Flowers for bees

[Chuck]

After living in the rural areas of Texas for decades I took pollinators for granted. There were multitudes of them. Then I moved to Surburbia and find that the multitudes of pollinators has shrunk to almost nothing. I am a vegetable gardener and have never really grown plants to attract pollinators. What are some common flowers that the climate of gulf coast Texas will encourage bees and other pollinators to visit.

 

[Meadowlark]

Sunflowers come to mind first for me.

Many garden veggies are the best attractors I see such as Okra, green beans, melons, squash etc. even sweet potatoes.

Another flower that blooms here all summer and comes back each year is the Lantana. They are fantastic at attracting the butterfly pollinators as well as many bees. The nice thing is they bloom all summer through the Gulf heat and humidity and require very little care. I plant them specifically for attracting pollinators and they are excellent.

In my area and many others, I assume, Northern beekeepers transport their hives south for the winters and on warm winter days we have tremendous numbers of bees as a result.

 

[Chuck]

Sunflowers come to mind first for me.

View attachment 106530

Many garden veggies are the best attractors I see such as Okra, green beans, melons, squash etc. even sweet potatoes.

Another flower that blooms here all summer and comes back each year is the Lantana. They are fantastic at attracting the butterfly pollinators as well as many bees. The nice thing is they bloom all summer through the Gulf heat and humidity and require very little care. I plant them specifically for attracting pollinators and they are excellent.

In my area and many others, I assume, Northern beekeepers transport their hives south for the winters and on warm winter days we have tremendous numbers of bees as a result.

Last year was my first year gardening here. I grew tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and cantaloupes. I had a very poor crop of cucs, squash and cantaloupes. Tomatoes and peppers did great. I saw 1 honeybee the entire season on the cucs. There were a few small insects that looked like tiny wasps but I don't know if they were pollinators or not. They crawled around on the blooms so I suppose they did some good. I think the problem here is insecticide spraying by the city. They not only kill mosquitos but everything else as well. I was thinking that if I could plant 20 or 30 two gallon containers of flowers and place them around and in the garden that I might attract enough pollinators to do their job before the next round of spraying began. I am going to grow okra this year. I don't have any more Becks Big Buck so I am going to try Jambalaya. I have 20, 5 gallon containers for them. Everything is going to be in the Hugleculture method.

 

[Meadowlark]

... I think the problem here is insecticide spraying by the city. They not only kill mosquitos but everything else as well.

Yes, right on target!! That and neighbors who use powerful chemicals indiscriminately have a terrible effect on all pollinators.

By the way, PM me your address and I'll return the favor on Beck's Big Buck Okra seed.

 

[paulinkansas]

I've grown a 3 acre sunflower patch for 2 years in a row. Dove hunting plot. Deer ate every single seed head before dove season started. But there were some interesting looking little yellow feathered birds in sunflowers once they started blooming. I never saw any bees. I'm guessing the birds did the pollination.

 

[pepper2.0]

Not sure how it would do in Texas but when I was beekeeping my honeybee's went crazy for goldenrod. Other bee's like bumble bees love it too.

 

[YumYum]

Rose of Sharon maybe? Can't eat it though. It is in the okra family. The one I have is white and a late bloomer (July 4th) so I would assume it likes heat more than cold. The blooms look like okra and are loaded with so much pollen that carpenter bees fall to the ground trying to fly out with a heavy load out of the flower.

Here is what I'm talking about.

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

I have planted buckwheat for the past several years and the bees devar it.
It's a favorite here in Kentucky for attracting honey bees.

 

[nvidura]

To attract more pollinators to your garden, try planting native flowers that do well in your climate.
Some great options for most regions are Black-eyed Susans, Purple Coneflowers, and Bee Balm.
These flowers are known to attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
I've noticed a lot more buzzing around when I planted these in my own garden.
You might also want to add Milkweed, as it's a favorite of Monarch butterflies!
The key is to choose plants that are well-suited to your environment, and they'll naturally attract more pollinators.

 

[paulinkansas]

I've got a rental house with a pretty big tree in the back yard. Probably 5' in diameter. There are some knotholes in the trunk where big limbs fell off. For the last 10 years since I bought the place there has been a colony of bees living in the tree. This is in the middle of a small town. Where the bees go, I have no idea. This is a pretty dismal town and nobody plants flowers or does gardening.

My town is #1 on this list.

The 20 Worst Places to Live in Kansas

Every location has plus points and negative points, which means that they will appeal to some people but not others. Which are the most important features

moneyinc.com

 

[MiTmite9]

Last year was my first year gardening here. I grew tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and cantaloupes. I had a very poor crop of cucs, squash and cantaloupes. Tomatoes and peppers did great. I saw 1 honeybee the entire season on the cucs. There were a few small insects that looked like tiny wasps but I don't know if they were pollinators or not. They crawled around on the blooms so I suppose they did some good. I think the problem here is insecticide spraying by the city. They not only kill mosquitos but everything else as well. I was thinking that if I could plant 20 or 30 two gallon containers of flowers and place them around and in the garden that I might attract enough pollinators to do their job before the next round of spraying began. I am going to grow okra this year. I don't have any more Becks Big Buck so I am going to try Jambalaya. I have 20, 5 gallon containers for them. Everything is going to be in the Hugleculture method.

I hope you will write a strongly worded email/snail mail letter to whichever city entity (is it Parks & Recreation? Is it Vector Control? Both?) and object to their use of pesticides. You don't need to get fancy. Just state your case, simply and politely. Stop harming the bees, butterflies, birds, etc. Every voice counts.

We caught our County Flood Control spraying the weeds RIGHT NEXT TO A CREEK. A "program" which took place every spring. I thought maybe I was the only one who cared enough to call and complain, but then I discovered other people (who also thought they were alone in this) had called and written to Flood Control. (I even contacted our County Supervisors.)
Guess what? The spraying stopped. No spraying for years now. Weed whacking and mowing only. Maybe it's my imagination or my Pollyanna hopefulness, but I could swear there are more birds and butterflies next to that creek now, every year. And I sure breathe better, knowing I and so many others are not being routinely exposed to toxic crap.

 

[gardenstart]

@Chuck, have you considered these?

Borage
Anise Hyssop / Agastache (especially the "Crazy Fortune" variety if you can find it)
Lavender
Purple Coneflowers Echinacea

If they grow in your climate, which I think they should, these flowers generally attract lots of bees. Borage an absolute bee magnet, at least from what we've noticed. And you won't have any trouble re-seeding it.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Verbena Bonariensis, self seeds and always has bees and butterflies on it. Plenty of things in the garden do, but there are far and away more on this.
Talking with a farmer once I said something about bees on dandelions, "No, they never go near them, I walk my orchard first thing every morning and I have never seen one visiting a dandelion". Thing is dandelions need a few hours sunlight before they start producing nectar, so it is 11 or 12 o'clock before you see bees on them, then there are plenty.

 

[gardenstart]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to edit my last post, but the Agastache version that bees loved in our yard was called "Crazy Fortune", not "Golden Fortune".

The variety of Agastache does appear to make a difference since we got two more this year that were of a different variety (I forget the varieties, but they weren't Crazy Fortune, and had longer flowers, etc), but the bees weren't as interested.

And, apparently, "Blue Fortune" is also a bee-friendly variety:

Blue Fortune Agastache : A Gardener’s Guide to This Stunning Perennial

Discover the beauty and benefits of Blue Fortune Agastache. Learn how to grow, care for and use this pollinator-friendly plant in your garden landscape

usagardenweb.com

Anyway, all the best.

And thank you, @Oliver Buckle for the recommendation of Verbena Bonariensis, I'll look into it.

 

[Bryan D.]

After living in the rural areas of Texas for decades I took pollinators for granted. There were multitudes of them. Then I moved to Surburbia and find that the multitudes of pollinators has shrunk to almost nothing. I am a vegetable gardener and have never really grown plants to attract pollinators. What are some common flowers that the climate of gulf coast Texas will encourage bees and other pollinators to visit.

After living in the rural areas of Texas for decades I took pollinators for granted. There were multitudes of them. Then I moved to Surburbia and find that the multitudes of pollinators has shrunk to almost nothing. I am a vegetable gardener and have never really grown plants to attract pollinators. What are some common flowers that the climate of gulf coast Texas will encourage bees and other pollinators to visit.

Some flowers here in Ohio might work for you the Common Milkweed family is one and sweet peas are another. Just what I have observed here. Watch any potential neo nicotinoid insecticide exposure, many are systemic and a concern