# sunflowers



## ARGluck (Mar 10, 2013)

red said:


> Do bees make a honey crop while pollinating sunflowers? If so how is the quality of the honey?


It's supposed to be a light amber honey with a tiny bit of a citrus flavor, though I don't have enough around for the bees to only go to it. 

I know there's a guy around here that goes to a local family friend farm and puts his bees there. They do a thing where they plant 100 acres of sunflowers.... wish I could remember the beek.

I love having sunflowers because the bees just pull tons of pollen off of it and they're pretty fun to watch on them. My sunflowers here just keep re-seeding themselves so it's an easy source to keep up.


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

Try this. http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?266759-Sunflowers&highlight=pollinating+sunflowers


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

The mammoth head sunflowers I plant in my yard are payed more attention by the native bees (solitary and carpenter) than honey bees.


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## red (Jan 15, 2013)

Thank you Flyer Jim, thats what I was looking for.


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## UVBee (Jan 5, 2012)

Depends on the variety of sunflower your hives are working. Traditionally, sunflowers grown for oil seed (versus hybrid or fertile seed) can provide a nectar source. Oil sunflowers do not have male rows and do not require bees to produce a seed crop. Farmer's will pay for pollination of their hybrid or fertile seed sunflowers, but these varieties tend to have a very limited nectar production. As researchers continue to breed out the need for significant water input the nectar expression is also bred out. Further, you must watch for spray schedules as both oil and seed fields are sprayed regularly. I have seen many beekeepers lured into the vincinty of sunflower fields by the acres of yellow bloom only to leave the area with weaker hives than they came in with. Long story short, be aware and don't go into a field for free. It's going to cost you one way or another.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Sunflower honey I used to pull was a dark chrome yellow, not good tasting and would granulate as soon as it frosted, so you had best extract it fast. I learned to move away from the fields because it filled barrels but reduced the grade of my white alfalfa honey. I know nothing of the current varieties being planted though but I doubt it is any great honey.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I like mine, it is darker though and granulates quick. They can pull a good crop off it if it's the right variety.


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