# Lavender honey



## razoo (Jul 7, 2015)

There is a large lavender field next door. The bumble bees and other native bees would forage amongst the lavender, but I never saw one honey bee amongst them. 
I would love some Lavender honey. Is it possible honey bees prefer a different Lavender species? If so, which one?


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Lavender honey tastes medicinal. The flowers are beautiful, the honey is not.
It is okay if you have it lightly mixed with the body of more delicately flavored honey.
I have bees working all types of Lavender including 4 acres of "Gros Bleu" -- the classic french. 
The commercial lavender farm operation wants the honey to sell to unsuspecting tourists who demand everything lavender scented. I don't have my name on the bottles and have painted over the ID on my hives. Don't want to be associated with the tarry medicine.

This same phenomenon applies to Avocado honey -- which is also poor -- but the "mystique" of Avocado means that people assume it must be good.

I expect if your bees won't work your lavender, this is because they have access to better pasture. In my region, because lavender is a late summer flower, my bees don't have a choice and work it for pollen and nectar. The bees must reach deeply to get the nectar as the flowers are relatively deep, longer than their tongues, perhaps your flowers have throats that are too long for your bees to reach. English lavenders (the woody, shruby sorts) have much shorter flower throats.


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## Ramona (Apr 26, 2008)

Wow, JW, our tastebuds are really different! I have a tiny bit of lavender honey left in a jar my friend brought me from France, probably 25 years ago. I ate all of it straight out of the jar and am savoring the last bits. Medicinal? Maybe in a good way, lol. Ditto for avocado honey. I love the rich, oily taste and the fine crystal. I ate two big spoonfuls last night!


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 39 known species of flowering plants in the mint family. None of which are native to the U.S. Areas where lavender are grown in sufficient quantities to impact a honey crop, they have been planted for reasons other than honey production and as such may not be the best choice for honey. In Ireland there is a lavender that grows on the moors that makes a nice honey. Some Lavender produce decent honey while some do not. The lavender that produces the honey with the Medical Taste as described by JW (good description BTW) is not without it's merits as it makes a nice mead. 

Romona: The difference may not be in taste, but rather species of lavender.


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## mlanden (Jun 19, 2016)

I decided this year to see what I could do with lavender; I had 1 nice plant in my front yard, and from it I rooted 28 plantlets and planted them in a long bed. We'll see what happens to them in spring, 2017.


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