By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine
In response to our blog listing Nectar Plants for Honey Bees, Jim Fischer of The Gotham City Honey Co-Op commented that we should “Consider simply planting a tree that flowers. One Linden tree or Tulip Poplar tree will provide more nectar than a half-acre of the plants listed above.”
Though space for more trees is at a premium in most gardens, his point is well taken, and I promised to follow up with the following list of trees that honey bees forage for nectar and pollen. Such lists vary hugely from region to region, and while this list reflects my experience in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve included many trees that are widely adaptable.
Because honey bees don’t fly at temperatures much under 55° F, I start my list in February (the first month in my area whose daytime temperatures regularly rise into the 50s) and end it in November, when daytime temps drop from the 50's into the 40's. Where you live, flowering times may vary, but the order will be the same.
This list is heavy with spring-flowering trees for two reasons. First, because that's when most trees flower. Second, Fischer told me that the nectar of spring-flowering trees has generally higher sugar content than that of summer-flowering trees to attract pollinators. That lets bees fill the hive with honey early.
February
Autumn-flowering cherry (Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’)
Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume)
Pussy willows (Salix species)
March
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia)
Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana)
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)
European pear (Pyrus communis)
Flowering cherries (mostly Prunus x subhirtella, Prunus x yedoensis, and Prunus sargentiana varieties)
Flowering plums (mostly Prunus blireiana and Prunus cerasifera varieties, pictured at right)
Pears (Pyrus communis)
Plums (Prunus domestica)
Pussy willows (Salix species)
Saucer magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana)
Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)
April
Apple (Malus pumila, pictured at right)
Asian pear (Pryus pyrifolia)
Crabapple (Malus)
Eastern dogwood (Cornus florida)
Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
Flowering cherries (mostly Prunus serrulata varieties)
Flowering plums (mostly Prunus cerasifera varieties)
Goldenchain tree (Laburnum x watereri)
Hawthorn (Crataegus)
*Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Peach (Prunus persica)
Plum (Prunus domestica)
Saucer magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana)
Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)
Sweet bay (Laurus nobilis)
May
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Carolina silverbell (Halesia carolina)
Crabapple (Malus hybrids)
Dove tree (Davidia involucrata)
Eastern dogwood (Cornus florida, pictured at right)
Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)
Goldenchain tree (Laburnum x watereri)
Hawthorn (Crataegus)
Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa)
Red horsechestnut (Aesculus x carnea)
Spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus)
June
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Japanese snowdrop tree (Styrax japonicus, shown at right)
Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)
Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa)
Locust (Robinia x ambigua)
Privet (Ligustrum)
Tulip tree, aka tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
July
Common catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides)
Littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata)
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
August
Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
Silk tree or mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)
Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
September
Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
October
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo, pictured at right)
November
Autumn-flowering cherry (Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’)
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
Sunset.com has published a huge number of items about bees in its One-block-diet blog and in the magazine itself. For more information about how to grow the plants in this post, go to Sunset's Plant Finder.
*Californica buckeye (Aesculus californica) pollen produces fatal mutations in honey bees. Some fear that horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) might do the same because it's a cousin of the buckeye. If you know of any evidence one way or the other, please post a comment to that effect. Thanks.
