes an understory species that lives on the edges and becomes easier to manage


----------



## BEE J (10 mo ago)

Another great thing about staghorn sumac is that the berry's can be ground up to make a wonderful lemony-tasting spice.
I heard the native Americans also used it to treat colds. Just make sure you know what type of sumac is growing near you, because there's a poisonous type of sumac as well.


----------



## drummerboy (Dec 11, 2015)

We are surrounded by patches of Sumac, which is flowering right now and can be used for many things, to include medicine, food, tea or as a coloring agent in art projects. 

We've not noticed that its particularly invasive, staying on the edges of forests and roadsides......and becoming quite beautiful as the season winds down.

The flowers dried can be used a smoker fuel as well. We often collect a couple 5 gallon pails of the stuff after the first killing frost.


----------



## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Sumac can be a major flow for us here in Northern Vermont and can as long as a month. Started right around the 5th of June this year.

Adaam


----------



## Tigger19687 (Dec 27, 2014)

My bees are not that thrilled with it in the smoker. But good forage for them.


----------



## msscha (Jan 4, 2014)

drummerboy said:


> We are surrounded by patches of Sumac, which is flowering right now and can be used for many things, to include medicine, food, tea or as a coloring agent in art projects.
> 
> We've not noticed that its particularly invasive, staying on the edges of forests and roadsides......and becoming quite beautiful as the season winds down.
> 
> The flowers dried can be used a smoker fuel as well. We often collect a couple 5 gallon pails of the stuff after the first killing frost.


This has been my experience as well: sumac is plentiful at the forest edge, and just creeps into the sunlight, but has not spread into fields. I did a very small harvest last week for which the honey has a quite distinct tangy (even pungent) smell and taste. A beekeeping friend with long experience said that it may be sumac (about the only thing that bloomed plentifully this year after a very strange 2022 spring), and that it might be a honey that ages well. I've yet to find a good description of sumac honey in terms of color/taste, but I'm glad to see our property can provide something useful to harvest in fall.


----------



## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

msscha said:


> This has been my experience as well: sumac is plentiful at the forest edge, and just creeps into the sunlight, but has not spread into fields. I did a very small harvest last week for which the honey has a quite distinct tangy (even pungent) smell and taste. A beekeeping friend with long experience said that it may be sumac (about the only thing that bloomed plentifully this year after a very strange 2022 spring), and that it might be a honey that ages well. I've yet to find a good description of sumac honey in terms of color/taste, but I'm glad to see our property can provide something useful to harvest in fall.


Sumac have a very good root system.
it draws moisture from 5-8 feet down from short field plants.
another reason to have bush and tree plants for bloom, they help in derth

GG


----------



## B230 (1 mo ago)

Mullein is one of my favorite herbs, especially if you suffer from ear aches. The flowers can be soaked in organic olive oil and some fresh garlic then strained to be dropped into your ears. It's as soothing as the leaves are soft. There are two types of the yellow colored mullein. One that looks more like a torch is the wild type found in waste areas. I planted Greek mullein two years ago and this past summer it looked like an 8ft tree covered in yellow flowers that the bees worked when everything else was burned from the drought. Strictly medicinal seeds has them for sale Mullein, Greek (Verbascum olympicum) seeds, organic The plant got so big, it fell over and still continued to grow. 

I'd love to plant some staghorn sumac those plants are tough!


----------

