Borage family plants for bees
Pound for pound the highest nectar producers in the catalogue. Borage refills within minutes of being emptied, which is why bees work it obsessively.
Why this family matters
Boraginaceae plants secrete nectar at a rate almost nothing else matches, and — unusually — they replenish it continuously rather than in a daily flush. A borage flower emptied by a bee is measurably productive again within a couple of minutes, which means a single plant supports a stream of visitors all day. Phacelia is the same story at agricultural scale and is sown deliberately as a bee crop across Europe. Viper's bugloss is the wild version and one of the best nectar plants in Britain.
When it flowers
Lungwort covers February to May, forget-me-not April to June, comfrey May to September, and borage, phacelia and viper's bugloss between them run June through October. Borage sown in succession will flower until the frosts.
Which bees it serves
The nodding tubular flowers of comfrey and lungwort favour long-tongued bumblebees, and short-tongued bees frequently bite through the base to rob them — nectar robbing is easier to observe on comfrey than on almost any other plant. Borage and phacelia are open enough for everything, and phacelia is a heavy pollen source as well.
Worth knowing before you plant it
Comfrey and borage both self-seed enthusiastically and comfrey is close to impossible to remove once established, because any root fragment regrows. Site it where that is acceptable.
Borage family plants in the catalogue
- BorageBorago officinalisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- PhaceliaPhacelia tanacetifoliaJune to October. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- Viper's buglossEchium vulgareJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
What this group covers
9 of 12 months have something in flower. Nectar and pollen are counted separately and a month counts only where at least one plant offers that resource at moderate value or better — a plant in flower is not the same as a plant worth visiting.
| Month | In flower | Nectar | Pollen |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | nothing | No | No |
| February | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| March | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| April | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| May | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| June | 5 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| August | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| September | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| October | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| November | nothing | No | No |
| December | nothing | No | No |
What this group does not cover
Nothing in flower: January, November, December. Planting only from this group would leave those months empty.
Check these against your region before planting
1 plant in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Viper's bugloss. HoneyHQ does not know where you are and will not guess, so it flags rather than filters.
Bees these plants are recorded with
Taken from the relationships on each plant record. These are the well-attested associations rather than an exhaustive list of visitors, so treat the number as a floor.
Honeys from these plants
- Borage honeyVery light and very clean, with a faint cucumber-fresh note that fades with age. Sweetness without commentary.
- Tajinaste honeyDelicate and clean with a light floral sweetness and a faint mineral edge from the volcanic ground — subtle rather than characterful.
- Salvation Jane honeyMild and clean with a soft floral sweetness — pleasant, unassertive and produced in enormous quantity.
Other families
- Daisy family
- Mint family
- Rose family
- Pea family
- Honeysuckle family
- Heather family
- Buttercup family
- Myrtle family
- Cabbage family
- Carrot family
- Mallow family
- Onion family
- Buckthorn family
- Maple and horse chestnut family
- Sapodilla family
- Plantain family
- Citrus family
- Protea family
- Primrose family
- Asparagus family
- Currant family
- Elder and viburnum family
- Pine family
- Cashew and mango family
- Palm family
- Ivy family
- Oak and chestnut family
- Leatherwood family
- Spurge family
Plan with these
- Flowering calendar
What should I plant so that something is always in flower for bees?
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?