[beekeeper1756]

I was wondering what would be your top 3-4 plants for producing nectar in the south?

 

[Joseph Clemens]

Here in Tucson there are only two plants I consider good sources of nectar, mesquite and creosote bush, with mesquite far outstripping creosote bush.

 

[sqkcrk]

In southern NY, that would be, No. 1 Clover and No. 2 Goldenrod, w/ No. 3 being Aster, I believe.

 

[Specialkayme]

Tulip poplar is my #1 (and sometimes only) honey producing plant.

Kinda difficult to plant it though. Takes years for it to fully establish.

 

[Jerry Kinder]

Around my home in Hacienda Heights California I have Purple Sage brush and Red Apple ground cover. They both bloom most of the summer and the bees love them.

 

[Bens-Bees]

Clover, Basswood, Sourwood, Goldenrod (I leave that honey for the bees though, I just don't care for it)

 

[KQ6AR]

We get a strong surplus flow when the privets bloom in June-July.

 

[heaflaw]

tulip poplar, holly, blackberry, clover, sourwood. None are consistant yearly.

 

[max2]

"We get a strong surplus flow when the privets bloom in June-July."

What does Privet honey taste like? There is a lot of the plant near me and the flowers stink - what about the honey?

 

[khaas15]

I live off a prarie in Illinois and my top plants are milkweed, thistle, and goldenrod. For trees my top producers are linden and black locus.

 

[NewBee2007]

"We get a strong surplus flow when the privets bloom in June-July."

What does Privet honey taste like? There is a lot of the plant near me and the flowers stink - what about the honey?

I would also like to know what privet honey tastes like. A friend of mine who just moved into a new house this past year told me that the bushes (which she has been told is some unknown specie of privit) at her new house were loaded with bees this Summer and they are still blooming. She was going to try to start some shoots for me to plant so that I could have try to plant it and have it for me bees to forage on next year, so I am curious as to what the honey might tastes like. (....Not that I have gotten to harvest any yet anyways... 4 years and still waiting.)

 

[chillardbee]

Here in the Fraser Valley, southern BC, the top 4 would be maple, blue berries, black berries/raspberries (blackberries most common, it's a weed), clover. Wild cherries and dandilions fortify the maples and fireweed from mid july to end of summer if your willing to move em' to the mountians. The fireweed is by far the best producer given the right year while the clover is the best in the valley.
Most of our flows here overlap each other and very seldom will there be a break or dearth. If not moved to the blueberries there will be a 4-6 week period where there will be very little or just enough for them to earn a living.