Not a honey source
No harvestable honey, and frequently no nectar at all. Gorse, poppies and several others offer pollen alone, which feeds brood rather than filling jars.
73 records · honey crop status
- FoxgloveDigitalis purpureaHigh value to a narrow group. This is exactly the plant a 'bee friendly' score would misrepresent: excellent for long-tongued bumblebees, largely irrelevant to honey bees.
- SnowdropGalanthus nivalisRated low for nectar and it matters anyway, which is the clearest case on the site for why timing belongs alongside quantity. A moderate pollen source in February is worth more to a colony than a high one in July.
- Winter honeysuckleLonicera fragrantissimaModerate ratings that punch far above their weight because of when they arrive. Nothing else that is easy to grow flowers so reliably in December and January.
- BuddleiaBuddleja davidiiThe separate ratings do real work here. Buddleia offers substantial nectar and very little accessible pollen, so it feeds adult insects and contributes almost nothing to raising the next generation of bees. A garden of nothing but buddleia would starve its own pollinators.
- HoneysuckleLonicera periclymenumHigh nectar, and largely unavailable to bees. The ratings and the accessibility note have to be read together here or the plant looks far better than it is for the insects most people are planting for.
- CrocusCrocusVery high pollen at a point in the year when pollen is the binding constraint on a colony starting to raise brood. Bees return from crocus carrying enormous bright orange loads, which is one of the most cheerful sights in a February apiary.
- Common poppyPapaver rhoeasThe clearest case on the site for rating nectar and pollen separately. A single 'bee friendly' score would either overstate the poppy or understate it, and both would be wrong.
- HelleboreHelleborusModerate nectar and good pollen at the point in the year when both are hardest to find. Rated by timing rather than by quantity.
- Winter aconiteEranthis hyemalisGood pollen and useful nectar in the first weeks of the year. Nothing about the quantity is impressive and the date is what counts.
- PrimrosePrimula vulgarisModerate on both counts, and it matters because of when it arrives rather than how much it offers.
- HazelCorylus avellanaThe clearest illustration in the catalogue of why nectar and pollen are rated separately: hazel scores zero for one and top marks for the other, and it matters enormously.
- CowslipPrimula verisModerate ratings from a plant whose real value is as an indicator — cowslips mark grassland that has not been fertilised or reseeded, and such grassland supports a great deal else.
- ElderSambucus nigraA good pollen source with almost nothing to offer in nectar, and the clearest hedgerow example of why the two are rated separately.
- GorseUlex europaeusZero nectar and top-rated pollen, available in midwinter. Alongside hazel and poppy it is the clearest argument for rating the two separately.
- Christmas boxSarcococca confusaModerate ratings that count for a great deal because they arrive in January, in dry shade, where the alternatives are nothing.
- Winter viburnumViburnum × bodnantenseModerate nectar and little pollen, delivered across the longest winter flowering window of any common garden shrub.
- MeadowsweetFilipendula ulmariaGood pollen and negligible nectar — one of the clearer garden examples of why the two need separate ratings.
- BroomCytisus scopariusZero nectar and very high pollen — one of the small group of plants including poppy, hazel and gorse that make the case for separate ratings unanswerable.
- Witch hazelHamamelis × intermediaModerate on both counts and valuable entirely because of when it arrives. In its native range it is pollinated partly by winter-active moths.
- HarebellCampanula rotundifoliaA moderate nectar source and a critical pollen source — critical not in volume but in that specific bees can use nothing else.
- Red bartsiaOdontites vernusModest in volume and decisive in kind. A single specialist bee depends on it absolutely.
- Yellow rattleRhinanthus minorA moderate direct forage plant and an outsized indirect one, because it is what allows a grass sward to become a flower meadow.
- CatsearHypochaeris radicataA generous and long-running pollen source through the summer months, and moderate for nectar.
- Small scabiousScabiosa columbariaExcellent on both counts, and valuable specifically for how late it continues.
- Devil's-bit scabiousSuccisa pratensisAn outstanding late-season nectar and pollen source, at a point in the year when replacements are few.
- White bryonyBryonia dioicaA long-running pollen source, and the entire basis of one specialist bee's existence.
- SelfhealPrunella vulgarisA good nectar source and a moderate pollen source, and unusually valuable because it delivers them in mown grass.
- ColtsfootTussilago farfaraA moderate nectar source and a generous pollen source, at a moment in the year when both are close to unavailable.
- Lemon balmMelissa officinalisA good nectar source over a long season, provided it is allowed to flower — which is the catch, since it is usually harvested as a leaf herb before it does.
- Squash and pumpkinCucurbita pepoA generous nectar and pollen source in the early morning, and unavailable for the rest of the day.
- PearPyrus communisPoor for nectar and good for pollen, which is exactly the sort of split a single bee-friendliness rating would erase.
- GooseberryRibes uva-crispaA good early nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- QuinceCydonia oblongaA good late-spring nectar and pollen source with large accessible flowers.
- MedlarMespilus germanicaA good late-spring nectar and pollen source with exceptionally accessible flowers.
- SpindleEuonymus europaeusA modest nectar source and a highly accessible one, which makes it disproportionately useful to small bees.
- BuckthornRhamnus catharticaA modest but highly accessible nectar source over several weeks.
- Dog roseRosa caninaNo nectar at all and an outstanding pollen source. This is exactly the distinction that makes rating nectar and pollen separately worthwhile — a single bee-friendliness score would either overstate or dismiss it.
- Winter-flowering cherryPrunus x subhirtellaModest in volume and disproportionately valuable in timing — this is a plant whose worth is entirely about when it flowers.
- Winter clematisClematis cirrhosaModest in volume and valuable specifically for its timing.
- DaphneDaphneA good early nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- Hardy cyclamenCyclamen coumModest in volume and valuable in timing, covering the two thinnest points in the garden year.
- Siberian squillScilla sibericaGenerous for its size on both counts, and valuable specifically for its timing.
- Grecian windflowerAnemone blandaLittle nectar and abundant pollen, which is what colonies rearing brood in March most need.
- Lesser celandineFicaria vernaA moderate nectar source and a generous pollen source at exactly the point in the year when colonies need pollen for brood.
- BugleAjuga reptansA good nectar source at a point in the season that is thinner than it looks, and specifically in shade where options are few.
- HonestyLunaria annuaA good spring nectar source in a season that is thinner than it appears, particularly in shade.
- Sweet rocketHesperis matronalisA good early summer nectar source, and one of the better plants for the day and night shift together.
- AubrietaAubrieta deltoideaGenerous on both counts for its size, and the flower density makes a modest plant into a substantial resource.
- Wild garlicAllium ursinumA generous late-spring nectar and pollen source with completely accessible flowers.
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisA good nectar source that most bees cannot reach legitimately — which is precisely what makes it interesting.
- Culver's rootVeronicastrum virginicumA generous nectar and pollen source over an unusually long period for a single plant.
- Blazing starLiatris spicataAn outstanding summer nectar source, and among the most heavily worked prairie plants.
- Woodland sageSalvia nemorosaAn outstanding nectar source over an exceptionally long season, and one of the best border plants for bumblebees.
- Lesser calamintClinopodium nepetaAn outstanding nectar source with one of the longest useful seasons of any garden perennial.
- Russian sageSalvia yangiiAn outstanding late nectar source over a long season, and reliable in drought when many border plants have stopped.
- BluebeardCaryopteris x clandonensisAn outstanding late-season nectar source, and among the busiest shrubs in a September garden.
- AbeliaLinnaea x grandifloraA good nectar source over one of the longest seasons of any garden shrub.
- EscalloniaEscallonia rubraA good nectar source over a long season, entirely dependent on the shrub being allowed to flower.
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaA moderate nectar source and a generous pollen source across an unusually long season.
- St John's wortHypericum perforatumNo nectar whatsoever and an outstanding pollen source. A single bee-friendliness score would misrepresent this plant in either direction.
- Tree mallowMalva arboreaA generous nectar source and an outstanding pollen source, with unusually large sticky pollen grains.
- HollyhockAlcea roseaA generous nectar source and an outstanding pollen source, with exceptionally large grains.
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaNo nectar at all and an outstanding pollen source over a long season.
- ChivesAllium schoenoprasumA generous nectar and pollen source in a plant almost every garden already has.
- Common fleabanePulicaria dysentericaA generous late-summer nectar and pollen source with completely accessible flowers.
- ZinniaZinnia elegansA good late nectar and pollen source in single-flowered forms, and close to worthless in fully double ones.
- Mexican sunflowerTithonia rotundifoliaAn outstanding late-season nectar source, and among the best autumn annuals for large bees and butterflies.
- FatsiaFatsia japonicaA generous late-autumn nectar and pollen source, and among the very last available anywhere.
- ElaeagnusElaeagnus x submacrophyllaA generous late-autumn nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- Seven-son flowerHeptacodium miconioidesA generous late-season nectar source, and among the better shrubs for autumn forage.
- AgapanthusAgapanthus praecoxA good summer nectar source, with each head offering dozens of flowers in a single visit.
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaAn outstanding nectar source over one of the longest seasons of any garden perennial.
- Sea buckthornHippophae rhamnoidesA genuinely useful early pollen source in a season when protein is scarce, and not a nectar plant at all. Honey sold as sea buckthorn honey is normally a blossom honey from the surrounding flora, or an infusion of berry juice into honey — both legitimate products, neither a monofloral.
Other honey crop status groups
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