Plants for Early Pollen & Nectar

Early in the year, from February bees need to find plenty of good quality pollen. This enables the colony to bring pollen into the hive which actually and directly stimulates the queen to lay eggs; the amount of pollen brought in is directly related to the number of eggs she lays – more pollen, more eggs. But they also need nectar for energy. Here is a list of plants starting with some that flower as late as December, and as early as January. Some of these are normally February flowering, but increasingly we are seeing these earlier in the South of UK

• Alnus glutinosa Common Alder, tree – Pollen only
• Chaenomeles japonica Quince – Nectar & Pollen in Feb and March, sometimes flowers early.
• Corylus avellana Common Hazel, Filbert, Cobnut – Pollen only, flowers from Feb but sometimes early.
• Crocus chrysanthus Crocus species with many cultivars – Necctar & Pollen from Mid Jan to late March
• Eranthus hyemalis Winter Aconite – ideal companion for snowdrops and crocuses – Nectar and Pollen
• Eranthus cilicicus Similar to hyemalis, though less invasive – Nectar & Pollen
• Erysimum cheiri (syn Cheiranthus cheiri) – Wallflower. The wild form can flower in December, or any time of the year. They have several flushes in a season. Ideal rockery plant
• Galanthus nivalis Snowdrop – Nectar & Pollen in Jan, Feb, March and April
• Hedera helix Common Ivy – though will not flower for perhaps fifteen years, so it is pointless to plant this is your garden. Bees will find it in the wild (what’s left of the wild)!
• Helleborus niger Christmas Rose – Nectar & Pollen
• Lamium purpureum Wild Deadnettle – Nectar & Pollen in semi-shade. Can flower February or earlier. Is also a major bumblebee flower. They bore a hole for easier access to nectar, and honeybees can take advantage of this.
• Mahonia japonica Japanese Mahonia – Nectar & Pollen Jan to March. Prolific producer!
• Salix aegyptica - Willow - Nectar & Pollen Feb-March
• Salix caprea - Goat Willow - Nectar & Pollen Feb-March
• Salix hastate'Wehrhanii' - Willow - Cultivar ideal for the smaller garden, Netar & Pollen Feb-March
• Ulex europaeus Common Gorse – (do not buy cultivars with double blooms) – Nectar & Pollen, on almost every day of the year!