Bees favorite plant

Is there one plant that honeybees just go crazy over?

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

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!

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

Borage,also know as star flower.

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.

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.

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

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/Norther...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

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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Beebalm?

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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.

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

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.

Anyone have a source for bulk borage seeds?

Or any other bulk honey flower seeds.

Thanks

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.

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.

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

Eden Bros. has borage 29.99 lb.

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

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.