# This years flowers for the bees.



## SueBeeTN (Mar 2, 2012)

Nice pictures! Did you plant all that just for your bees?


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## R Dewhurst (Dec 22, 2012)

yes. they had a play ground for most of the year.


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## TxGypsy (Mar 17, 2012)

Do sunflowers produce much nectar? I had planned on planting sunflowers for chicken feed this year. If sunflowers produce a lot of nectar I'll be planting a lot of sunflowers.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

Sunflowers produce plenty of nectar as well as a good deal of pollen.
The middle of the flower is a compound blossom; every place that produces a seed has a nectary.

Hybrid sunflowers are the exception though: many produce little or no pollen.
I don't know if/how hybridization affects nectar production.

Excellent choice for feed, btw.
They've an excellent nutrition profile, and our chickens loved the seedheads, leaves, and roots, but didn't eat the stalks.
The leaves are an excellent calcium source.


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## TxGypsy (Mar 17, 2012)

Any suggestion on a sunflower variety? I was thinking of planting black oil sunflowers.


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## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

I plant the multi-colored ornamental tall types and the bees just go crazy for them. To my eye they produce more nectar and pollen than the black oil types.
Dave


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

One thing to keep in mind with sunflowers......the honey sugars quickly. I grew up in North Dakota when Sunflowers were king. The honey that we would get would always sugar within a couple months.


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## TxGypsy (Mar 17, 2012)

Thanks Dave. Since I am trying for a dual purpose crop, nectar and chicken feed, I may try the more feed oriented varieties. I may plant a patch of the ornamental variety up close to the house and see which the bees tend to work the most.

Thanks for the info LeonardS. I would assume that it would be fine for bee food. I'm more focused on raising bees than producing honey and being able to use it as stores in nucs would be fine with me.


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

Tx, then I think either confectionery or oil sunflowers would work fine for you.....and the bees will stay busy with them!


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

TxGypsy
Black oilseed should give you and excellent feed value for both your chooks and your bees

From research I did on the subject, I concluded it's a better poultry feed value than confection or ornamental types sunflowers.


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## R Dewhurst (Dec 22, 2012)

These were black oil type from the bulk bin at the local farm store. .89 per lb. put in the 2 row planter and run them. cultivated twice and they got tall enough to keep the weeds down. you could literally hear the buzzing from all the bees.


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