Best Plants For Bees

What characteristics of plants to bees prefer? The best plants for bees are flowers with single blossoms. Bees are a part of our landscape in which we all rely on each other for survival. Bees play a part in every aspect of our ecosystems that allows different species to co-exist by pollinating plants.

Bees are a very important part of our landscape. They are busy hardworking insects. They collect nectar from flowering plants all over the landscape. Bees are especially important in the agriculture community. Farmers rely on them to pollinate the field crops

What do Bees Use Pollen and Nectar For

Honey bees are vegetarians. They collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants. This is the entrée for their dinner. They convert the sugary liquid nectar to honey which they use as a source of carbohydrates. The pollen they collect and store on their legs. Bees take the nectar and pollen back to the hive. They stuff them into little combs where it gets processed into honey. Honey provides the bees with everything they need. They get energy in the form of carbohydrates. The pollen is their source of protein and fat they need for flight, maintenance to the colony, and general day-to-day life.

What Flowers Do Honeybees Like

Purple Flowers:

Bees can see the color purple more than any other color, and some of the best bee plants have purple flowers. These plants include lavender, alliums, buddleia, and catmint. Bees do like other flowers so they are important too.

Single Bloom Flowers

Double flowers are not a top choice for bees. They have many petals. The bees have

trouble getting to the central part of the flower, where the nectar and pollen are. Roses

come in single and double, so if you are a bee lover, choose the single-bloom variety.

Tubular Shaped Flowers

Tubular-shaped flowers attract garden bumblebees. They have a long tongue that can get into the flower. These same flowers attract hummingbirds as well. These types of flowers include foxglove, honeysuckle, penstemon, and snapdragons.

The Best Flowers to Plant For Bees

If you want to support honeybees, plant a wild-flower garden with plenty of flowers. This will be wonderful for them. When you see a bee on a flower, it is feeding itself because it is hungry. So what flowers should we grow that will be the best choice for them? Here is a list of a few of them:

Mondarda (Bee Balm)

– perennial – late spring blooms

As the name implies this plant definitely has something to do with bees. It actually got its name as it was used to treat bee stings. Bees love this flower. They are aromatic and have long-lasting flowers that can last up to eight weeks.

Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea purpurea)

– perennial Late Spring/Summer blooms

This is a beautiful daisy-type flower that attracts honeybees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. It is a common plant at garden centers in the spring and each year, new colors are introduced. This plant will grow between 2-5 feet. It does not like to dry out. Once established they produce plenty of flowers.

Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

perennial Summer blooms

The black-eyed Susan is a very common plant that grows as a wildflower in many areas. An improved cultivar is available in the spring at most garden centers in the perennial section. It is an easy-to-care-for plant. It grows 2-4 feet and likes the sun.

Liatris

perennial summer blooms

This is a beautiful purple spiky flower with shiny green foliage that fans out from the main stem of the flower. They can also be purchased at a garden center in the spring. It starts as a seed and forms a tuber.

Goldenrod

perennial summer blooms

This is a very hardy plant that grows in ditches and untended meadows and fields. This plant attracts honeybees, is fantastic to use in companion planting, and can thrive in poor dry soil. It is easy to care for. People refer to it as a weed (any plant that grows super easy is considered a weed). People blame this plant for causing hay fever but it does not. They mistake it for ragweed which blooms at the same time.

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium)

perennial – fall bloomer

A fall-blooming perennial for our honeybees to be fed late into the season is Joe Pye Weed. It grows very tall and should be planted in the back of a garden. It is relatively low maintenance and sweetly scented.

Here is a list of some more flowers that honeybees would love.