- 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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- Author: Christine Casey
As we move into the heat of the summer, few plants show their value as bee plants for hot, dry gardens better than the salvias. Known by both their common name, sage, and their genus name, salvia, we have a tremendous number of these plants in the Haven for good reason. No bee garden should be without a salvia!
For gardeners interested in learning more about this group, two books are recommended. Long-time salvia fans will be familiar with The New Book of Savias: Sages for Every Garden (2003) by Betsy Clebsch. Newly published is The Plant Lover's Guide to Salvias by Northern California nurseryman John Whittlesdy. This book updates gardeners on many of the new species and cultivars in the trade and has great color photographs, including some with bees.
Salvias in the Haven
Here is a sampling of the salvias planted in the Haven. A complete garden plant list is here. Salvias do best in full sun, but can take partial shade (although flowering will be reduced). They need well-drained soil and little water, except as noted below. Most do best when cut back hard in the fall (except for the winter-bloomers, which should be pruned after flowering).
Cleveland sage, Salvia clevelandii. This uniquely-scented plant is a favorite of both bee and human visitors to the garden. A California native, it has soft grey-green leaves and purple flowers that bloom from May until late summer. There are a number of cultivars and hybrids with other native sages, many of which are only available through specialty nurseries and plant sales. Two that are most commonly used in gardens are the cultivars ‘Allen Chickering' and ‘Winifred Gilman'. Both are becoming more common in garden centers as customers look for drought-tolerant plant options. ‘Allen Chickering' grows to about five feet tall and wide, while ‘Winifred Gilman' tops out at about three by three. ‘Winifred Gilman' also has the deepest purple flowers of the group.
Brandegee's sage, Salvia brandegii. One of my personal favorites, this California native blooms from January through May and intermittently the rest of the summer. It provides vital early-season forage and is a bee favorite. Textured leaves add to its interest. It reaches about three feet tall with a spread of at least twice that. The cultivar ‘Pacific Blue' has lavender flowers while the species has white flowers.
Hummingbird sage, Salvia spathacea. Pineapple-scented leaves and bright pink flowers make this California native salvia a standout in the garden. More tolerant than shade of most sages, this is a good choice for planting underneath native oaks that cannot have summer water. Unlike other sages, it spreads by underground rhizomes and will colonize a large area.
Autumn sage hybrids, Salvia greggii; Salvia greggii x microphylla; Salvia hybrida. I couldn't begin to do justice to the diverse members of this group in one blog post. A few of the best performers at the Haven are ‘Hot Lips' (red and white flowers); ‘Lipstick' (red flowers); ‘San Carlos Festival' (bright pink flowers); and the Heatwave series (several flower colors).
Bog sage, Salvia uliginosa. Unlike most sages, this one needs regular moisture and part shade. At the Haven we grow it near one of our bee waterers to provide this; I've also grown it as a container plant. Tall flower spikes with light blue flowers distinguish this bee favorite, which can spread vigorously with the right conditions.
/span>/div>/span>- Author: Christine Casey
National Pollinator Week is here! If you like to eat, thank a pollinator. Honey bees and dozens of species of native bees are hard at work right now creating the fruits, nuts, and vegetables that make our diets nutritious and flavorful.
And when they're not working food crops, they are busy pollinating the plants that wild animals rely on for food and shelter.
Celebrate with us this week at the Honey Bee Haven's open house on Friday, June 20, from 5:30 to 7pm. We'll have free zinnia seeds for all visitors while they last, honey tasting, and informal tours with experts available to answer your bee and plant questions.
To learn more about National Pollinator Week and the amazing bees, here are a few web sites that may be of interest:
National Pollinator Week at the Honey Bee Haven
Learn more about bees: Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Bee gardening: UC Davis Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven and UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab
The University of Florida's Native Bee Nest Site project
Pollinator Week flyer
- Author: Christine Casey
“How many plants do I need?” “How should I space my plants?” are two of the common questions we hear at the Honey Bee Haven when visitors ask about designing their bee gardens. Among the factors ecologists use to evaluate how bees use a floral resource are patch size, floral diversity, and floral density.
Patch size is the area covered by the desired resource (flowering plants) in a habitat that is fragmented. Floral diversity is the number of different species of flowering plants in an area, while floral density is the number of flowering plants in an area.
For honey bees, patch size is key. The scout bees return to the hive and direct their sisters to a good resource. Honey bees are efficient foragers that will visit many flowers on one plant until they have a full load of pollen or nectar. By grouping all plants of a species into a singe patch rather than spreading them around the garden you help honey bees maximize the value of each trip to and from the hive. There is no hard and fast rule for a minimum patch size, although three feet square is an area often recommended by bee biologists.
Bumble bees, on the other hand, tend to move quickly from plant to plant. So large patches of one plant species are less important than dense patches with a diversity of flowering plants.
At the Haven we have examples of both planting styles.
Getting back to the questions posed at the beginning of the post: rather than worrying that you might not have a large enough garden or be able to provide the right mix of plants, just do it! Choose plants that will provide flowers for as much of the year as possible, with as much of the garden as you can planted with flowers. In the Davis area, bees are active year round so the Haven always has something in bloom. If the garden does include turf areas, which don't provide bee forage or habitat, try to plant your flowers so that they are in a continuous patch.