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Does anyone plant Crepe Myrtle for bees?
Dad has several out at the farm and the wild bees were working them like crazy a few weeks ago. I picked some seed and plan on starting a few around the house. They bloom late and fill the void for late summer/early fall.
It can't hurt. I have some at work near my bees. Plus - they bloom a long time during summer. Looks to be mainly a pollen source, but the bees were loading up. Minus - about 12pm they shut down.
Bees will work CM, but not heavily. Make sure the blooms are white or a light color.
Mine is red and they barely touch it. They constatly work my basil, I have a bed with about 5' of it. They were working it today at 73F.
White generally blooms first. By planting an assortment of colors, you can extend the bloom period more than a month. AM is correct.
Walt
The one I took the seed from is light color, either white or lite pink.
Basil? That would add a little flavor to the honey.:lookout:
Well they are Italian bees... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmidwest
i have several large crape myrtles with red flowers. my bees don't touch them.
I have a white and a red crepe myrtle. The honey bees go to both of them. I always thought bees did not hit red flowers because the cannot see red, however I get as many on the red as the white and they are about 100 yards apart, so it is not because of proximity.
Crepe Myrtle is very easier to root. Just cut a small branch off and stick it in a pot and keep moist. No need to try and grow one from seed. Even if you don't have a green thumb you can root Crepe Myrtles.
I tried to root one a few weeks ago, and the branch just wilted and died a few days later.
I was going to dig up a few when they go dormant and transfer them then.
Plant white and pink. Like Fannbee said. I suspect that the less hybred trees will supply the most nectar, all will supply pollen. My bees don't work red or pink. :)
My bees like the greek thyme in front of my hives. What kind of Basil do youhave, Mike?
Meridith
You don't have to root a piece of plant growth. Dig up a six-inch section of root and stick 3 inches of it in the ground where you want a new plant. The in-gound half puts out roots and the above ground half puts out plant growth. Roots are color true.
Walt
Best results for rooting Crape Myrtle comes in January or February. Cut off the long straight shoots that come from the base of the tree and plant about 6 to 12 inches deep. Nursery growers do this straight into the rows of soil. Rooting hormone will help. I have seen commercial growers using shoots 8 to 10 feet long.
It is the most planted shrub in OKC because of the long bloom (all summer) and the fact that they are bulletproof, there are thousands of them with in 2 miles of me, however I have only seen bees work them for pollen. If they work them for nectar I have never witnessed it. It is, on the other hand, a great shrub for catching swarms, my bees love to swarm into mine.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...onge/Swarm.jpg
I dug up a few roots last week when I was out at the farm. They are already sprouting in the pots I planted them in our kitchen. I will put them out in the spring.
I saved some seed, but have not planted them. One thing we noticed, there were not seeds sprouting up near the main plant. Obviously harder to start them from seed.