- 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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