- Author: Christine Casey
It wouldn't be spring without strawberries....or the bees that pollinate them!
California's strawberry crop was worth $1.8 billion in 2015; our state produces 88% of the US crop. Tasty and nutritious, they are high in vitamin C, potassium, iron, fiber, and antioxidants.
High-quality fruit takes teamwork: honey bees tend to pollinate the top of the flower, while wild bees pollinate the base. Bee pollinators of almonds include mason bees (Osmia spp.), honey bees (Apis mellifera), mining bees (Andrena spp.) and bumble bees (Bombus spp.).
Strawberries are easy to grow at home.....want to improve pollination and yield in your home garden? In one study, planting wildflower strips next to strawberry field increased bee flower visits by 25%. An easy way to achieve this is to interplant strawberries with herbs and let the herbs flower.
- 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.
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