# Best Type of Clover for HoneyBees



## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

Dutch clover (Trifolium repens) for lawns (think about local parks, community athletic fields, graveyards, etc.)

White clover (Melilotus albus) and yellow clover (Melilotus officinalis) are biennial plants that can grow to about 8 feet tall when they blossom in the 2nd year. Yellow clover blooms a few weeks before white clover, so having both will extend the season during which your bees can get nectar. Can naturalize along highway verges, on wastelands, and can of course be planted as a green manure (deep tap roots which harbor symbiontic nitrogen-fixing bacteria) if you've got acreage you can devote to it.

There's a variety of annual white clover called Hubam clover that reaches maturity (flowers) the first year it's planted, as opposed to the 2nd year.

Look at agricultural extension websites for more detailed information.


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## AWB (Feb 23, 2015)

What about trees. Like flowering crab apple.


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## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

For trees, you should be aware of a very different timeline... beekeepers that follow you may enjoy the benefits more than you because trees have long periods of time between being planted and the commencement of blooming and providing pollen and nectar. Importantly, where you're located should guide your choice of trees, because of the length and severity of winter, etc.

Some choices that may make sense (but probably all wrong for some places):

Pussy willow (Salix species)--an excellent source of pollen for spring buildup
Tilia species (known as linden in Europe and basswood in North America). Different species have slightly different bloom times and can extend the time that bees can gather nectar.
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum)
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Beebee tree (Tetradium danielli--also listed as 'Evodia') A good nectar source for the summertime when other nectar sources have dried up.

Bees will obviously appreciate any flowering tree from which they can get pollen and nectar, so pear, cherry, and apple would be visited by bees. I think that if you are planting it in a prominent place in your yard, you should enjoy it more than the bees--they'll fly several miles to visit flowers, but if you're going to be looking it out the kitchen window, you should be choosing it based on your desires, and not the bees'.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

While you are researching have a look at birdsfoot trefoil; not a clover but still a legume. It is a constant source all summer and will tolerate wetter and more acid soils. Excellent honey and slow to crystallize. The flower is not real easy for the bees to access so they will switch to something else but it is a good background nectar source. Cows love it but it is not a horses first choice. Not too likely to pig out on it and founder.


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## elmer_fud (Apr 21, 2018)

Another one for the list is a Linden tree.


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## mlanden (Jun 19, 2016)

I tried crimson clover last year; lots of bumblebee attention to the blooms, but I hardly ever saw a honeybee on any of them.


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## BattenkillJB (May 9, 2012)

The only clover that doesn’t work for honeybees is field red clover. No idea why but it is everywhere in my fields and have not seen one honeybee on this blossom.


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

Hubam clover is an annual, but much like regular white clover.

Crimson clover is good as well, can't say i've made a crop off of it, but the bees definitely work it well. Planted 50 acres and saw lots of bee activity on it.




Aaron


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Hubam clover is an annual, but much like regular white clover.

By "regular white clover" I assume you mean "white dutch clover" which is a perennial, not an annual.


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

No, i was speaking of White Sweet clover.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I use Dutch. Keeps coming back. Bees are always on it...


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## Richinbama (Jan 15, 2018)

Bersem sweet clover is good. I use white Dutch in my pastures. Cheap, perennial, and thrives in most soils with correct innoculant. My bees tear both up


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>No, i was speaking of White Sweet clover.

Typically white sweet is a biennial. Hubam is an annual.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

White sweet clover is a fantastic nectar producer here. Crimson and Dutch do well but are not on the same level.


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## Ferg (Aug 7, 2015)

look up Silver River Clover


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## blainenay (Oct 14, 2011)

capebee said:


> ...is there a type / variety of clover that works best with honeybees?


 Sweet clover (yellow or white) is great. It thrives without artificial watering here in the Utah desert. It has a long bloom season. The bees love it. It readily reseeds itself. The seeds are easy to harvest so you can plant other areas.


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## dadux (Feb 23, 2012)

The Red Clover flower is too long for the honey bee to access the nectar. Bumble bees can though.



BattenkillJB said:


> The only clover that doesn’t work for honeybees is field red clover. No idea why but it is everywhere in my fields and have not seen one honeybee on this blossom.


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## dadux (Feb 23, 2012)

All I have ever seen on my row of American Linden are lighting bugs.


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## samsr (Mar 11, 2019)

The linden trees here in colorado get covered up with bees when they bloom.


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## malonebeefarm (Feb 6, 2019)

Yellow and white sweetclover are fantastic for honey production, I believe about 700lbs/acre. Plant both, yellow blooms first, followed by white when the yellow done blooming. Plant this year, will not start growing to next year. Plant in low acidic soil, does not tolerate too much water. Planted 6 acres last year, this year it should do its thing. Sweetclover honey is a fantastic honey and bees are attracted to it like a duck on a June bug. Great nectar producing plant. Trees are great, but the problem it takes 5yrs to a 20 for most to start being a major producer. I prefer SourWood tree, great honey and loaded with nectar. Good luck!


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## McBee7 (Dec 25, 2013)

my bees really tear up the Alsike clover.
It's like the big brother of Dutch clover that lives in your yard.
and its also in the same family as Ladino clover.
All produce a VERY clear thick honey from theses white flowers that are sometimes fringed with pink...
These are often included (large percentage) of wildlife mixes and do well in wet areas.
A 50# bag will run about $150 to $200 at the feed/seed store but this is enough to seed several acres.
I supply my farmer friend a bag of this every couple of years to seed in the areas that freeze out in the winter in his 600 acre pasture.
I call it symbioses &) LOL

==McBee7==


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## Kelly65 (Mar 26, 2021)

BattenkillJB said:


> The only clover that doesn’t work for honeybees is field red clover. No idea why but it is everywhere in my fields and have not seen one honeybee on this blossom.


Bees cannot see the color red.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

White clover isn't 700 pounds per acre, lol.

Not even close. 

Perfect conditions, MAYBE 100 or 200 pounds per acre.


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## Boondocks (Sep 16, 2020)

I've been broadcasting Durana clover the last few years in my pasture. Very hardy and long life compared to common white clover. It will expand so watch were you plant it. I would check with a seed producer and see if it grows well in Massachusetts. I suggest (if you have not done so) doing some soil tests. Clover needs a PH in the upper range, it will not grow well in acidic soil. 









Durana Clover - Forage Seed | Pennington


Durana was developed specifically for persistence and grazing tolerance. It performs well as a companion forage with warm and cool season perennial grasses. Durana is widely adapted with excellent animal acceptance and performance.




www.pennington.com


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## Struttinbuck (Mar 8, 2020)

If your going to mow it. White Dutch only grows from 5 to 9 inches. And if you mow it at that higher level it keeps reseeding itself and you will have a snow white yard if you want it. I'm working on my yard and its taking over really quickly. Ive seen pics of people that almost quit mowing because it can take over so densely.
And if you like the wildlife like deer and rabbits. Yea......... Its really good for everything.


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## Jim Braun (Nov 8, 2019)

I believe another problem with red clover is almost all races of the European Honey bee is their tongue isn't long enough to work red clover.


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## Norcal Mtns (Mar 28, 2021)

McBee7 said:


> my bees really tear up the Alsike clover.
> ==McBee7==


Alsike is excellent for bees, but can be poisonous to horses - as little as 20% Alsike in a horse’s diet can be a problem. Cattle, sheep, etc. do not have problems, AFAIK. So I plant Alsike in areas where horses will not feed and New Zealand white where they might.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Jim Braun said:


> I believe another problem with red clover is almost all races of the European Honey bee is their tongue isn't long enough to work red clover.


Just wanted to point out that there is a difference between red clover and crimson clover. The bees do work crimson. A few years ago one of my mentees put a single hive in a 20 acre field of solid crimson clover. He ended up with eight hives by the end of Summer. The bees did really well!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

username00101 said:


> White clover isn't 700 pounds per acre, lol.
> 
> Not even close.
> 
> Perfect conditions, MAYBE 100 or 200 pounds per acre.


It was stated:
* Yellow and white sweetclover are fantastic for honey production, I believe about 700lbs/acre. *
This true according to my sources.
There is huge difference between the sweet clovers (e.g. White sweet clover) and the Dutch clover (a.k.a White clover). The sweet clovers beat the Dutch clover by a lot.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

BattenkillJB said:


> The only clover that doesn’t work for honeybees is field red clover. No idea why but it is everywhere in my fields and have not seen one honeybee on this blossom.


the why, is the honey bee tongue is to short.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Greg, I cannot find a source that states that yellow or white sweet clover will provide for more than about 450# per acre. A lot of the data is from a long time ago, this is the most recent I could find (from 2007).





Nectar productivity of melilots in Udmurtia, Russia


Отдел Пчеловодства Удмуртского государственного научно-исследовательского института сельского хозяйства



www.udmbee.narod.ru


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

JWPalmer said:


> Greg, I cannot find a source that states that yellow or white sweet clover will provide for more than about 450# per acre. A lot of the data is from a long time ago, this is the most recent I could find (from 2007).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Lots of sources.
OK, here is Wikipedia page about the *До́нник лека́рственный* (лат. Melilótus officinális).

Talking about 200-600kg of honey/hectar, depending the specific circumstances.
This is equivalent to 176-528lb/acre.
So given good conditions, the Sweet clovers can indeed kick some butt.
Given crappy conditions - not so much.
So it depends, of course.
But the potential is there - nothing to sniff at - I'd bet on the Sweet clovers every time over the Dutch clover IF have to choose. 
Sweet clovers beat the Dutch clover like 1:4 per the output in similar conditions.



> Из нектара, собранного с одного гектара дикорастущего донника лекарственного, пчёлы производят *200 кг меда*[3], а с одного гектара культурного донника — *600 к*г[4]. Даёт также много высококачественной пыльцы[3].











Донник лекарственный — Википедия







ru.wikipedia.org


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

JWPalmer said:


> Greg, I cannot find a source that states that yellow or white sweet clover will provide for more than about 450# per acre. A lot of the data is from a long time ago, this is the most recent I could find (from 2007).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


BTW, a great find - this digital library.
I just happen to know the area pretty well, almost went to this exact college there.... 

On the honey productivity topic - the particular region, Udmirtia, has poor soils (mostly just red clays without much organic matter) and typically cold and short summer by the US standards (about USDA zone 3).
The productivity numbers will be less than ideal as presented in "Nectar productivity of melilots in Udmurtia, Russia" because these are specifically for the particular region.

Still pretty impressive #s for the crappy area:

​
*Honey plants *​*Average amount of sugar in nectar of 1 flower, mg *​*Average amount of sugar in nectar on 1 hectare, kgs*​*Average honey-productivity on 1 hectare, kgs **Melilotus officinalis **0,091 ± 0,012*​*367,60*​*459,50*​*Melilotus albus Meli**0,099 ± 0,012*​*396, 0*​*495,0*​


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Gray Goose said:


> the why, is the honey bee tongue is to short.


This is correct. Also, people swear they see Honey bees on Red Clover, which is also true, but only after Bumble bees have cut or otherwise damaged the blooms.

Alex


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

GregV said:


> It was stated:
> * Yellow and white sweetclover are fantastic for honey production, I believe about 700lbs/acre. *
> This true according to my sources.
> There is huge difference between the sweet clovers (e.g. White sweet clover) and the Dutch clover (a.k.a White clover). The sweet clovers beat the Dutch clover by a lot.


Bees work our Hubam clover from morning until dark. The density of blossoms per square foot are much more dense than Dutch, also. The Hubam that reseeded last year is already 1 foot tall. I was very surprised that it survived that cold spell we had in Feb.
I have about 1.25 acre of yellow that should bloom this year. If it makes 200 lbs per acre I will be thrilled.

Alex


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

AHudd said:


> This is correct. Also, people swear they see Honey bees on Red Clover, which is also true, but only after Bumble bees have cut or otherwise damaged the blooms.
> 
> Alex


Alex,
there are bugs that bite into the side of the long tubular flower pedals.
In some cases enough to allow the bees to tap into the hole created and collect nectar.
so the honey bees do collect on the damaged flowers.

GG


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Gray Goose said:


> Alex,
> there are bugs that bite into the side of the long tubular flower pedals.
> In some cases enough to allow the bees to tap into the hole created and collect nectar.
> so the honey bees do collect on the damaged flowers.
> ...


That makes sense that bugs other than Bumble bees would do it also, I have never looked that closely. 
We have some patches of Red clover I am hoping the Yellow Sweet or Hubam will crowd out.

Alex


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## MajorJC (Apr 13, 2013)

> Flower Shape Matters The length of a bee’s tongue determines what sort of flowers it can forage on, and bee tongue lengths vary widely from one species to the next. Short-tongued bees (tongue less than 3 mm long), which include the primitive, near-hairless cellophane bees and the yellow-faced bees, are limited to flowers with shallow nectaries, like sunflowers, daisies, and plants in the carrot family. Honey bees fall into the mid-length tongue category (up to 8 mm) and can forage on a wide range of flower shapes and sizes (Figure 1). When they encounter nectaries that are too deep to reach, they are known to “nectar rob,” or access the nectary through a hole bored in the corolla or a space between petals. Bumblebees comprise the “long-tongued” group (9-20 mm), although there are a few short-tongued bumblebees as well. You can find bumblebees and carpenter bees sipping nectar from flowers with long, tubular corollas (e.g., penstemmon, certain salvias, and trumpet creeper) that seem to attract few other species of bees.


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