Bee Loving Plants: Plants that Attract Honey Bees

Okay, how do you hold your camera? When I do my videos they are shaky and prone to make my subscribers sea-sick. LOL!

Mexican Heather is a Texas Native so it should survive the summers.They can get a little scraggly looking but if you keep them trimmed, they do very well. Don't be afraid to trim the heck out of the Heather, it'll come back. You may want to look at a Lantana. I don't know if they attract bees, but it'll flower almost year round. Like the Heather, its native and its invasive.

Myself personally have Allium in my garden the bees are all over it and it,s cool to watch them bring back the purple pollen! it is a relative of onions but is a purple flower with a round head of 100-200 blossoms, it also is a very early spring flower

I need to come join the group.

Thank you so much.

GREAT INFO in this video I'm going to get some of that African Blue Basil for sure

I love the thought that cutting and sharing will bring more blessing and growth...I have tried to find that blue basil all summer and haven't been able to find it anywhere.

YES! I have grown African Blue Basil for three years and ALWAYS bees on it...when I lived in Florida - zone 8b, and North Carolina zone 6b. My all time favorite for bees now is Borage, to help pollinate all of my OP plants. Borage attracts bees mostly for the nectar, I have plenty of other plants which produce lots of pollen.

Great info & some beautiful plants you have. Will have to keep my eye out for some African Blue Basil. Thanks

Great advice there. Attracting bees to your garden not only helps you getting your veges pollinated but also helps the bees to continue their role in the cycle of nature.

I'm not sure how it would grow in your area, but here in the Northeast (NJ), Vitex ("Chaste Tree") grows as a woody shrub, something akin to Buddleia ("Butterfly Bush"). You have a beautiful yard -- we always enjoy seeing parts of it!!!!

Can you tell me if you can do cuttings at any time of the year or is there a better time of the year to do it?

Get some Russian Sage. Drought resistant, heat tolerant, bees hammer it. Great video as usual.

Excellent. Thank you for sharing. I'll look for some in my area and give it a try.

You can do cutting any time of the year. You need to make sure the plant gets enough light and the right temperature and nutrients other than that you are good.

I will have basil cutting at the next beekeepers association meeting.

Fantastic! I really needed this information. I'm starting from scratch on a new property, and this was next on my list. I'm going to check out the Bee keepers assn. here too. I have got to get the foundation plantings in by the fall, and now I think I can do a lot better than I thought. Wonderful.

I also live in the Houston area. Where will you be doing the cuttings? I would like to attend.

Bees also LOVE Indian Hawthorne!

I will have the cuttings at the Montgomery county beekeepers association meeting in July. Go to mocobees.com for more meeting info and location.

I really enjoyed your video! I am always intrigued to see which plants the bees visit in my garden too. They love my Jade plants (Crassula ovata) and Bitter aloes (Aloe ferox), which both bloom in the middle of winter when there isn't much else around in the way of flowers. Other plants that I have seen them feeding on are Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis), Gum tree (Eucalyptus) and various Acacia species. Love bees! They are also desperately in need of our help these days!

yes vitex is perennial

around my house in SC we have crate myrtles that all the pollinaters swarm every year. You would think the tree itself was buzzing. Not sure if that'd grow in Houston but if so I def. recommend!

FYI: about your plant "vitex" in our country we call that "lagundi" its an herb that is good for cough :)

Idk any thing better than clover, golden rods,fruit trees and berries and what they take for nectar and pollen goes into the honey, why clover honey is so popular

I was in Houston, moved to Austin and now starting from scratch on a new property. Literally have nothing yet. I haven't seen a single bee here yet so I want to plant a bee garden first so they'll know where to come for pollen. Then I'll start my produce box gardens. I need to find sources I can trust for healthy plant clippings for the bees.

Vitex nugando is remarkable plant to us because its a excellent bee fodder. in my country Sri Lanka it use for various purposes. in our country people plant this tree in front of the houses.

our vitex grows into a small tree and is
a perennial here in NC

Grow native plants.

We start these cuttings in some water after cutting, and within two to three water changes they have a great root system ready to plant..Put in Kitchen window or under our small grow light! Love this one, best for bees!!

what is the name of the trees on the cart?

I am from India, I want to know whether Rangoon creeper/honeysuckle/combetrum indicum is a good source of nectar and pollen

What I find extremely helpful is all kinds of peppermint. It grows very fast and has huge flowers all over the place. It also survives winter but it also kind of grows literally in every direction so make sure u contain the plant

vitex +#2 for bees all should try to get Vitex

Top bee and pollinator plants that I have grown and maintained over the years. More than most pollinators can handle around these parts. ABSOLUTELY blow pollinators minds with these AWESOME plants if you are in the appropriate growing zones to maintain them. African Blue Basil, Italian Oregano, Hyssop (licorice), Catnip, Peppermint, Russian Sage, Common Milkweed, Lavender, Sunflowers, Blue Cluster Vine,  Mother of Thyme, Borage, Pepper Vine, Pink Coral Vine, Cape Honey Suckle, dwarf plum trees, Strawberries, Almond Verbena, Echinacea, Marsh Mallows, Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, and Pineapple Sage .The ultimate pollinator garden should have something in bloom just about every month of the year. Fair warning though, if you grow a combination of these plants closely together, you better buy a bee keeper suit to work around the garden. Either that or set up a spotlight and do all the important work after dark. Otherwise... Welcome to Sting City!

Trees produce the highest pollen and nectar per acre. Willow trees are an excellent choice as they let light pass through to under the tree. Lots of perennial plants can share space and produce a massive pollen and nectar flow. Mixing with fruit bushes will give honey a changing taste during the year using things that bloom at different times. Wildflower gardens allowed to go crazy under these bushes and trees produces the best results. Thanks for the blue sage tip. That is a nice looking plant.

You should start out by telling us what zone or state your in

i planted red clover last year and discovered that bee's dont weigh enough to open the petals, but bumble bees and wasps love it. this year more white (dutch) clover.

I know this video was posted in 2013, but I just viewed it and I wanted to let you know THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT AFRICAN BLUE BASIL. Indeed this plant is powerhouse when it comes to helping our bees.

I have a Chaste Tree(Vitex) by my bees. It grows into a small multi branched tree. It gets a lot of blossoms on it but I never did see much honey bee activity just a lot of these big wasp looking things. I'm in Anne Arundel County.

russian sage has brought over 500 to our front yard. along with salvia

Bees pick up the nectar to cure them self

Great video ;) I love your philosophy of giving, I think it's a great way of living

Mexican heathers are really amazing!! I planted mexican heather and lobelia, and the bees love mexican heather more than lobelia!!!

nice video and the pink coral vine are really atract bees; it contains high nectar, it's used in Sri Lankan beekeepers. Thank you very much.

The Vitex, or Chaste Tree, or Monk Pepper, is a tree, it is perrenial in most of your southern zones. They grow to 25 feet where I live in zone 7B.

Hello, do you by chance know of any flowering plants for honeybees that do well in partial to full shade?