Plants for Year-round Bee Forage

This is an incomplete list of both wild and commercially-available plants that are important sources of pollen and nectar for bees in the South. It is important for bees, especially bumble bees, to have an unbroken succession of bloom all summer to build up their local populations. If you want to encourage bee populations, grow or encourage plants from this list so that bloom is more-or-less continuous on your property.

Bloom Season	Common Name	Type	Scientific Name	Availability	References
Feb	Red Maple	tree	Acer rubrum	Feral	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987c; H. York, Jesup, Georgia, pers. obs.
Feb-Mar	Redbud	tree	Cercis canadensis	Feral	Goltz 1987c; Cane 1993
Feb-Mar	Titi	shrub	Cyrilla racemiflora	Feral, coastal plain	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987b; H. York, pers. obs.
Mar	Native Blueberry	shrub	Vaccinium elliottii	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Cane 1993
Mar-Apr	Canola	ann.	Brassica napus	Commercial oilseed	K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Henbit	per. herb	Lamium amplexicaule	Feral	Cane 1993
	Jessamine	shrub	Gelsemium sempervirens	Feral	Cane 1993
Apr	Tupelo	tree	Nyssa sylvatica	Feral, coastal plain river bottoms	Delaplane 1991
Apr-May	Apple	tree	Malus spp.	Commercial, feral	Mitchell 1962; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Black Locust	tree	Robinia pseudoacacia	Feral, piedmont and upper south	Mitchell 1962; Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987a
	Blackberry	shrub	Rubus argutus	Feral, esp. in piedmont	Mitchell 1962; Goltz 1987b; B. Engle, The Rock, Georgia & K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Common Ajuga	per. herb	Ajuga reptans	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Crimson Clover	ann.	Trifolium incarnatum	Commercial forage	Mitchell 1962; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Dutch Clover	per.	Trifolium repens	Commercial, feral	Mitchell 1962; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Red Clover	per.	Trifolium pratense	Commercial forage	Mitchell 1962; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Skip Laurel	shrub	Prunus laurocerasus, var. 'Schipkaensis'	Commercial ornamental	K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Tulip Poplar	tree	Liriodendron tulipifera	Feral	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987c
May	Gallberry	shrub	Ilex glabra	Feral, coastal plain	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987b; H. York, pers. obs.
	Honeysuckle	shrub	Lonicera fragrantis-sima	Feral	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Privet	shrub	Ligustrum sinense	Feral, esp. in piedmont	B. Engle & K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Rhododendron	shrub/tree	Rhododendron catawbiense	Feral, esp. in mountains, commercial ornamental	Mitchell 1962; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
May-Jun	Cabbage Palmetto	per.	Sabal palmetto	Feral, coastal plain	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987c
	Persimmon	shrub/tree	Diospyros virginiana	Feral	B. Engle & K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Tallow Tree	tree	Sapium sebifrum	Commercial ornamental	Goltz 1987c
Jun	Heavenly Bamboo	shrub	Nandina domestica	Commercial ornamental	G.W. Krewer, Univ. Georgia, pers. obs.
Jun-Jul	Bee Balm	per.	Monarda didyma	Commercial ornamental, feral	Mitchell 1962; Goltz 1987d; P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Chaste Tree	shrub/tree	Vitex agnus-castus	Commercial ornamental	G.W. Krewer & P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Sourwood	tree	Oxydendrum arboreum	Feral, esp. in mountains	Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1987c
	Sumac	shrub/tree	Rhus copallina	Feral, piedmont and upper south	Goltz 1987b; K.S. Delaplane, pers. obs.
	Sunflower	ann. or per.	Helianthus spp.	Commercial ornamental and oilseed	Mitchell 1962; W.J. McLaurin, pers. obs.
Jun-Aug	Brazilian Verbena	ann. or per.	Verbena bonariensis	Commercial ornamental	Mitchell 1962; S. Scarborough, Baxley, Georgia, & P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Butterfly Bush	shrub	Buddleia davidii	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Crapemyrtle	shrub/tree	Lagerstroemia indica, var. 'Natchez'	Commercial ornamental	G.W. Krewer, pers. obs.
	Glossy Abelia	shrub	Abelia grandiflora	Commercial ornamental	Mitchell 1962; S. Scarborough & P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Mountain Mint	per. herb	Pycnanthemum incanum	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Purple Coneflower	per. herb	Echinacea purpurea	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Summer Phlox	per. herb	Phlox paniculata	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Wood Mint	per. herb	Blephilia spp.	Feral	Mitchell 1962
Jun-Sep	Sweet Pepperbush	shrub	Clethra alnifolia	Feral, coastal plain	D. Wade, Alma, Georgia & G.W. Krewer, pers. obs.
Jul	Buttonbush	shrub/tree	Cephalanthus occidentalis	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Goltz 1987b
Jul-Sep	American Germander	per. herb	Teucrium canadense	Feral	Mitchell 1962
	Cup Rosinweed	per. herb	Silphium perfoliatum	Feral	Mitchell 1962
	Milkweed	per. herb	Asclepias spp.	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Goltz 1986a
	Partridge Pea	ann. herb	Cassia fasciculata	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Cane 1993
	Redroot	per. herb	Lachnanthes caroliana	Feral, wetlands	G.W. Krewer, pers. obs.
Aug	Meadow Beauty	per. herb	Rhexia spp.	Feral	D. Wade, pers. obs.
Aug-Sep	Bush Clovers	shrub	Lespedeza bicolor and L. thunbergii	Commercial ornamental and forage	Cane 1993
Aug-Oct	Brazilian Pepper	shrub	Schinus terebinth-ifolius	Feral	Goltz 1987b
	Mexican Sage	per. herb	Salvia leucantha	Commercial ornamental	C. Reed, Douglas, Georgia & P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Mexican Sunflower	ann.	Tithonia rotundifolia	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Pineapple Sage	ann. or per.	Salvia elegans	Commercial ornamental	P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
	Thoroughwort	per. herb	Eupatorium hyssopifolium	Feral	Mitchell 1962
Aug-Nov	Asters	per. herb	Aster spp.	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Goltz 1986c; B. Engle & P.A. Thomas, pers. obs.
Aug-Nov	Colorado River Hemp	shrub	Sesbania exaltata	Commercial, feral	G.W. Krewer, pers. obs.
Sep-Oct	Goldenrod	per. herb	Solidago spp.	Feral	Mitchell 1962; Delaplane 1991; Goltz 1986b
Sep-Oct	Kenaf	ann.	Hibiscus cannabinus	Commercial fiber	B. Baldwin, Miss. State Univ., pers. obs.

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