[shaneTX]

I'm looking for ways to research the sources to determine what plants my bees forage on in the spring and fall.
I always get the question from people I give honey to -- what kind of honey is this? And I respond -- Um.. the good kind? Because I don't know.

My hives are west of Houston Texas and surrounded by trees and bayous. I suspect the bees tend to get most of their nectar/pollen from trees in the spring and fall blooming flowers in the fall. I don't have fields of clover or lots of farmed fields around.

 

[Vance G]

Another answer is "all the sweet flowers in about 8000 acres! You are correct that your honey probably comes from trees. I do not know which ones in your area but in my area, Linden are a big resource. I imagine you have honey locust. Maples also supply nectar in bloom. Hopefully some pro in your area will give you an encyclopedia of your flowering plants. If you know of a commercial beek in your area, look him up and buy him a beer.

 

[Tim KS]

Fit them all with bodycams. :lpf:

 

[Boondocks]

I'm like you, I have no idea of what the honey source could be.
I did plant some buckwheat and got darker than usual honey with a stronger taste. But while the buckwheat was flowering the bees were also hitting the peach trees, the last of the wild pear trees, the sycamore, cherry, and the poplar. Then all the Chinese privet starts flowering and the bees start on that but the clover (white and Crimson) also attracts some of the honeybees.
Plus you could have some cotton, watermelon, soybeans, etc fields scattered around which they may use during the middle of the summer.
I think bees will fly around 2-3 miles looking for nectar, so you could have up to 9 square miles of coverage if the nectar is scarce in your area.

 

[chiara]

For nectar our biggest flow is in May/early June which is Chinese Tallow. Before that it is mostly wild flowers (clover, dandelions) and bushes like privot or waxleaf Ligustrum. In summer there is a limited amount from crepe myrtles, wild flowers (if we have rain) and other landscape plants. In October we get a late bloom in fallow fields of goldenrod and Groundsel/Saltbush (greenish silver bush with white flowers in the Aster family).

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/