Trees and Shrubs Good for Honeybees

Spring-Blossoming Trees

• Avocado trees bloom in very early spring or late winter, relying on honeybees for pollination. Flowering cherry, flowering plum, almond, European pear, plums and magnolia trees are nectar-heavy, spring-bloomers for honeybees. Apple, Asian pear and dogwood trees, peach and nectarine trees and crabapple trees attract honeybees. Orange trees rely on insects and honeybees for pollination, and its blossoms yield a honey that is light in color, sweet and mildly citrus flavored.

Summer-Blossoming Trees

• Catalpa, locust and tulip trees are summer-bloomers attractive to honeybees, as well as the littleleaf linden tree and tree of heaven. The chaste tree and the strawberry tree bloom in late summer. The sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) is native to the southeastern United States and is found growing as far north as Pennsylvania, flowering in mid-July. Sourwood honey is light colored with a spicy sweet, slightly anise flavor.

Spring-Blossoming Shrubs

• Single and semidouble flowering roses bloom in spring, providing nectar for honeybees. Cold-tolerant and fragrant Rugosa roses, such as single-flowering Rosa rugosa “Alba”, are heavy spring bloomers with possible intermittent blooming throughout the season. Highbush cranberries are attractive, honeybee-drawing shrubs for the home garden. Highbush blueberry growers are advised to place at least one strong honeybee colony per acre to assure pollination. More hives are recommended as needed.

Summer-Blossoming Shrubs

• Along with single and semidouble roses, lavender is a summer-flowering, heavy nectar-producing shrub for honeybees. Russian sage, rosemary and globe thistle bloom in summer, attracting honeybees. Blue mist spirea has a long blooming season on a shrub with a low, mounding habit. Butterfly bushes attract honeybees as well as butterflies and hummingbirds. Potentilla, attractive to honeybees, grows to 3 feet tall and is covered in white, yellow or orange flowers all summer long.