- Author: Christine Casey
Some of the best all-around plants for bees and beneficial insects in the California garden are the buckwheats, Eriogonum spp. Native to California, a selection of just a few species will provide bloom for most of the spring and summer in even the hottest and driest of gardens. These durable plants grow in full sun to part shade and require well-drained soils; plant them on berms to achieve better drainage in heavy soils.
This large genus includes over 125 species, one of the largest genera of California natives. About a dozen of these are sold for landscape use, including both coastal and interior species. The Haven's buckwheat plants host smaller bees along with a diversity of insect natural enemies and butterflies.
Buckwheats in the Haven
California buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum. This plant's slender leaves look similar to rosemary. Roughly four feet tall and wide, this plant has varying growth habits from upright to arching. The latter will root where stems touch the ground. It is covered in small white flowers tinged with pink from June to fall; they turn a rusty red at the end of the season for additional color. Prune back about halfway each fall to keep a dense shape. Native to chaparral regions in the southern half of the state.
Saint Catherine's lace, Eriogonum giganteum. This UC Davis Arboretum All-Star shrub reaches six to eight feet tall and wide; add another foot in each direction for the showy flower stalks. This plant works as a specimen or grouped as a hedge. As with California buckwheat, it flowers from June to fall and then the flowers turn a rusty red. Prune each fall to keep a compact shape and prevent the plant from becoming woody; it will not re-sprout from woody stems. Native to chaparral regions in the southern half of the state.
‘Ella Nelson's Yellow' naked buckwheat, Eriogonum nudum ‘Ella Nelson's Yellow'. Haven visitors have seen this plant's bright yellow flowers for the past three months. The common name comes from its growth habit: the plant dies back to the ground in winter and flower stalks often emerge before the foliage. Cut back spent flowers to encourage additional blooms and prevent numerous seedlings if these are not desired. Native from the coast to the Sierra.
Red buckwheat, Eriogonum grande var. rubescens. Delightful raspberry colored flowers cover this plant in June. It grows to a three-foot wide mound and tends to be relative short-lived in gardens. Native to the Channel Islands, in the Davis area it does best with afternoon shade and water every two to three weeks.
- Author: Christine Casey
To mark National Pollinator Week, June 16-22, 2014, join us for an open house at the Honey Bee Haven on Friday, June 20, from 5:30 to 7pm.
Here's your chance to talk to experts about bees and bee gardens; all visitors will take home a free pack of zinnia seeds while they last. Our best heat-tolerant and water-wise bee plants will be in bloom so this will be a great opportunity to learn more about buckwheats, salvias, yarrows, and other bee plants that thrive in our hot, dry summer weather.
The garden is located on Bee Biology Road near the campus airport. From Hutchison Drive, take Hopkins and make the first right onto Bee Biology Road; the garden is at the end of the road. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
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.
- Author: Christine Casey
The May bee plant of the month is the rose. While many plants in the rose family are well-used by bees, few have as much appeal in the garden as roses. Rose family crops pollinated by bees include almonds, apples, strawberries, and raspberries. In addition to these crops, the Haven features a number of landscape plants in this family: Catalinia cherry, creambush, mountain mahogany, ninebark, spirea, toyon, and Washington hawthorn.
When selecting roses for a bee garden, choose plants with single flowers. 
Roses in the Haven include the Arboretum All-Star butterfly rose, Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis', the California rose, Rosa californica, and the Nootka rose, Rosa nutkana. The foliage of all is used by leafcutter bees in nest construction. The butterfly rose, which reaches up to 6 feet tall and wide, blooms from early spring until frost. Flowers are a mix of yellow, pale pink, and deep pink. The California and Nootka roses are California natives that grow naturally in riparian areas. These two are covered with pink flowers in spring and spread to form dense thickets that can make a useful barrier along fences or under windows. All three roses are water-wise and will grow with a deep soaking every few weeks.
- Author: Christine Casey
National Public Gardens Day is fast approaching! Join us at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on May 9 from 5:30 to 7pm. Events include:
- A free sunflower plant for all visitors while they last
- Honey tasting
- A garden tour at 6pm
Honey Bee Haven Open House flyer May 9, 2014
