Bees, Beneficials and Blooms
~Marie S. Rojas
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SPRING– Trees & Shrubs
Oregon GrapehollyMahonia aquifolium: Native evergreen shrub 3 – 6’. 1 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees also visit. Fragrant yellow flowers in March, blue fruit in summer. Good for shady areas; moist, well-drained, acid soil. Severe winter wind damage.
Leatherleaf Mahonia Mahonia bealei: More structural, less wind damage. Flowers/fruits earlier – Jan/Feb, so even more crucial for early season nectar.
Cornelian CherryCornus mas: Native, large shrub/small tree, multi or single stemmed, 12 – 15’. 2 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble and other native bees also visit. Blooms in March, for 3 weeks. Sun to part shade, adaptable to soil types/pH.
Red Maple Acer rubrum: Blooms March; Native, 40-50’, Sun to part shade, tolerates wide range of soils. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Good for mason, mining, and sweat bees; hover flies.
Ornamental Cherry Prunus ‘Okame’: Blooms April, 15 – 25’. 4 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees also visit. Full sun to part shade, soil tolerant, somewhat drought tolerant.
Pussy Willow Salix caprea: Large shrub/small tree, 10-20’. Blooms in March. 2 star nectar, 4 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, mining and sweat bees; wasps, syrphid and tachinid flies also visit. Sun to part shade, moist/wet.
Downy ServiceberryAmelanchier arborea, Shadblow ServiceberryAmelanchier Canadensis: Native, multi-stemmed large shrub/small tree, 6 – 20’. Blooms March/April.1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Good for spring mining, and sweat bees, also hover and tachinid flies. Red berry June/July, moist or dry soils, full sun to part shade. Soil adaptable, sun to part shade.
Allegheny Serviceberry Amelanchier laevis: Native small tree 15 – 25’. Blooms a bit later. Berries are blue-black when ripe and were eaten by Native Americans. Many different hybrids and cultivars available.
Flowering Quince Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Toyo-Nishiki’: Dense, thorny shrub, 6-10’. Blooms for 2-3 weeks in April. 3 star nectar source and 2 star pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees also visit. Sun to part shade, drought tolerant, soil adaptable.
Japanese Kerria Kerria japonica: 3-6’, slender green stems. Blooms April. 1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees also visit. Partial to full shade, deer resistant, tolerant of dry and wet soils.
Zumi CrabappleMalus zumi ‘Calocarpa’: Blooms April/early May. 4 star nectar, 3 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, digger, and sweat bees also visit. 12-20’ tall, full sun, resistant to rust, scab, and powdery mildew.
Prairifire CrabappleMalus ‘Prairifire’: Blooms April/early May. 15-20’; pink flowers, reddish leaves. Fireblight, scab, powdery mildew, and rust resistant.
Pink Princess CrabappleMalus ‘Parrsi’: Natural dwarf, 8’; low spreading. Blooms April/early May. Excellent disease resistance!
American Holly Ilex opaca: Native evergreen to 40’. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees, wasps and flies also visit. Blooms May. Separate male and female plants – use 1 male for every 2 – 3 females (nectar in both). Sun to part shade in well drained, acid soil. ‘Maryland Dwarf’ – 3’ tall x 10’ wide.
Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosum: Native shrub 6 – 12’. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Excellent for bumble, mason, plasterer, and mining bees; hover flies. May flowers are “buzz-pollinated” by bumble bees. Full sun to part shade; moist, high-organic, acidic soil.
Lowbush BlueberryVaccinium angustifolium: Native, low growing groundcover shrub. 12 – 24”, spreading via roots. Very tolerant of dry soil.
American ElderberrySambucus Canadensis: Native, dense, twiggy, large shrub 5 – 12’. 1 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Good for little carpenter and sweat bees; syrphids flies. Flowers May-June, blue fruit Aug/Sep. Found in hedgerows, along stream banks. Dry to wet soils, sun to part shade, spreads by root suckers to form colony.
European Elderberry Sambucus nigra Black Lace™: Purplish-black foliage, pink flowers, blackish-red fall berries, 8 x 6’. Full sun for best color. Non-suckering, blooms a little earlier than native. Both species are good nest site for little carpenter and mason bees, which tunnel into soft pith of broken stems.
HawthornsCrataegus species: Resistant selections from native species. Bloom May-June. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Good for bumble, mining, sweat bees; hover flies and predatory wasps. Tolerate a wide range of sites and adverse conditions; spring planting in full sun recommended.
Crusader Hawthorn - C. ‘Cruzam’: 15-20’ x 20-25’; pollution tolerant, disease resistant, very few thorns.
Washington Hawthorn - C. ‘Winter King’:25-30’ x 20-30’; a bit broader andslower growing than Cruzam.
Crimson Cloud English HawthornCrataegus laevigata ‘Superba’: 20’ x 15 – 25’ wide. Blooms in May. Tolerates drought, occasionally wet soils, adaptable to many soil types/pHs. Disease resistant.
Oakleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia: Native shrub, 4 – 8’. Blooms May – July. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble bees and syrphid flies also visit. Sun to part shade, well-drained soil; fairly tolerant of dry soil. Burgundy fall color.
Black Tupelo, Blackgum Nyssa sylvatica: Native tree, 30-50’. Non-showy blooms May-June. 4 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. A survey of insects visiting blackgum blossoms in Maryland found 46 bee species, including bumble, leaf-cutter, mining, plaster, and sweat bees! Sun to part shade, dry to wet soil, beautiful orange-red fall color.
Perennials
Stinking Hellebore Helleborus foetidus: Blooms Feb – April, 1 – 3’. 3 star nectar and pollen source; bumble bees also visit. Of all hellebores, this species most visited by honey bees. Evergreen leaves, deer resistant, grow in humusy soil in part to full shade.
Spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana: Native, 2 – 4’. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble bees, sweat bees, and syrphid flies also visit. Blooms May – June, partial to full shade, average soil. Can cut back after blooming to encourage a fall bloom.
Bulbs
Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis: Blooms Jan – Feb. 2 star nectar, 3 star pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees also visit.
Winter AconiteEranthis hyemalis: Blooms Jan – Feb. 3 star nectar and pollen; bumblebees also visit.
Crocus species: Blooms Feb-March. 2 star nectar, 3 star pollen; bumble bees also visit.
SUMMER– Trees & Shrubs
Winterberry HollyIlex verticillata: Native, deciduous, dense/twiggy shrub 3 – 10’. Blooms in June. 4 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, and mining bees and flies also visit. Native to swampy areas, prefers acidic (4.5 - 6.5) high organic matter soils in sun to part shade.
Purple Beautyberry Callicarpa dichotoma: Arching, 3 – 4’ shrub. 4 star nectar, 1 star pollen source for honey bees; bumble and sweat bees also visit. Pretty habit with striking berries in the fall. Smaller and more refined than native.
American Beautyberry Callicarpa Americana: Coarse native shrub, 3 – 8’. Both bloom in June; do well in sun to part shade, average soil.
Little-leaf Linden Tilia cordata: 50 – 70’. Blooms in June. 5 star nectar, 3 star pollen source for honey bees; bumblebees also visit. Full sun to part shade, soil adaptable, drought tolerant. Tilia tomentosa reportedly slightly toxic to bumblebees, not honey bees.
Sourwood Oxydendrum arboretum: Native tree, 20 – 50’. Blooms in July. 4 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees; native bees also visit. Sun to part shade, moist, rich, acidic soil (like rhododendron). Beautiful red fall color.
Summersweet Clethra alnifolia: Native shrub, 3-8’. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble and sweat bees; wasps, hover and tachnid flies, beetles, also visit. Blooms July – September. Full sun to heavy shade, wet to average soil.
Perennials
Tickseed Coreopsis species: C. verticillata ‘Zagreb’- more visits than species! 24 species of bees/syrphids. Blooms May – June; 1 – 1.5’.
C. lanceolata 13 bees/syrphids. Blooms May – July, 1 – 2’.
C. rosea 12 bees/syrphids. Blooms June – Sept, 1.5 – 2.5’.
All are 1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Like full sun; average to dry soil except rosea, which needs consistently moist soil.
Obedient Plant Physostegia virginiana: Native, 3-4’. Blooms June – September. 1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble bees also visit flowers. Sun to part shade, average soil, deer resistant.
Swamp MilkweedAsclepias incarnate: Native to moist/wet areas, pink blooms June – Aug, 2 – 4’. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, long-horn, plasterer and sweat bees visit flowers. Lacewings, lady and soldier beetles, tachinid flies, minute pirate bugs, parasitic and predatory wasps visit.
Full sun, pretty tolerant of drier conditions.
Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa: Native, 2-3’. Blooms July – September. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Digger, leaf-cutter, and sweat bees; wasps also visit. Full sun, dry poor soil.
Scarlet Beebalm M. didyma: Native; good in wet/rich soil.
Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa: Native to dry/poor soil areas. Blooms July – Aug, 2 – 3’. Both like sun to part shade. 2 star nectar, 1 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, digger, mason, leaf-cutter, long-horned and sweat bees; predatory and parasitic wasps, hover flies, and soldier beetles all visit.
M. x ‘Peter’s Fancy Fuchsia’ – had second-highest counts.
Monarda d. ‘Jacob Cline’ – least number of visits.
American Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum Native, 2 – 3’.
Clustered Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum muticum Native, 1 – 3’.
Blooms July – September, full sun to part shade, average soil. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, cuckoo, and sweat bees; tachinid and hover flies, wasps, and beetles visit.
Highest number of insect visitors in Penn State Extension Pollinator trial – 51 insects noted in 2 minutes!
Joe-Pye Weed Eutrochium purpureum (Eupatorium purpureum): Native, 4 – 8’. 2 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, carpenter, leaf-cutter, and longhorned bees; wasps. Blooms August - September. Sun to part shade, moist soil, but fairly tolerant. E. dubium ‘Little Joe’ – a smaller form, 3’.
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia species: Native, blooms June to October. Many varieties available from 1’ – 3’ or taller. 1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Mason, bumble, mining, sweat, and leaf-cutter bees visit the flowers. Predatory plant bugs, lady beetles, hover and tachinid flies, predatory and parasitic wasps visit. Likes hot, sunny, dry.
Annuals
TickseedCoreopsis tinctoria: Native, 2 – 3’. 1 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees. Long and short tongued bees, wasps, flies, and beetles also visit. Blooms June - September. Likes hot, dry, average soils in full sun.
Cosmos: C. bipinnatus – Cool colors, to 5’. C. sulphureus – Hot colors to 3’.
Both 1 star nectar and pollen sources for honey bees. Bumble bees, lacewings, hover flies, parasitic wasps. Bloom June to frost. Both like full sun, average to dry soil.
Indian Blanket Gaillardia pulchella: Native, 1 – 1.5’. Blooms June to frost. 2 star nectar and 1 star pollen source for honey bees; native bees, lady beetles, lacewings, hover flies also visit. Full sun, dry poor soil.
FALL – Trees & Shrubs
Seven-Son Flower Heptacodium miconoides: Large multi-stemmed shrub or small single stem tree, 15-20’. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees; bumble and mason bees also visit. Blooms late August through September. Sun to part shade, soil adaptable, drought tolerant.
Glossy Abelia Abelia x grandiflora: Semi-evergreen shrub, 3 – 6’ tall. Blooms June until frost. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen for honey bees*; bumble bees also visit. Full sun to half shade, soil adaptable, drought tolerant.
Sedum: 3 star nectar, 3 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble bees, hover flies, parasitic wasps also visit. Bloom summer to fall, depending on species. Full sun to part shade, average to dry soil.
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’: 1 – 2’ tall, blooms Sept. – Oct.
New England Aster Symphyotrichcum novae- angliae (Aster novae-angliae): Native, purple flowers in fall, 2 – 6’, full to part sun. 2 star nectar and pollen source for honey, bumble, leaf-cutter, long-horned, mining, and sweat bees, hover flies, lady beetles, parasitic wasps and minute pirate bugs.
Aster ‘Purple Dome’ – worst in the trial, very few insect visits!
Smooth Aster Symphyotrichcum laeve ‘Bluebird’ in top 5 for sheer # of bee/syrphids visits in trials.
Goldenrod Solidago species (Oligoneuron spp.): Native, 12” – 4’, depending on species/cultivars. Blooms late summer to fall. Late season nectar and pollen source for honey, bumble, leaf-cutter, long-horned, mason, mining, and sweat bees. Good attractiveness for hover flies, tachinid flies, lady beetles; predatory and parasitic wasps.Sun to part shade, well-drained soil.
S. rugosa ‘Fireworks’ – 4 star nectar, 3 star pollen; other species/cultivars 2 star.
Maximilian SunflowerHelianthusmaximiliani: Native, 4 – 10’. 2 star nectar, 3 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, digger, leafcutter, sweat and plaster bees; soldier beetles, wasps, lacewings, lady beetles, and hover flies also visit. Likes full sun, average soil, starts to bloom in October and continues until frost!
Gold and Silver ChrysanthemumAjania pacifica (Chrysanthemum pacificum): Blooms Oct - Nov, 1.5 – 2’. 3 star nectar and pollen source for honey bees; bumble bees, hover flies, and lady beetles. Sun to part shade, average soil, may die if wet in winter.
Bulbs: Ornamental Onion Allium species: 1 – 2’. 3 star nectar, 2 star pollen source for honey bees. Bumble, digger, and sweat bees; hover flies also visit. Blooms spring to fall, depending on the species. Full sun, drought tolerant, deer resistant.
Resources
Garden Plants for Honey Bees, 2014 Wicwas Press, Peter Lindtner.
Cornell University – Biological Control, a Guide to Natural Enemies in North America:
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service – Ecology of Key Native Beneficial Insects and the Targeted Pests they Control:
Delaware Department of Agriculture – Delaware Native Plants for Native Bees:
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service – Pollinator-Friendly Plants for the Northeast United States:
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign – Pollinator Friendly Planting Guides:
Penn State Extension’s Pollinator Trial Results 2013:
University of Maryland vanEngelsdorp Honey Bee Lab:
Bee Informed Partnership:
Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium: