- Author: Christine Casey
Our mild California weather gives us the luxury of year-round gardening in most areas of the state. And warm enough for plants means warm enough for bees, whether it's honey bees from a local hive or native bees with queens that fly early, such as the black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus.
A great way to provide resources for bees in the winter is with winter-blooming annuals. Take a trip to most garden centers this time of year and you'll typically find calendula, Iceland poppy, pansy, primrose, and snapdragons, along with flowering vegetables like fava beans.
Poppies are great bee plants, and Iceland poppy is a winter bee favorite in the Haven. Plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, are also generally great for bees, and pot marigold (calendula) lives up to these expectations.
Surprisingly our English daisy, also in the sunflower family, fails to host many bees. Other common winter annuals that are not much used by bees are primrose and pansy.
Another great choice for winter bee forage is fava bean. Not only do the bees use it, their pollination will provide you with a nice crop of beans.
- Author: Christine Casey
Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.) are a diverse group of California native plants that serve as a great winter resource for bees, especially native bees that fly early such as Osmia spp. and Bombus melanopygus. They are shrubs (mostly) and groundcovers (a few) that should be used in more California gardens. The waxy green leaves, peeling bark, smooth reddish to mahogany branches, and upright leaves are attractive throughout the year. These plants have stomates on both sides of the leaf so leaves are held perpendicular to the ground, rather than parallel, to minimize sun exposure and water loss. Some begin flowering in late fall, while most flower in January and February. In my own garden these held up well to drought this summer without any supplemental watering.
The California Native Plant Society has a nice article on this group; I also use the websites of Las Pilitas Nursery and California Flora Nursery to learn about new species for inclusion in the Honey Bee Haven.
According to California Bees and Blooms, two of the best for bees are the Arctostaphylos densiflora cultivars 'Sentinel' and 'Howard McMinn'. These two are also among the easiest to grow and fastest to reach mature size; the former tends to be upright while 'Howard McMinn' tends to be more rounded in shape. It is also the most adaptable; this UC Davis Arboretum All-Star can tolerate heavier soils than most manzanitas as well as some summer irrigation. Two other great cultivars for gardens are 'Austin Griffiths' and 'Sunset'.
Manzanitas host a gall aphid, Tamalia coweni. The aphid lays eggs in manzanita leaves and hormones secreted by the developing aphid induce formation of a gall on the leaves. Cut these open to view the developing aphids inside; they are not considered to be a plant pest.
- Author: Christine Casey
On Veteran's Day we honor our military veterans. Like our bees, they work hard and make contributions that many of us take for granted. In recognition of their service, some agricultural and beekeeping organizations provide financial support and training to veterans who would like to make beekeeping their profession.
Our central California weather is conducive to year-round honey bee activity, so including plants that are blooming on Veteran's Day in your bee garden will support honey bees and the occasional native bee that may still be active. On any sunny day with temperatures over 55 degrees Haven visitors will see bees in the garden. Here are some of the red, white, and blue flowers you'll see them foraging on this time of year:
Red (bees do not see red but will use these flowers):
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) cultivars ‘Hot Lips' and ‘Lipstick'
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
White:
Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri)
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Early-blooming manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.). The cultivars ‘White Lanterns' and ‘Howard McMinn' are the two earliest bloomers at the Haven.
Blue (shades of blue to purple):
Bush germander (Teucrium fruticans)
Rosemary ‘Mozart' (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Mozart'); this rosemary cultivar has outstanding deep purple flowers
Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha); give it space, as it can reach up to eight feed wide in bloom
Aster (New World species are now in the genus Symphyotrichum, while Old World species remain in the genus Aster). All of the Haven's asters are New World species.
Click here see a complete list of plants in the Honey Bee Haven.
- Author: Christine Casey
Ask most folks about "fall color" and they'll picture trees turning shades of red, orange, and yellow. Here at the Haven, on the other hand, we think about all the plants that will bloom until frost. These provide honey bees with critical late-season honey-making resources; other bees and butterflies use these late bloomers as well.
I wrote about fall planting a few weeks ago. Here are some recent photos from the garden showing our version of "fall color."
Asters
Although they still go by the common name of aster, the New World plants in this group are now in the genus Symphyotrichum. Here's one of the largest, Symphyotrichum 'Bill's Big Blue' with many honey bees working its flowers. 'Bill' is a big guy, so be sure to give him plenty of room to spread and sprawl.
Ceanothus
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Pretty, easy-to-grow, and great for bees. What more could you want in a flower? We sow zinnia seeds directly into the garden. Do this in May for summer bloom and again in August for blooms that will go until frost.
- Author: Christine Casey
Nothing says late summer like sunflowers. No matter where they are growing -- a commercial crop, flowers in a garden, or volunteers by the side of the road -- this iconic yellow flower reminds us that fall is around the corner.
Sunflowers are visited by a variety of bees; these visits are so consistent that sunflowers are used as the sentinel plant in The Great Sunflower Project, a San Francisco State University-based citizen science project to monitor bees.
Among the bees that visit sunflowers are honey bees and a complex of California native bees known collectively as sunflower bees. Surveys in Yolo and Solano counties found that 25 species of native bees visited sunflower crops, with an average of 37% of visits from native bees (Fremontia (2002) 30 (3-4): 41-49). Other research in Yolo County showed an interesting behavioral interaction between introduced honey bees and the native bees that, on average, doubled the pollination service of the honey bees that are typically placed in sunflower crops (PNAS (2006) 103:13890-13895).
These native bees include Diadasia spp., Melissodes spp., and a perennial visitor to my own bee garden, Svastra obliqua. Visit the Haven's YouTube channel to see video of this bee leaving its overnight sleeping aggregation as it warms up in the morning.
Sunflowers and other fall-blooming plants provide critical resources for honey bees as they put up stores of honey for the winter. Join us at the Haven for our fall open house, October 3 from 5:30 to 7pm, to see these and other fall-blooming bee plants.
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