Very high
The heaviest pollen sources there are. Willow, poppies, gorse and the mallows — several of which give nothing in nectar and are worth planting anyway.
27 records · pollen value
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sweet chestnutCastanea sativaAn exceptional pollen source — the catkins shed enormous quantities — and a good nectar source in the right weather. The pollen arrives at a useful moment for colonies building towards late summer.
- Oilseed rapeBrassica napusTop-rated for both nectar and pollen, and delivered at exactly the moment colonies are expanding fastest in spring. Its faults are entirely about what comes after.
- 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.
- Goat willowSalix capreaThe single most important early-season pollen source across much of Europe. Its value is not in yielding honey but in what it makes possible six weeks later.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Crab appleMalus sylvestrisExcellent spring pollen and good nectar. Its particular value is the length of the flowering window relative to a cultivated apple.
- Horse chestnutAesculus hippocastanumTop-rated for both, in enormous quantity, from a single tree. One mature horse chestnut is worth a considerable area of border planting.
- RockroseCistus ladaniferAn outstanding pollen source and a good nectar one, and a plant that also supplies resin for propolis — an unusual triple contribution.
- AlmondPrunus dulcisTop-rated for both, at the single most valuable moment of the year for a colony coming out of winter. That is precisely why the pollination market exists.
- 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.
- GorseUlex europaeusZero nectar and top-rated pollen, available in midwinter. Alongside hazel and poppy it is the clearest argument for rating the two separately.
- 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.
- Himalayan balsamImpatiens glanduliferaOutstanding on both counts, at a time of year when little else offers anything. This is the whole difficulty.
- Squash and pumpkinCucurbita pepoA generous nectar and pollen source in the early morning, and unavailable for the rest of the day.
- OsierSalix viminalisA modest nectar source and an outstanding pollen source at the point in the year when pollen matters most — colonies need it for brood, not for stores.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other pollen value groups
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