September
Plants in flower in September. A garden's value to bees is limited by its worst month rather than its best, so the list worth reading is the one for a month your own garden has nothing in.
124 records · flowering month
- White cloverTrifolium repensOne of the very few plants that is both a top-tier nectar source and a substantial pollen source, over a long season, at landscape scale.
- SunflowerHelianthus annuusAn outstanding late-summer pollen source at a point in the season when pollen is becoming scarce, which matters for colonies raising the bees that will overwinter.
- BrambleRubus fruticosusThe combination of a very long season, high nectar value and reliability in variable weather makes bramble the workhorse of northern European summer forage.
- IvyHedera helixOne of the very few plants that is top-rated for both nectar and pollen, and it delivers them when the year's other options have finished. For overwintering insects this is decisive.
- HeatherCalluna vulgarisThe plant that turns British and northern European moorland purple in August, and the source of one of the world's most unusual honeys. Heather flowers at the very end of the northern summer, on acid ground that supports almost nothing else, and its nectar produces a thixotropic honey that behaves like no other. Whole beekeeping traditions in Scotland, northern England and the German heaths exist to catch this one flow.
- Wildflower meadowMixed native floraThe highest combined forage value of anything in this catalogue, because of diversity and duration rather than any single plant's output.
- EucalyptusEucalyptusProlific in both nectar and pollen when flowering, though the pollen of some species is nutritionally poor for honey bees, and colonies confined to a single eucalypt species can suffer over time despite abundant forage.
- BuckwheatFagopyrum esculentumGenuinely useful as a late-summer gap filler, and its speed from sowing to flower makes it one of the few forage plants that can be deployed tactically within a single season.
- AlfalfaMedicago sativaExcellent forage on paper, and the tripping mechanism complicates it in practice: a honey bee robbing nectar from the side of the flower collects no pollen and delivers none.
- BorageBorago officinalisOne of the few plants that genuinely deserves the top rating for nectar, and it earns it through replenishment rate rather than through abundance of flowers.
- PhaceliaPhacelia tanacetifoliaOne of very few plants rated top for both nectar and pollen, delivered late in the season when both are scarce. That combination is why it appears in nearly every agri-environment seed mix in Europe.
- DandelionTaraxacum officinaleThe pollen is what makes it critical. It arrives when colonies are expanding fastest and have the least in reserve, and bumblebee queens emerging from hibernation depend on early sources like this one to found a nest at all.
- Rosebay willowherbChamaenerion angustifoliumA major nectar source at a point in the year when many landscapes have gone quiet, and the mainstay of high-summer beekeeping across boreal North America and Scandinavia.
- Viper's buglossEchium vulgareAmong the most productive nectar plants in the European flora per flower, and a good pollen source alongside it. In New Zealand, naturalised echium is a significant commercial honey source under the name blue borage.
- Michaelmas daisySymphyotrichum novi-belgiiRated high for both, and delivered in September and October when the ratings matter most. In a garden, asters and ivy together carry the entire autumn.
- SageSalviaVery high nectar and only moderate pollen — sage feeds adult foragers superbly and contributes comparatively little to brood rearing, which is a common pattern in the mint family.
- MintMenthaGood nectar at a genuinely useful point in the season. Its value is timing and reliability rather than volume.
- MarjoramOriganum vulgareRepeatedly ranks at or near the top of controlled garden trials for total insect visits, and unusually it scores well for both bees and butterflies — few plants do both.
- CatmintNepetaVery high nectar over an exceptionally long season. Its ratings are strong and its real distinction is duration.
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleExceptional nectar, but genuinely restricted by flower shape — which is why the separate rating for accessibility matters more here than almost anywhere else.
- 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.
- VerbenaVerbena bonariensisGood ratings sustained over an exceptionally long season, and delivered late — verbena is often the last substantial nectar in a garden before ivy.
- CosmosCosmos bipinnatusGood ratings for both, delivered over months, from a plant that costs almost nothing. Its efficiency per pound spent is hard to beat.
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisModerate nectar and good pollen, delivered across an exceptionally long season including the shoulders of the year when little else is open. Its value is timing rather than volume.
- 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.
- GoldenrodSolidagoTop-rated for both nectar and pollen, delivered at the moment they matter most. For North American beekeeping this is the most important single genus in the second half of the year.
- Red cloverTrifolium pratenseTop-rated nectar that most of the bees people plant for cannot reach. This record exists largely to make that distinction concrete.
- Bird's-foot trefoilLotus corniculatusGood for both, over a long season, from a plant that thrives on the poor unimproved ground most other forage will not tolerate.
- KnapweedCentaurea nigraOne of the very best wild nectar plants in northern Europe, and unusually it delivers over months rather than weeks.
- Field scabiousKnautia arvensisAmong the best late-summer nectar plants in the northern European flora, and one of the few that supports an obligate specialist bee.
- YarrowAchillea millefoliumModerate nectar and good pollen, and its real distinction is who can reach it — yarrow serves the very small and short-tongued insects that deep-flowered garden plants shut out entirely.
- CornflowerCentaurea cyanusGood nectar over a long season from a cheap annual, and one of very few garden plants where a reader can actually see extrafloral nectaries at work.
- SedumHylotelephium spectabileGood nectar delivered at exactly the point when late bumblebee queens are fattening for hibernation and honey bees are topping up winter stores.
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumGood for both across a long season, from plants that grow in sun or shade and require essentially no maintenance.
- EchinaceaEchinacea purpureaGood for both, over a long late-summer season, from a plant that copes with heat and drought when many border perennials stop producing.
- CarobCeratonia siliquaStructurally important rather than abundant — a good nectar source at a time of year when a Mediterranean colony has almost no alternatives.
- Dead-nettleLamiumGood nectar over an exceptionally long season, including the winter months when almost nothing else is available to a foraging bumblebee.
- GorseUlex europaeusZero nectar and top-rated pollen, available in midwinter. Alongside hazel and poppy it is the clearest argument for rating the two separately.
- BetonyBetonica officinalisVery high nectar over a long window, and one of the better plants for long-tongued bumblebees, which are the group in most trouble.
- AgastacheAgastache foeniculumVery high on both counts across an exceptionally long late-season window, from a plant that needs no attention at all.
- BergamotMonarda didymaGood nectar, and genuinely restricted by flower shape — the ratings and the accessibility note need reading together here.
- HyssopHyssopus officinalisVery high nectar per square metre from a small drought-proof plant, delivered across the late-summer gap.
- Globe thistleEchinops ritroVery high for both, over a long late-summer window, from a plant that requires no watering and no staking.
- Sea hollyEryngiumVery high for both, in an entirely accessible form, at a point when many borders have gone over.
- MeadowsweetFilipendula ulmariaGood pollen and negligible nectar — one of the clearer garden examples of why the two need separate ratings.
- Purple loosestrifeLythrum salicariaAmong the top nectar producers in the European flora, delivered over a long late-summer window on ground that offers little else.
- Oxeye daisyLeucanthemum vulgareModerate nectar and good pollen, and its distinction is who can reach it — the very small and short-tongued insects that need shallow open flowers.
- Wild carrotDaucus carotaModerate nectar and good pollen, in the most accessible form available — its value is the breadth of the visitor list rather than the volume.
- FennelFoeniculum vulgareGood for both in a completely accessible form, over a long late-summer window, from a plant that needs nothing.
- ChicoryCichorium intybusGood for both during its morning window, and it flowers late in the season when many alternatives have finished.
- RudbeckiaRudbeckia fulgidaGood for both, over a long autumn window, from a plant that requires essentially nothing.
- HeleniumHelenium autumnaleGood for both over a long late-season window, from a flower shape that excludes nothing.
- Japanese anemoneAnemone × hybridaGood pollen and moderate nectar in autumn, from a plant that will grow in part shade where most late forage will not.
- DahliaDahliaGood for both in single-flowered forms across a very long late window, and close to zero in the doubles. The ratings here describe the single forms only.
- WallflowerErysimumGood nectar across an exceptionally long season, from a small drought-proof plant. Very few things offer eight months of forage from one position.
- HebeHebeGood for both across a long late window, from an evergreen shrub that also provides structure and shelter.
- MacadamiaMacadamia integrifoliaA good nectar and pollen source over a defined spring window.
- CottonGossypium hirsutumA prolonged nectar source from two distinct kinds of gland, plus abundant pollen.
- JarrahEucalyptus marginataA major nectar and pollen source in years when it flowers heavily.
- Silver firAbies albaNo floral nectar and negligible pollen. Its entire forage value is honeydew, which is why nectar and pollen are rated separately in this catalogue — a single bee-friendliness score would make this tree look worthless.
- Norway sprucePicea abiesNo floral nectar. Honeydew is the whole of its value, and it can be very substantial.
- Scots pinePinus sylvestrisNo floral nectar, moderate wind-borne pollen that bees will collect, and honeydew in very large quantities where the scale insect is established.
- Yellow starthistleCentaurea solstitialisAn outstanding summer nectar source in a season when Californian forage is otherwise very thin.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sea asterTripolium pannonicumA generous late nectar and pollen source in a habitat with almost no other flowering plants.
- White bryonyBryonia dioicaA long-running pollen source, and the entire basis of one specialist bee's existence.
- Himalayan balsamImpatiens glanduliferaOutstanding on both counts, at a time of year when little else offers anything. This is the whole difficulty.
- Japanese knotweedReynoutria japonicaAn excellent late nectar source, and moderate for pollen.
- HogweedHeracleum sphondyliumGenerous and highly accessible on both counts, and unusually long-running.
- SelfhealPrunella vulgarisA good nectar source and a moderate pollen source, and unusually valuable because it delivers them in mown grass.
- Common ragwortJacobaea vulgarisGenerous on both counts over a long season, and one of the most heavily used flowers in the British summer.
- 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.
- Bee bee treeTetradium danielliiOutstanding on both counts, and precisely timed to the late-summer forage gap.
- Japanese pagoda treeStyphnolobium japonicumA good late nectar source and moderate pollen, at a genuinely useful point in the season.
- Squash and pumpkinCucurbita pepoA generous nectar and pollen source in the early morning, and unavailable for the rest of the day.
- Bell heatherErica cinereaA good nectar source and moderate for pollen, over a long summer season on ground with few alternatives.
- Brazilian pepperSchinus terebinthifoliaA good autumn nectar source at a point in the Florida year when colonies would otherwise be consuming stores.
- MarmeleiroCrotonA good nectar and pollen source in a semi-arid landscape with limited alternatives.
- SnowberrySymphoricarpos albusA good nectar source with an exceptionally long season, which is its principal virtue.
- GojiLycium barbarumA useful nectar source over an unusually long season.
- SesameSesamum indicumA good nectar and pollen source, and unusual in offering nectar from two different kinds of gland.
- MopaneColophospermum mopaneModest floral nectar and a substantial honeydew resource, which is the reason the woodland supports beekeeping at all.
- Hemp agrimonyEupatorium cannabinumAn outstanding late-summer nectar source and one of the more productive plants in a European garden for its size.
- Joe Pye weedEutrochium purpureumAn outstanding late-season nectar and pollen source, and one of the most heavily visited plants in a late border.
- 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.
- Fodder radishRaphanus sativusA generous late nectar and pollen source in arable country where autumn forage is otherwise nearly absent.
- Winter savorySatureja montanaAn outstanding nectar source for its size, and one of the best small aromatic herbs for bees.
- Globe artichokeCynara cardunculusAn outstanding nectar and pollen source, and one of the single most productive flowers in a garden.
- 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.
- 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.
- Greek heathErica manipulifloraThe most important autumn forage across much of the Aegean, and the reason colonies there can be wintered without heavy feeding.
- TulsiOcimum tenuiflorumA dependable post-monsoon source in Indian apiaries, and one of the few whose cultivated area is driven by religious and medicinal use rather than by agriculture.
- MoringaMoringa oleiferaA dependable year-round trickle rather than a flow, which in a dryland landscape is worth more than its volume suggests.
- BabulVachellia niloticaOne of the major honey crops of northwestern India and Pakistan, and a substantial source across the Sahel.
- Coconut palmCocos nuciferaThe most reliable background forage across much of the coastal tropics, precisely because it never stops. Coastal apiaries frequently rest on it between the seasonal flows.
- Niger seedGuizotia abyssinicaA principal Ethiopian honey source and the reason the country's autumn crop is as large as it is, alongside the white honeys of the highland forests.
- Oil palmElaeis guineensisA heavy year-round pollen source and a poor nectar one, which makes plantation apiaries protein-rich and carbohydrate-poor — a genuine management problem rather than a technicality.
- BushwillowCombretum speciesA major and under-documented African honey source, second only to the acacias across much of the savannah belt.
- Spanish needleBidens albaAmong the most important sources in Florida beekeeping, and the one that carries colonies between the citrus, palmetto and gallberry flows.
- Mountain mintPycnanthemum speciesRepeatedly recorded as attracting more pollinator species than any other plant in comparative garden trials, and a genuinely outstanding choice for insect diversity rather than for honey volume.
- AngicoAnadenanthera colubrinaA principal source of the caatinga honey that northeastern Brazil exports in quantity, much of it organic-certified.
- ChañarGeoffroea decorticansA short, heavy and locally important spring flow across the Argentine dry interior.
- Yellow gumEucalyptus leucoxylonAmong the most valuable winter forage trees in southern Australia, and widely planted in shelterbelts and street plantings for that reason.
- WilgaGeijera parvifloraA dependable inland source when the rains have come, and one of the few trees that gives the western New South Wales apiaries anything at all in winter.
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