Plants for pollinators and beneficial insects

im not a honey bee keeper… but my neighbor is…and his bees come to my place and kinda hang out.

"Chicory has long been recognized as a honey plant. This yellow honey can develop greenish tinges when it granulates. It has a flavor much like that of chicory-flavored coffee. "

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Bees work lots of things. They are efficient/economical in their energy…so if chicory is the only option for miles, yes they’ll make honey from it.
But if you ever see bees on your chicory in bloom, you’ll see pollen on their legs in the mornings. And in the afternoons, bees are somewhere else gathering nectar. (Clover, sumac, goldenrod, aster, or whatever.)

I contributed to Bee Culture for the state of Kentucky back in the late 80’s and early 90’s…both before and after Kim Flottum was (is) the EDITOR. I know most of the honey plants of my region. (I admit I don’t know what the honey from Brazil or China or India is made from.)

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I like it because it grows where other things struggle… like in gravel or soil that only supports crabgrass. It must be in the mix for the state road… my local roads are flush with them. I mainly like it for the finch activity and its a sew it and forget it kind of plant.

birdsfoot trefoil is another that must be in their mix… ive not fooled with it much but its pretty to see by the roadside.

This is a pretty neat little site about plants for bees…and alot of other cool info.

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Can anyone identify what this is? I found it near a riverbank and it grew in rocks. Had little tiny flowerlike things and millions of bees and wasps were tearing it up. I yanked out a root and grew this.

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Vitis probably.
Or akebia possible.

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Devil’s Walking Stick. I started 3 from cuttings… they are kind of like elderberries but with wicked nasty thorns… definately excited for these.

another clip from WV

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@krismoriah
Thanks for the heads up about devils walking stick.
I have some here ,but I guess I never really payed attention to it up close in bloom. Watched several videos on YouTube about it.
It looks to be one of the most attractive plants to insects I have seen. I will have to divide / propagate my patch !
Here is another video.

,
My patch looks like it’s spreading from roots , many plants in a small area , so root cuttings should be easy

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Theres a nickle or two to be made off of them. Plants sell for $35 each and this guy has sold almost 200 of them.

Guys selling seeds do pretty good too…

Its also medicinal…and some folks make jelly out of the berries…

Songbirds also eat the berries.

No brainer one to have…

Here is some uses etc for it.

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Jacob Cline Bee Balm is worth growing for sure. I started with one plant and they spread by roots. I probably have 1000 of them next to the creek bank. If you can dedicate 50 feet or so its a show for sure. Bees, hummingbirds… then after they seed out the birds harvest the seeds…then the stalks are hollow and stuff lives in them.

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Lantana here. I have a dozen ant they support tons of bees, butterfly and several hummingbirds. They bloom twice a year and my chickens love hanging out in their shade in the dirt. They are very hardy in the Florida oppressive heat and i trim them back in late winter and they get 10-15 feet in circumference and 3-4 feet tall.

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I got some Crossvine starts but they are growing pretty slow. Native to WV and lots of other states according to the reading…i dont think ive ever seen one in the wild.

“Hummingbirds are attracted to flowers. An early nectar source for butterflies and hummingbirds.”

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=bica

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Cross vine ;
They are somewhat common just south of here, Logan and Mingo Co. Along the Guyandotte river and The big Sandy River.
Likely farther south too.
Have seen some truly spectacular ones blooming on Telephone poles and tree trunks ,Like you could not even fit another flower on there !
I have a young one starting up a Black locust tree.Has not bloomed yet but it’s over 10 feet tall

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the reading says its forage for deer… but perhaps its safe once it gets some length.

I have a sort of a plan to flip an old dead tree upside down and turn the top into a pollinator haven…with the vines going up it.

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I found these this morning. Calico Aster? They are abuzz with bees and wasps. They have more on them than any other aster i have.



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Some that I like:

Celosias. I like that wheat-type celosias better than cockscombs or the plumed ones, because they are large (sometimes 4’ X 4’!) and self-supporting. They are very attractive to various beneficials: especially wasps and soldier beetles. They’re practically indestructible annuals–no pest or pathogen bothers them. You can also eat the young foliage. They self-seed like crazy. We’ve always got volunteers in shades of red, pink and yellow.

Blue Spice Basil. An extremely fragrant, fruity-spicy basil. The flowers are a bee magnet. Baker Creek says this is Ocimum americanum, but doesn’t look right to me. To me, bears a closer resemblace to tulsi/holy basil. Also readily self-sows. Let it go to seed once, and you’ll always have it popping up; really the only basil I’ve grown that has done that.

https://www.rareseeds.com/basil-blue-spice

Milkweeds have already been mentioned—but I especially like butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). It’s compact, pretty, and (like other asclepias) a food plant for monarch caterpillars. Standard color in nature is orange, but can get it in various shades of yellow and orange.

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that tea that one of the reviewers talks about sounds nice.

Gonna give this a whirl in my herb garden. Thanks!!

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Hi Jay
Thanks for your posting, do your plants have seeds to spare?
Dennis
Kent, wa

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Ok i want this.

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Amen.
But people need to recognize that flowers only feed adult insects. Important, yes, but they won’t be around long without the plants that their offspring munch on. When I moved to my current property it was in the woods, but always mowed. I don’t own a mower,only a scythe. As the place started to grow in we had a great time identifying the variety of plants coming back, even trees that the previous owners never realized might be there waiting to grow. One was a decent mulberry that I’ve multiplied for grafting.
I have read of this sort of resurgence before. It can take some time, and it’s a good idea to add to the diversity, but the native insects lived on the “wild” plants before, and they will be ready to return.

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Maybe you could do it with a little extra protection. I’m in zone 5 about two days each winter, but I once kept rosemary over in an unheated cold frame. I just threw hay over the whole frame in the winter.