Bee plants for a balcony

Will bees actually come?

Yes. Bumblebees and honey bees regularly forage several floors up, and bees have been recorded visiting rooftop plantings on tall buildings. Solitary bees are more local but mason bees and leafcutters readily use balcony bee hotels in cities.

The realistic expectation is that a balcony supports foraging rather than a population. That is still worth doing, particularly in dense urban areas where the surrounding forage is thin.

The plants that work in containers

The practical constraints

• Wind. Balconies are windier than gardens; low compact plants do better than tall ones, and a screen helps.
• Watering. Containers dry out fast. Choose drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants and use larger pots, which dry more slowly.
• Depth. Most of the plants above need only 20-30 cm. Avoid anything with a taproot.
• Weight. Check what the balcony will carry before adding large soil-filled containers.
• Sun. Most of these need at least half a day of it. In shade, choose winter clematis, fatsia in a large pot, and hellebore.

Nesting on a balcony

A bee hotel on a balcony works, and mason bees will use one several storeys up. Two conditions matter: it must face south or south-east, and it must be fixed firmly so it does not swing in wind. Include tubes from 2 mm to 10 mm, and replace or clean them every year or two.

Mason bees also need mud within reach, which a balcony does not provide. A shallow tray of damp clay soil solves this and is the difference between a hotel that gets occupied and one that does not.