HoneyHQ

Grecian windflower

Anemone blandaRanunculaceaeBulb

A low spring anemone that carpets the ground in blue, pink or white daisy-like flowers in March, offering abundant pollen at a point in the year when it is what colonies most need. It opens fully in sun and closes in dull weather, which concentrates activity into the hours when bees are actually flying.

Value to bees

Nectar
Low
Pollen
High
As a honey crop
Not a honey source
Which bees, and why
Visited chiefly for pollen. Like many Ranunculaceae it offers little or no nectar, which is another case where a single bee-friendliness rating would mislead.

Completely open flowers with fully exposed anthers, and very little nectar to reach.

Worth knowing
Little nectar and abundant pollen, which is what colonies rearing brood in March most need.

Flowering

In flower
March to April (northern hemisphere)

Early spring, and the flowers open only in sunshine.

Growing it

Conditions
Sun or light shade on well-drained soil, and happy in dry shade under deciduous trees.
Size
10-15 cm tall, spreading into carpets from knobbly tubers.
Native range
Southeastern Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. Widely naturalised in gardens.
Suits
Small gardens, Containers and window boxes, Large gardens
  • Soak the dry knobbly tubers overnight before planting; they are notoriously slow to start otherwise.
  • Plant shallowly and let it naturalise under deciduous shrubs.
  • Goes dormant by early summer, so plant it where something else will fill the space.

What it looks like

Low finely divided leaves with solitary daisy-like flowers of many narrow petals, in blue, pink or white with a golden centre, held just above the foliage.

Sources

  • Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland — Bloomsbury (2015) · Field guide
  • HoneyHQ editorial synthesis — HEKNO Ltd · HoneyHQ synthesis

How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.

Guides covering this plant

Tools for planning planting

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