# Bees favorite plant



## Outdoorsman3

Is there one plant that honeybees just go crazy over?


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## khaas15

I have found that they love milkweed and tend to work that plat pretty exclusively when it's in bloom.


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## Cindy Lyon

Hello, I see them loving anise hysop. And Rose bushes...I have a native prairie on my septic system and there too they are very busy!


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## Mikescomic

I would have to vote broccoli, I had some blooming last year all the way to the middle of November, resisting temperatures to 20 degrees. The bees were all over it. I know most folks harvest the heads before they go to seed, but I'm now planting it for the bees. When it's blooming, it can have a 1000 blooms a plant and the plant is very waxy being in the cruciferous family, I noticed the same phenomenon when some collards I had went to seed several years ago. I think the bees like it both for nectar and the wax to build comb. I currently have it growing under lights, hoping to have some blooming in the spring so I can attract a swarm to my yard with a waiting empty top bar hive. I know the bees already know where I live.

Mike


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## beekuk

Borage,also know as star flower.


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## KQ6AR

Anise blue hyssop, borage, both have long bloom times. The borage is one of the first to bloom here, I have one blooming right now, & seedlings popping up.


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## spieker

Catnip, mints and borage. Also, I had a large patch of radishes that I let bloom, and the bees worked them for about a month.


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## dcross

any brassicas, catnip, lavender. I haven't been that impressed with hyssops and borage. other pollinators like them though.


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## concrete-bees

here in West washington - they take to Borage great - they love Hyssop - 
anything in the brassica family is great - plant a row of Radishes and dont pick them - same with Broccoli - after you harvest the prime head - leave the side sprouts - they bees will work them from sun up to sun down 

here is a guild that will help you in detemining what to plant 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_nectar_sources_for_honey_bees

the thing to do here is to plant something that helps both you and your bees 
like Rasperrys - the bees love them - and you have a end product 

but planting say Maple - does little good to you in the end - but the bees love them if the weather permits 

also - if you have clover in your yard - DONT PANIC haha 
if you let the clover flower the bees will thank you
let the mow go for and extra week - or let the bees work the clover then mow once the flowers look sprent

if you can get your niehgbors to also do the same thing - you might pull clover honey and not have to move your hives to get it 

hope this helps - and if nothing i said helps at least the link will get in your favorites file


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## DBeeCooper

Beebalm?

I know around here they love the fruit trees in the spring, and goldenrod in the fall. If you've got acres to plant, I hear borage, buckwheat, white clover, maybe alfalfa...

It varies region to region- the bees will skip right over a marginal source in one part of the country but be all over it in another if it's the best thing available at the time. And it even varies year to year within a locale depending on how the weather cooperates.


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## spieker

> Beebalm?


I planted a nice patch of beebalm. It was covered with butterflies and bumble bees. Not a single honey bee. Then, I read that honey bee tongues are too short to reach the nectar.


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## DBeeCooper

No kidding, that's interesting! I heard the same thing about red clover.


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## berkshire bee

Plant a patch of collards. Leave them in the ground overwinter. Plant some seeds the next year and you won't have to plant again. The bees love them and they will flower all summer and reseed themselves. Plus, you can eat them and being a dark green, they are very good for you. They like cold weather. Milkweed is also great and white sweet clover looks like it's dancing when the bees are working it.


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## KevinR

Anyone have a source for bulk borage seeds?

Or any other bulk honey flower seeds.

Thanks


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## clgs

Towards the end of summer my bees are all over a mint patch I've let spread and russian sage. I've also seen that bumble bees are the only bees on my beebalm.


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## spieker

In response to KevinR, one of my favorite places to get bulk seed is http://www.everwilde.com. I always get good service from them. They do have borage seed and a huge selection of other seed. There are some other good places on the internet, also.


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## msapostol

The honeybees in our neighborhood love lemon balm, blackberries, and oregano. I've also seen them on California poppy.


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## knoxjk

Eden Bros. has borage 29.99 lb.


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## KevinR

How many lbs per acre? Anyone that has planted borage, can it be broadcast?


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## green2btree

To Kevin R. and anyone else interested - haunt roadsides in the fall. I have gathered large sacks full of seeds very quickly - like Milkweed, which is easy to tell in seed. Best part - free! Milkweeds, Asters, Goldenrods are all very easy to get this way.


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## knoxjk

A interesting site is ..themelissagarden.com./TMG/_Vetaley03608.htm this site gives 5 top bee plants and approx. pollen and nectur honey production. Worth looking at!!


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## sinclairz

From just north of Philly -- asters, asters, asters in the Fall. And goldenrod. Both plants were absolutely dripping with them in early October. I'm perusing catalogs for asters now (have plenty of goldenrod).


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## green2btree

If anyone wants to contact me for next fall, I can send them aster seeds for just postage and cost of envelope. I have New England Asters in the common lavender color (lots) and smaller amounts of pink and a really nice deep purple. The common white asters of various species I also have lots of. Because these are naturally open pollinated plants you probably won't get ALL the same color. But they are all pretty, and in most of the north, the last gasp of nectar plants.

JC


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## Adam Foster Collins

Nobody has mentioned echium, and from wiki and the melissa garden's lists, I see that both of them describe echium as one of the best nectar flowers in existence. They are considered a weed in most of North America, but I have got some seed and plan to plant it.

It's related to borage, and I find that here at least, Borage is in bloom until the day it dies - which this year wasn't until mid November.

Any experience?

Adam


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## dcross

No experience with echium, i know vipers bugloss is grown as an ornamental here though. Any idea which one you've got?


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## Adam Foster Collins

Vipers Bugloss is the only one hardy enough for this area.

Adam


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## Growing Boy

Thanks to the Texas Highway Department we have Crimson Clover by the side of every highway. For added effect I just overseeded our entire lawn area (2 acres) with white clover.
Should keep them busy.
We have hundreds of bee friendly plants in the landscape. The Carpenter bees love them. My girls ignore them though they do attack the asters as when they bloom there's not much left.
The bushes that line the fence line (Red Tip something) is the first to flower,about three weeks out. It produces millions of little white nectar filled flowers. At times the whole fence line is buzzing.


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## caribou0_0

Crimson Sedum


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## dcross

+1 on sedum, very easy to propagate, got my first one from a tiny sprig broken off accidentally while helping in my parents yard, have more from the yard waste drop-off in fall, just stuck them in the ground and now I divide them in spring. Putting one at the base of each of my saplings.


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## Galoways

My son-in-law in central Ma. has a lot of success with a 300' double row of sunflowers.


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## Omie

In my garden, the bees love the sedum, the anise hyssop, the Russian sage, catmint, and the borage.

In the wild around here, I've never seen more bees than gather on the (invasive species) Japanese knotweed along the sides of the road. they go nuts over it! In the early winter I cut the dried stems for use as nesting tubes for the wild native solitary and mason bees. The stems are much like fragile bamboo and come in various diameters. I have a whole bunch cut that I will load into a wood box come Spring and hang it out for the wild bees to nest in .


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## markmaster

Talk to me about borage -- is it invasive? I have recently cleared about 1/2 acre from a creekbank and want to put something there. I'm going to seed it in clover, but sounds like borage may be a good bet as well.


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## Adam Foster Collins

I loved the borage. Planted about a dozen in my garden and the were in flower from July until it finally froze solid in mid November. I found they really tend to fall over and get beaten up in the wind, and I have read that farmers plant them fairly densely so that they support each other in the field. Borage seed is a cash crop in some areas.

From what I understand, it produces a light, mild honey - not especially distinct. The list on the melissa garden's website calls borage one of the top 5 flower types for bee health.

I carefully collected the seed from my few plants and turned 20 organic seeds into about 1200. I can't wait to find a patch to plant them all. My few plants only attracted a few of my bees - especially late in the year. You really need a good density of a flower type to get their attention.

Adam


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## markmaster

Thanks, Adam. I am anxious to try borage on my property. Everything I read about it encourages me to plant it for my bees. I will check some seed sites later today and get some on order.


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## Omie

Borage does get big and scraggly as it gets older. The stems get large and hollow and easily bent or broken. I found that if I cut the plants back fairly aggressively when they get too big, they will send up lots of nice new young shoots and flowers for Fall that don't look so worn out.
The flowers are such a pretty blue, and the grey fuzzy leaves sparkle with raindrops on them!
My borage attracted only some bumblebees in early summer. Then in mid to late summer the honeybees finally decided they liked it too. I think a lot depends on what else is blooming and attracting the bees at any particular time.

Here is some borage in the front of the photo of my veg. garden last June.
And here is a closeup i took of my borage after a rain...so pretty!


.


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## Adam Foster Collins

What you show in the first photo is about as much as I had this year. Not enough to draw a big crowd of bees, but the fact that they paid attention at all to such a small number of flowers suggests that they really like the stuff.

Adam


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## Omie

Adam Foster Collins said:


> What you show in the first photo is about as much as I had this year. Not enough to draw a big crowd of bees, but the fact that they paid attention at all to such a small number of flowers suggests that they really like the stuff.
> Adam


true. Not exactly an acre of borage! lol!
But another clump is growing there in the far left part of the garden picture too.
the honeybees and bumblebees seemed to alternate their attention on it, also on the anise hyssop clumps, of which I had 3 large clumps.
This year I have a whole new honeybee-favorites flower bed along the side of the house, where we had to tear everything previous out to repair the foundation.
When I put the new flowerbed in, I put in only plants that bees love.
Every clump helps! And don't forget the bumblebees, native little bees, flies, wasps, moths, hummingbirds, and butterflies!


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## markmaster

Got the seed ordered and sited out the area for planting .... thanks for the pics -- beautiful garden you have!


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## Omie

markmaster said:


> Got the seed ordered and sited out the area for planting .... thanks for the pics -- beautiful garden you have!


Thanks!  Here is a pic taken that same day from the other end of the veggie garden.

You might want to also plant some blue flowering sage and/or anise hyssop along with the borage. It would be so pretty, the blue and the lavender together, and all 3 are fairly easy to grow and bees love them. 
Here are some bumblebees, honeybees, and a beautiful 'hummingbird clear-wing' moth on my anise hyssop last year, and this was as it was nearing the end of its flower peak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrrng_k9Jc0
Please excuse the poor camera work.


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## Ross

horse mint


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## KevinR

Where did you end up buying the borage from?

Any one found a lbs per acre planting guide?


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## markmaster

Ordered it through my local Co-Op store (don't know where they get, but everything they sell is suitable for this area). I have not seen a per-acre guide; I had to by by the ounce - I got 32 ounces.


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## Walliebee

KevinR said:


> Any one found a lbs per acre planting guide?


ND State University says 15 lbs/acre.


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## KQ6AR

Where I live borage re seeds itself readily.
If you plant it too thin it will probably fill in the next season.


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## okaive

I love how they use english on this site for what plants are good for just honey. <---sarcasm if you couldn't tell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honey_plants


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## aprici

Wikipedia does provide quite a nice list, and this one provides some of the "per acre" values:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_nectar_sources_for_honey_bees

Some of the ones I have tried and which the bees seem to really love are these:

Anise Hyssop (nectar), both purple and white work well. Often has more multiple bees per flower stem.
Borage (nectar). Note it reseeds itself very heavily.
White Clover (nectar).
Sunflowers (pollen). Note some varieties don't have pollen.
Poppies (pollen).

Am also trying out some plants for winter/early spring sources and keep the information here:

http://aprici.com

Two other sources in this area include lavender (there is a lavender farm near here) and blackberries. Careful if you plant blackberries, they can be difficult to control.


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## okaive

What percentage of plants should you have on each of nectar/pollen?


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## aprici

I don't think I've seen anyone look at percentage of pollen vs nectar. I would suggest planting mostly for nectar, but make sure you have some pollen sources at the right time of year, particularly late winter/early spring when the bees are trying to build up. Mine have been harvesting pollen since Jan 28th:

http://aprici.com/drupal/node/278


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## heaflaw

I seeded a small plot two years ago in borage by broadcasting seed on an old garden spot of disked soil. It did great in summer and fall. The next year I had 10 times the number of plants volunteer in that spot. I never saw birds go after the seeds and never saw any outside that area. NC does not list it as invasive. It does need consistant rain or watering. It does not transplant well.


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## jmgi

Borage is a great plant for honey bees, bumble bees compete for it also. The flowers have an interesting shape and in a thick stand of borage the pale blue flowers are a gorgeous sight. The honey bees start working the blossoms at the earliest light in the morning and go till near dark. Like others have said, it will get top heavy and fall over, really not much you can do about that except plant it thickly so the plants kind of support each other, high winds will lay it down too, doesn't matter though the bees still work it just fine. I think I read somewhere that each blossom produces alot of nectar daily, and I believe it because the same bee will keep going back to the same exact flower over and over in one foraging trip, and seems to be getting more nectar each time. I know this because I have sat and watched a single bee come from my hives and fill up on nectar and return back to the hive. John


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## DavesBees

Coltsfoot is a very early forage for the honey bees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR66J0N_ub4

This was Ohio Zone 6 on March 12th.


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## MJC417

Cool video!! Did you do that?


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## DavesBees

Yes and thanks,
I only got a short bit of video but wanted to put it up so I made that quick clip. I am Going to try to get some good video thursday through sunday as the weather is going to be nice. There is going to be lots of pollen and nectar coming in on those days.


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## SparksBee

Interesting. I will have to allow some of my broccoli plants to go to seed this year instead of pulling up after the spring.

Jen


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## John V

I've been planting for bees for the last two years. My wife makes fun of me because I'll get rid of a plant just because there aren'y any bees on it...ever. Of the plants I've planted, their most favorite is a Caryopteris (spelling?). It is a fall blooming shrub I planted last spring. They were maybe 30" dia. in the fall and each had a good fifty honeybees on it for most of the day. The runner up would be the white Salvia. For some reason they perfered the white over the violet color. 

Later, John


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## SparksBee

Interesting. My friend who is a former beekeeper and a landscape designer mentioned Mountain mint. She said her bees loved it. Guess I will have to try to plan seasonally for the bees now. It is still really cold/rainy here in MD but it isn't always that way. I will need to figure out what will work for March - May that will flower and survive during what can sometimes be a protracted winter. I know the sun is coming soon - I can feel it.


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## forgeblast

I planted native tobacco last year, and the bees were all over that. As soon as one would leave another would take its place it was pretty impressive.


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## SparksBee

I remember the massive tobacco fields on the farm when I was a kid. When it was in bloom it was impressive. Can't say I remember the bees but that was a long time ago.


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## forgeblast

This was just a pack of the iroquois native tobacco seed. I wanted to try to see if it would grow, and if I could use it as a natural pesticide. It took great in my garden. Nice looking plant too.

http://www.localharvest.org/tobacco-seed-sacred-ceremonial-C6426


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## SparksBee

How did it work as a pesticide?


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## SparksBee

Neat video. 

I guess that would grow in MD?? Need something for early foraging that will be able to deal with the cold/wet springs here.


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## forgeblast

Dont know, A buddy of mine harvested all the leaves. So this year ill get there before he does and try to make up some. I still had some organic pesticides from gardens alive so I wasnt too worried about loosing the leaves, I just wanted to see if the plant would grow. 

I guess to make it all you have to do is steep it, and use it in a spray bottle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_water
Tobacco water is a traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening. Tobacco dust can be used similarly. It is produced by boiling strong tobacco in water, or by steeping the tobacco in water for a longer period. When cooled, the mixture can be applied as a spray, or 'painted' on to the leaves of garden plants, where it kills insects.


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## HoneySeeker

Mikescomic said:


> I would have to vote broccoli, I had some blooming last year all the way to the middle of November, resisting temperatures to 20 degrees. The bees were all over it. I know most folks harvest the heads before they go to seed, but I'm now planting it for the bees. When it's blooming, it can have a 1000 blooms a plant and the plant is very waxy being in the cruciferous family, I noticed the same phenomenon when some collards I had went to seed several years ago. I think the bees like it both for nectar and the wax to build comb. I currently have it growing under lights, hoping to have some blooming in the spring so I can attract a swarm to my yard with a waiting empty top bar hive. I know the bees already know where I live.
> 
> Mike


What does the honey from broccoli taste like?

Honeyseeker


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## Brandonc

I have noticed they like to work my sunflower feilds realy well and its good honey too.


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## SparksBee

Hi,

That is good to know. I will go ahead with my plans to have a field of sunflowers. I appreciate the info.


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## enchplant

Bees favorite plant in my garden is Rosemary. It needs pretty mild weather but it flowers in late winter in California when the bees are coming out at the start of the year and they cover the plants!


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## khaas15

I used to think bees didn't like beebalm because of what I was told (tonges too short), but I guess seeing is believing.
http://home.comcast.net/~khaas15/beebalm (2).JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~khaas15/beebalm (1).JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~khaas15/beebalm (3).JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~khaas15/beebalm (4).JPG


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## BEES4U

Clover and orange is commony seen on the retail shelves


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## Kazzandra

khaas15 said:


> I used to think bees didn't like beebalm because of what I was told (tonges too short), but I guess seeing is believing.


Wow, thanks for those pictures! I wondered about that. I'm constantly being asked about planting beebalm for honeybees and every time I have to give the traditional explanation, people are very disappointed. I think they want a reason to plant beebalm (and who blames them)! Now I can just say, "Well, they may or may not give it a try!"


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## khaas15

It's a beautiful plant, comes back every year, is very disease resistant, and from what I've seen...honeybees love it.


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## heaflaw

John,

What variety did you plant? The ones I googled bloom in July & August.


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## John V

Are you asking about the Caryopteris? If so, I believe it is the 'Blue Beard' variety. I also have a variegated variety but the bees hardly touch them. In fact, my mother took a liking to those so I think I'll be getting rid of them and sticking something else in their place.

Later, John


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## radwor

No mention of red apple iceplant (Aptenia cordifolia) or Pride of Madira (Echium candicans or Echium fastuosum). My bees cover both when in bloom.


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## odfrank

A BeeBee tree in bloom - video.

http://youtu.be/QbW5WSWhdG8


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## amethysta

KevinR said:


> Anyone have a source for bulk borage seeds?
> 
> Or any other bulk honey flower seeds.
> 
> Thanks


You can buy borage seed by the pound here: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=borage


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## Batman

Johnnyseeds is more expensive than Eden Bros. Someone mentioned that you needed like 15lbs per acre, good lord at $135 for 5lbs, one acre is going to cost a lot.

Just curious if anyone planted Borage this year and whether or not they saw an increase in honey or not?

C2


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## inlikeflint

This topic is probably why I joined this forum. 

For the past few years I have had great success in my back yard garden (urban) with sunflowers that grow over 8 feet tall. They sort of work as giant radar dishes tracking the sun and are a magnet for honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees, parasitic wasps, some sort of spider that has the same colors of the sunflower that captures flies without a web... I grow the sunflowers because they are easy to grow and they pop up over the fence like billboard advertisements for bees that may be foraging a few houses away. 

One of the other flowers in my garden that attracts bees when it bolts (actually an herb like Borage.) Basil. The bees go nuts over the basil, I'm not sure if this would make honey taste like a light sweet pesto, but if you planted a row of basil, I feel certain that you would have a swarm of bees in your yard.

One of the plants that comes up in my yard without seed is a mildly invasive vine called the Passion Flower/Passion fruit vine. This has been a plant that all the bees in my yard flock to. at times, the honey bees will focus on one flower (the flowers are a tad larger than a silver dollar) It is easy to find 5-6 honey bees on one flower along with a couple of bumble bees. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora_incarnata

Along with these plants I have a large variety of other botanicals around the house that attract pollinators. Bee Balm, white sage, wild onions (That were imported into my yard by birds. various varieties of honeysuckle, zone 6a ice plant (That somehow survives winter freezing.)

I have some clumps of sweet peas, but I never see many bees get too excited over this flower. 

Out of all the flowers I have summed it up to three in my garden (Sunflowers, Passion flowers, and basil.) 
I am going to order some unusual heirloom varieties of giant sunflowers for next year, and Borage will grow next to my tomato plants as usual... Anyway, I am hoping that there are some other flowers that I can try out for next year that are just as impressive as bee magnets as what I have already have. I don't do bee keeping, but I am interested in bringing as many bees and pollinators to my garden as possible.


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## Don'tWorryBeeHappy

First year beek here and I've been trying to figure out what my bee's are actually eating. I rarely find them on any of the plants I've heard they like (Sunflower, Berries, goldenrod, etc..). These plants are covered in bumbles, but almost never a hon. Here is my list of the plants I have seen them on in order of most frequently visited first:

Basil
Wood Sorrel (weed)
Cucumber
Mile-a-Minute (weed)
Clover
Nandina
Holly
Thistle (weed)
Raspberry


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## inlikeflint

Yesterday, I dumped a case of moldy rotting peaches into my compost pile. I didn't cover the peaches with anything and today I have honey bees, wasps, flies, eating the peaches.

I am guessing that a peach tree would make a nice plant to attract bees.


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## Ben Franklin

I vote for Fruit trees, then dandelions, and the top of my list is sweet clover.
I love milk weed but it seems my bees didn't.
Kingsville Ohio 44048


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## Gypsi

Any of the mints - spearmint, oregano for sure. And holly blooms are worth braving my bee-eating dog for. (I had to bring him in)


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## Lost Bee

Fireweed or it's scientific name of Epilobium angustifolium is one plant that I 
have yet to approach in the summer without seeing some type of bee on it. 
It grows wild where I live in large clusters. I also read that fireweed honey is 
produced in great quantities in some areas of western Canada and northwestern 
US and is considered a premium monofloral. It's also amber colored. I'm not sure 
if it's bees favorite plant but I do know they like it a lot. Anyone who has seen 
these growing know what I mean. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilobium_angustifolium

It's one plant from a dozen that I plan to buy seeds for when I finally get into 
bee keeping to create a flower garden. At least, it will grow back every year
on it's own after it's established.


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## Slow Modem

Omie said:


> Here is some borage in the front of the photo of my veg. garden last June.


What a beautiful garden! I have a chicken wire fence around my vegetable garden to keep Thumper out (although the groundhogs dug under it), and it's 10' tall with netting above the chicken wire to keep Bambi out (although the deer still jump over that). But it's nothing like yours. Now I know what mine should look like! Is that electric fence or barbed wire along the top?


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## sheepdog

If there is a poppy blooming my bees are in it.


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## givesgoodemail

Alsike clover and white clover are good. Honey bees can't deal with the depth of the red clover blossom.


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## PatBeek

.

What an incredible thread.

I really appreciate all the tips.

My wife is going to think I'm insane for experimenting with some of these, but what wife doesn't think their husband is insane already? Might as well be over something like this.

Someone tried to post this link earlier, but it was incorrect. It's a wealth of info:


*Dr. Stashenko’s list of honeybee plants*

.


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## jtow

Anybody know anything about Paulownia and Korean Evodia (Bee Bee Tree) trees for honey production? And also, is Korean Lespedeza a good bee plant?


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## mmiller

I plant alot of the mints, lavenders and in my opinion their all time favorite borage.

Mike


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## stevedc

what about dandelion? how long are they in bloom?


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## DavesBees

Dandelions are an extremely important plant for bees. They get pollen and nectar in large quantities from them. I tell everyone I can how important they are. I mow mine in a staggered fashion; leaving some to bloom and some to try again. I’m not sure how long they last if left alone but it is long enough to give bees a great start in the spring. If there is a patch fairly near a hive it will be really buzzing on good days. If you like making splits or you buy package bees then peak dandelion time is a great time to do these things.


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## stevedc

thanks dave, i have a good patch in my backyard and the bees are on them a lot. i built a swarm box and placed it in their flight path w/wax striped top bars and a little lemongrass oil. i'm hopeful. i also placed a jar of sugar water on top.


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## summer1052

Borage is popular with my bees. When I lived in Denver, they were all over the Russian Sage bush. Horsemint, a wild relative Lemonmint, is always well visited by my bees. But the two hands down favorites seem to be: 1.) Chinese Tallow tree -- supposedly good for wax building. 2.) Purple tansy. 

Last year, I planted a wildflower mix that included purple tansy. It was covered with bees. And, it survived the worst drought in Texas' recorded history, and bloomed for almost 3 months without water, and in our ungodly hot summer! :applause:

This year, I bought three pounds of tansy seed and planted it in early January. (It would need to be planted in the late fall in climes north of mine.) It is already coming up strongly, but no blooms yet. It has strong taproots, and does a great job breaking up the soil, as I understand it.

My advice is this: Try different things, and if it grows well for YOU, and the bees like it, plant some more. The trick is to try and find different things that bloom at different times, so there's always something available.

Good luck!
*Summer*


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## DavesBees

I say if the bees are in your yard they can be in your hive. If they can find you flowers, they can find your hive. Good luck.


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## stevedc

thanks Summer, i've started looking at blooms everywhere i go now trying to see what the bees like.


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## stevedc

thanks Dave, for the reassurance.


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## zippelk

+1 for borage, brassicas, clovers, milkweeds, & mints. of course goldenrod and asters, which are fall staples here. add also willow (in bloom now and clouded with a diversity of pollinators I never knew were out there), burdock (long flowering season), and a little garden plant that looks like a mini-borage called Pulmonaria (girls are spending a lot of time on it right now).


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## ChickenChaser

Perennial - my red flowering quince has been in bloom for more than a month. Even with dandelion everywhere...and fruit trees now in bloom as well, you can walk near the quince and hear "the buzz". 
Annual - my fall garden greens are still in bloom after 2 weeks. Normally, I sow approx. 20X60 patch. Next fall, I think I'll make it a half acre! 

CC


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## WVMJ

In our herb garden the bees love the thai basils, catnip and catmint and get a lot of orange pollen from our male asparagus, they really climb over the asparagus. WVMJ


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## dadux

Stock Seed Farms has developed a "Stock's Pollinator Mix" of 40 species. I have ordered 2 lbs to plant this spring. 

Stock Seed Farms has put together this mixture with annual and perennial wildflowers plus legumes for use in creating pollinator habitat. One key to providing good pollinator habitat is to make sure there are blooms from early spring all the way through late fall. This mixture will produce diverse colors and flower shapes making it attractive to many species of pollinators. Another recommendation is to plant this mixture close to flowering trees and/or native grasses to provide additional blooms, nesting sites, and shelter. Our Prairie 7 or Prairie 3 Plus prairie grass mixtures work well for that purpose. Seed this mixture in mid spring. The legumes, annual wildflowers, and many perennials will bloom the first year with increased blooms the second and third year as perennials establish themselves. 


http://www.stockseed.com/wildflowers_product_display.asp?pid=626


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## turboterry544

Pussy willow tress my bees work them really good and it's one of the 1st pollen's around here,Toledo Ohio


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## Mikescomic

Well, I've been meaning to do this for awhile...I'm changing my vote from broccoli to borage. After I posted my vote on broccoli the next post was borage, so I said okay, I'll see If they have borage seed at the local nursery. Indeed they did, 25 seeds for about $2.00. I say man, these are pretty expensive seed. Anyway, I plant them in pots under lights in march, and get 22 plants. I gave a couple to a friend, and the rest I put in my yard in different places. By the end of the year, the plants I put out had already reseeded and new plants were coming up. A single plant doesn't have too many blossoms blooming at once, so its best to plant a patch. The bees indeed do love this plant. They were the last plant the bees would leave even as the sun was setting. Those plants that had come up from the seed at the end of the summer amazingly survived the winter with sub zero temperatures ( they were under snow that year) and were the first thing to bloom in the spring, about the same time as my pie cherry tree blooming, which the bees also love.. The plant seems to have two stages. When it first grows, it stays close to the ground, no blooms, but quite hardy, able to resist some pretty cold temperatures in this stage. Next it shoots up a primary stem kind of like a hollyhock that the blooms form on. It's pretty flimsy and falls over easily so it helps to stake it. I found that putting a sheet of concrete reinforcement wire horizontally about 18 inches to 2 feet above them which they can grow up and through works well as a support, especially for a patch of about 5 x 8 feet. This one patch I had from only 10 of the plants from the first year, produced around a 100 plants the next spring. When this patch was in full bloom, I'd estimate there was easily over a 100 bees on it. Unfortunately I hadn't put the wire on it at that time and on a windy day it all fell over from the center out. That pretty much finished it off, so I rototilled it under and replanted (late July) putting the wire on top this time and it was just beginning to flower when I got a 20 degree night in October that killed the flowering plants. The plants in the first stage are still alive. Its now December and most everything is dead except for the 1st stage borage and my broccoli. The broccoli managed to survive a 13 degree night up close to the house a month ago and was still blooming with a couple of bees visiting. Its been unusually warm this winter, in Aurora Colorado, no moisture hardly at all. I'm not expecting to make it through tonight with the expected lows around 5 degrees. It snowed last night but not enough to cover and protect the plants. I'm curious to see if the borage can survive the near zero temperatures without a snow blanket. But, if it doesn't, I have a plenty of seed to plant this spring. Oh, one other thing, when the borage starts blooming, it doesn't stop until it's dead, so it has a long bloom life. My broccoli's pretty good, it can bloom for a month, but once it starts making seed, it's pretty much done. The cat mint I have, the bees really like, but it's blooms only last few weeks, but can be extended by cutting off the seed pods. I have Golden rod too, but the bees here don't seem too interested in it. I think it's because it attracts all kinds of mason bees in huge numbers. HollyHocks, so so, crimson clover, the bumble bees like it, honey bees once in awhile. That's what I have in my garden.


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## DavesBees

Great post Mikescomic, 
I have had pretty much the same experience with Borage and it is now on my “gotta plant it” list. Got so excited I just did a blog post on it. 
I actually found out about right here and the credit for me planting it goes to…. Drum roll please
Omie - With her great blog and photos; she made a believer out of me.
I highly recommend borage to everyone to plant for the bees.


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## ImaNewBeeToThis

Echium vulgare  your welcome guys


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## R Dewhurst

I have a 4 acre plot where my hives are that is barren, minus thistle and grass that grows. Sprayed last fall to kill off the thistle. I am planting a large variety of wild flowers for the hives. Goldenrod and native aster was spread over one acre last fall late. Have a couple pounds of wildflower bee mix, cone flower, cosmos, bee balm, catmint, anise hysopp, black eyed susans, vipers bugloss, milkweed, borage, lacy phacilia, 8 oz english lavender, and ladino clover. All are atleast in the 1/2 pound each, most are one pound. gonna just mix well and drill. Lavender will be started in the greenhouse then set with the tobacco setter. Just gonna let the ground go fallow after planting.


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## SantaFeBeek

Last year I planted a variety of wildflowers for the bees, but the one that caught their attraction the most was the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant...I had never heard of it before, but it grew to about 6 ft tall and had incredible flowers and the bees would not leave it alone. Google it for images...really nice! I don't know about the nectar/pollen amounts or ratios, but I have never seen that bees go after anything so much! I also have fruit trees, salvias, bee balm, russian sage, lavender, raspberries, blackberries, flax, etc... no comparison! It also seeds heavily, so I gathered a ton of them last year and am planting it everywhere this year.


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## R Dewhurst

It looks like a cleome species. "This is Wild Cleome discovered by Lewis & Clark great for meadows. To 5 ft. for mid to late bloom. Annual." quote from everwilde co.


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## SantaFeBeek

Yes, very much like a cleome, but much larger than any cleome I've seen before. Thanks for the info.


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## R Dewhurst

available on amazon in seed form


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## Joel

I've had a single plant with over 30,000 honey bees visiting an hour - By far my bees prefer our honey plant when we are extracting and the exhaust fan isn't on -

Next after that has to be basswood in July. Not much else blooming and they hammer those trees. Good quality nectar - great honey


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## cg3

One that I see getting hammered is "Autumn Joy" Sedum.


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## jmgi

R Dewhurst, I know the thistle doesn't look all that great when it takes over, but the thistle I have in my area, I think it is Canadian thistle, is an excellent honey plant and provides lots of nectar after the clovers are about done. John


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## R Dewhurst

jmgi said:


> R Dewhurst, I know the thistle doesn't look all that great when it takes over, but the thistle I have in my area, I think it is Canadian thistle, is an excellent honey plant and provides lots of nectar after the clovers are about done. John


I do allow the globe thistle to grow, but this thistle is short and very invasive. not much of a flower to it. I did save some of the globe thistle seeds to plant though.


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## Alvin

i think bees like milkweed most. I have judge that they mostly like to sit in this flower. Honey bees sit many tyoes of flower to drink necter for making honey.


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## RCorl

Yellow Crownbeard, a nasty weed here in Virginia, is teeming with bees in the late summer/early fall. I think most of my winter stores came from this weed. Funny to think that a couple of years ago, I waged war with herbicides against this plant. I won some battles, but yellow crownbeard won the war!


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## Rob Hughes

Interesting thread....I tried some different bee plantings last summer, one that was very successful was coriander...I have never seen the bees so frenetic as when they were working it, kind of like they had just drunk Red Bull. It's easy to grow and self seeds a lot in year 2. Sunflowers were very good as they filled a gap here in September, but lots of bumble competition. Borage is great and I got some bulk seed for this year. You can jazz up your salads with the flowers too. This year I am planning bulk sowings of buckwheat, sweet clover and alfalfa - and a lot more coriander from jars from seed I saved from 2012.

Rob


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## Serendipidity

For bulk Borage go to seed savers exchange


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## spermoda

Caution: Borage will spread very quickly, and gets large and unwieldy if not cut back. Usually someone with a plant will be willing to collect seed or send seedlings along to you. -Sarah


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## Seymore

Garlic chives. It may not be their favorite but it does get throngs of them. I plant it everywhere because it blooms in our hot, humid summers when hardly anything else is. And it may not make great honey...but supers can be pulled beforehand.


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## woodsy

I don't see Buckwheat mentioned much here.
Planted some last year for cover crop on old garden areas and the bees were thick in 
it for weeks. The buzz coming from the buckwheat was amazing.


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## Seymore

Yeah, buckwheat is great cuz it goes to bloom so quickly from seed. I read it doesn't do well with clover. May have to choose one or the other??


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## Sharpbees

givesgoodemail said:


> Alsike clover and white clover are good. Honey bees can't deal with the depth of the red clover blossom.


I hear that about red clover all the time but my bees work it to death especially if we've had a heavy fog or misty rain.


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## muddymom

try J L Hudsman seeds its a great place to buy bulk and they carry seeds you have a hard time finding other places. I am ordering 3 different types milkweed, lemon balm and others on the list of plants for bees


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## Seymore

There is a difference between the two clovers. Crimson can be mistakenly called red. Latin names are wonderful. 

Red clover - Trifolium pratense
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/..._B0wAA&usg=AFQjCNHNPk5FgMKZZh8qtWRzyfcB_eV73Q

Crimson clover - Trifolium incarnatum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trifolium_incarnatum.jpg


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## delber

So do bees have a hard time with either of these types of clover? Red or Crimson? or are they both good?


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## Bougie

My bee love my loquat tree. It blooms when its starting to cool off and there is nothing else blooming. Also the Chinese tallow tree. Its a very invasive tree but bees cover them.


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## julysun

Japanese Ligustrum
Fast growing large shrub or small tree. White flowers in summer followed by black berries. Evg. ALS - 20'T x 15'W

The BEST!


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## Bougie

Thanks honey!!! Are we the only ones on the gulf coast on this topic. A lot of the plants they are talking about will not grow in 100% humidity(sp?). I think my kids have stopped growing b/c of this too. Just kidding. We over come it by eating. Eating makes us happy.


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## Bougie

Aaagggg!!!! I just looked up what you where talking about. Ligustrum is blooming now right? There are 5 50 yr old ones in my yrd now killing us very slowly. Even with eating our own honey my family gets no relief from the runny noses ect. You are correct in that every pollinator is on these trees(bushes) so it is the law of the most high queen bee(me) that they stay.


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## julysun

*BOUGIE*,
I forgot to mention the sneeze index! :lookout:


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## laurabonitahopkins

Last year I had a couple tomatillo plants growing in my garden and they were thick with honeybees. I've planted more this year since they seemed to like them so much. Plus you can make fantastic salsa with them!


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## Waggle

So which clover is the correct one for honey bees, crimson or red? better yet use the scientific name.


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## delber

I know they work white clover and I'm trying crimson this year, but the plants are too small. I'd be interested in this also.


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## muddymom

Try Americanmeadows.com they have a polinator mix plus you can order seed. Another for just seed is J.L.Hudson seedman. They carry seeds others don't.


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## julysun

*Laurabonitahopkins* Tomatoes are crazy when it comes to pollination, not bees, but timing, temp., and a stiff shake are required! :scratch:

http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/vege016/vege016.htm


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## kaeckman

KevinR said:


> Anyone have a source for bulk borage seeds?
> 
> Or any other bulk honey flower seeds.
> 
> Thanks


I got my Borage at the local greenhouse,they came in a bunch 5-6 in a pot . I took them apart and planted them to get a bigger plant.


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## ChasWG

I have 6 'Blue Mist Spirea' bushes in my backyard alone and another 4 in the front. They are a fairly xeric plant that produces anywhere from a light blue to almost black/blue flower in summer that honey bees love, love, love! After the bees hit them up they will produce a lot of seed and these bushes will spread like crazy if given the right conditions. They will also grow large if allowed, but honey bees go crazy on them here in Colorado. 

















They also seem to like the Salvias too, especially the dark purple ones, but they come in a lot of different colors. Again, another very xeric plant. One that needs very little water. Once they are established you basically don't bother watering them or they will get real leggy and flop over to the point that it looks like someone sat right in the middle of the plant. Otherwise they are a beautiful addition to any garden or yard.









California Poppies are very easy to grow, they reseed themselves almost to the point of being a weed and the bees love them.









Another xeric plant that the bees love is Lambs Ear. It grows wild here in the fields and it produces these long shafts of pink flowers. And rabbits don't like to eat these plants. So it's a win, win, win! 









And of course Galardia is super popular as well. Again, xeric, its very easy to grow from seed and comes in a lot of different colors.

















I live on the plains of Colorado and water here is a real issue. Xeric plants are a must have 

As for bee balm, bumble seem to like them best, but I have seen a few honey bees give it a go.


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## Jon11

Waggle said:


> So which clover is the correct one for honey bees, crimson or red? better yet use the scientific name.


Crimson is the correct one for honey bees. I don't know the scientific name. Plant it around the time wheat is planted in the fall. It will bloom next spring. This year it started blooming around April 20th here. It is an annual, but it can re-seed itself.


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## delber

I planted some this spring so I guess it won't bloom this year then? Perhaps next year I'll have a booming year. How long does it bloom for?


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## Jon11

I don't know if it will bloom this year or not. As far as how long, I wish I had paid more attention when ours was blooming. I'd say around three weeks. But I'm just guessing


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## a+blessed+life

We planted crimson clover last year, and the bees did not work it. This year we planted buckwheat---two thumbs up--they love it!! Also we planted blackberries. They have been working them for over a month.


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## spudrocket

My bees like my princess tree and my Chinese tallow


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## sheepdog

My girls really seem to like the flowers from my chives.


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## EastSideBuzz

This is what I got from american medows.

Good Morning,

Thank you for contacting American Meadows. I would be more than happy to assist you!

We do have a Honey Bee Wildflower Seed Mix, that would work perfect for what you're looking for! I will display the link below for you to reference. That's why we've created this special mixture you can plant to be part of the solution. It's packed with honey bee friendly long-blooming flowers and super-colorful quick-bloom flowers to make the bees work a little easier, and to reduce stress on our already-stressed hives. I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I may assist you with!

http://www.americanmeadows.com/honey-bee-wildflower-seed-mix?___store=default Honey Bee Wildflower Seed Mix

When we can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to write back or call us at 1-877-309-7333. We can be reached 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9-5 on Saturdays. Thank you for choosing American Meadows.

Best Regards,

Ashley


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## BayHighlandBees

I'm planting lavender from seed and growing rosemary from cuttings and giving them out to all my neighbors


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## woodsy

KevinR said:


> How many lbs per acre? Anyone that has planted borage, can it be broadcast?


I broadcast buckwheat and borage is suppose to be planted at the same one inch depth.
Trick is to keep the surface moist until it sprouts (5-10 days) at least and keep the wild turkeys out of it if
you have them . I've broadcast about 7 lbs of buckwheat over a 60'x60' area this spring because the dang turkeys found it
are woofing the stuff down before it has a chance to sprout. 
I did plant some borage also but because of the cost i put it down to the recommended 1" depth.


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## leite14

Mine go crazy over Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum). It's been a mid-late summer favorite. It's a native and hard to find in nurseries so I snatch up all I can find, whenever I can find it. I plant specimens in custers to encourage foraging since that's what the honeybees prefer. I used to spread out my specimens but no more. We have a lot of nectar sources in the yard and I only see our bees consistently working the Mountain Mint, Anise Hysop, and Dutch Clover. They'll "tinker" with our rosemary, blackberries, pink milkweed and lavendar. They ignore my Russian Sage, coneflowers, and other butterfly/ bumblebee plants. I bought 4 Korean Evodia and 2 Chaste trees for the future. I've heard great things about those.


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## bolter

Ours love clover, which I have throughout the garden area & in my lawn (on purpose). Have to mow the lawn in sections in the evening after the bees go to bed, but it is worth it. Planted some borage in a meadow area close to the house as I heard that bees love it - will see how it goes. They also love the lupins, which we have established in a meadow area.


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## Nick S.

Has anyone tried Cornus sericea (red osier dogwood) or Japanese Dwarf Maple? I'm just looking for a small tree or shrub that I'd be able to move around in the future when I do get my own place.


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## C-horsB

The poached egg plant is an annual, but Bees Just LOVE it, I know, funny name:lpf:

Good luck,
From Jajo


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## Mikect05

So several years ago now my wonderful GF bought me a beginner hive set up, but we are in a very residential area, our lot is less than a quarter acre, we have kids and many days we can have ten or so neighborhood kids in our yard so we decided not to get the bees and put the supplies away. A year or two went by, and one fall I decided to plant broccoli rabe for spring harvest. I spread the seeds out all through my garden in the beginning of September and we had some nice weather through October that year, and The rabe came up very thick everywhere. I was surprised to see that even though it died back somewhat it still stayed green all winter through below zero temps. In the spring we had some unseasonable warm weather in March and that rabe took off and my whole garden was yellow with it's flowers, I couldn't believe how many honey bees thousands upon thousand in this dense patch, There was such a buzzing as soon as I stepped out my door. I don't know if they were there for just the pollen or for the pollen and nectar but man they were loving it. 
So I said if I have hundreds of thousands of bees in my garden now, I might as well have a hive, so I talked to all my neighbors and had my first hive last year. I tried planting the rabe again last fall but I was a bit late and the cold weather came to quick so it never got going. I will try again this year, but for people in colder climates this might be a good thing to try to give your bees early pollen, The rabe def flowers for weeks on end and it come up very early.


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## sky_guy

Has anybody mentioned or had experience with sainfoin? While I don't have any personal experience yet, it seems that most sources report sainfoin to be one of the best honey bee plants there is. 

It's reported that sainfoin blossoms produce "copious amounts of nectar" (Pellett, F. C.: American Honey Plants) and blooms from May to July (Ogle, D: Plants for pollinators in the Intermountain West). Pollen is also produced in abundance, while honey made from sainfoin is of the "finest quality" (Dubbs, A.L.: American Bee Journal). It's also been reported that sainfoin attracts 10 times more honey bees than white clover (Rosov, 1952; McGregor, 1976; Kells, 2001).

I'm about to plant 23 acres of the stuff and start a bee farm next year, so I hope the reports are true!


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## Bee Matt

stevedc said:


> thanks dave, i have a good patch in my backyard and the bees are on them a lot. i built a swarm box and placed it in their flight path w/wax striped top bars and a little lemongrass oil. i'm hopeful. i also placed a jar of sugar water on top.


Did you have any luck collecting a swarm ?


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## heaflaw

Changing my vote from Borage to Niger. I had both blooming in side by side plots this summer and my bees were working Niger much more. I mowed it after the seeds had matured and it sprouted and bloomed again in September.


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## jfb58

I convinced my sister to keep a hive in her backyard, and the bees are covering ivy blossoms now. We had to look it up, because when it flowers, the shape of the leaves change, and it only happens when it is climbing something else. Horribly invasive, but at least a silver lining. Anyone know if the honey from ivy is any good?


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## DJW

Is there a quality rating for different flower’s nectar?
If they like it does it mean it has a better nutritional value?


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## Comper100

I have also done this to help my bees, I have Lavender and Rosemary on the go from cuttings. I plan to make some more seed bombs too and get them going in my local area


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## Teal

Mikescomic said:


> I would have to vote broccoli, I had some blooming last year all the way to the middle of November, resisting temperatures to 20 degrees. The bees were all over it. I know most folks harvest the heads before they go to seed, but I'm now planting it for the bees. When it's blooming, it can have a 1000 blooms a plant and the plant is very waxy being in the cruciferous family, I noticed the same phenomenon when some collards I had went to seed several years ago. I think the bees like it both for nectar and the wax to build comb. I currently have it growing under lights, hoping to have some blooming in the spring so I can attract a swarm to my yard with a waiting empty top bar hive. I know the bees already know where I live.
> 
> Mike


Oh yeah, I noticed that with my broccoli this year! I didn't get very many good heads so I just let the whole huge plant bloom and it was covered in very happy bees. It makes kind of a pretty bushy plant too, doesn't it? I'll have to plant it again this year, just for the bees.


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## ToeOfDog

Is Milkweed an invasive type of plant?


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## BayHighlandBees

ToeOfDog said:


> Is Milkweed an invasive type of plant?


it propagates itself like dandelions do (ie. seeds that disperse in the wind). Did that answer your question?


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## michkel

My bees were all over the manzanita blossoms. 

They also enjoy:
all of my fruit trees, but especially the orange
rosemary
raspberries
blackberries
lavender


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## nlk3233

I picked up 5lbs of this honey bee mix from Applewood Seed Co, I'll be putting it in the ground soon, so we will see how they like it. 
http://www.applewoodseed.com/product/honey-bee-flower-mixture/

Lots of others planned;
lots of borage, sunflowers, comfrey, marigolds, echium, and plenty I'm forgetting.


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## mharrell11

My bees like a Florida native we call a "Spider Wart". Blooms early every morning in the spring and the bees will choose to go to it before anything else.


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