Carrot family plants for bees
Flat umbels of tiny shallow flowers — the most accessible nectar in any garden, and the family that feeds the insects nobody plants for.
Why this family matters
An Apiaceae umbel is a landing table of hundreds of minute flowers with completely exposed nectaries. That means no tongue length is required at all, which opens it to the short-tongued and small-mouthed insects that most flowers exclude: solitary wasps, hoverflies, small solitary bees, beetles. For a garden aiming at pollinators generally rather than bees specifically, this family does more work than any other, and hoverfly larvae eating aphids is a direct practical return on it.
When it flowers
A summer family, June to September almost throughout — wild carrot, hogweed, fennel, angelica and sea holly all occupy that window. Coriander allowed to bolt rather than being harvested joins them, which is the cheapest way into the family.
Which bees it serves
Honey bees work umbels readily, but the family's real value is breadth rather than volume: it supports the parasitoid wasps and hoverflies that a nectar-focused planting plan misses entirely. Sea holly is the exception on volume and is a genuinely heavy nectar source.
Worth knowing before you plant it
Giant hogweed is a serious hazard — its sap causes severe phototoxic burns — and it is a different plant from the common hogweed in this catalogue. Learn the difference before letting umbellifers naturalise.
Carrot family plants in the catalogue
- Sea hollyEryngiumJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Wild carrotDaucus carotaJune to September. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- FennelFoeniculum vulgareJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HogweedHeracleum sphondyliumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- CorianderCoriandrum sativumJune to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- AngelicaAngelica archangelicaJune to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- AjwainTrachyspermum ammiJanuary to March. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
What this group covers
7 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 | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| February | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| March | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| April | nothing | No | No |
| May | nothing | No | No |
| June | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 6 | Yes | Yes |
| August | 6 | Yes | Yes |
| September | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| October | nothing | No | No |
| November | nothing | No | No |
| December | nothing | No | No |
What this group does not cover
Nothing in flower: April, May, October, 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: Fennel. 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
- Coriander honeyWarm and spicy with an unmistakable coriander-seed aroma over a caramel base — one of the most immediately recognisable honeys there is.
- Carrot seed honeyDark, savoury and faintly medicinal, with a green umbellifer note and a slightly bitter finish. A challenging honey and an interesting one.
- Ajwain honeyAromatic and faintly medicinal, with a clear thyme-and-caraway note over light amber sweetness.
Other families
- Daisy family
- Mint family
- Rose family
- Pea family
- Honeysuckle family
- Heather family
- Buttercup family
- Myrtle family
- Cabbage family
- Borage 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?