Elder family plants for bees

Guelder rose and viburnum, and a shrub that flowers through winter. Pollen-rich and nectar-poor, which is a real distinction rather than a technicality.

Adoxaceae · 3 plants in the catalogue · 5 bee relationships

Why this family matters

Elder produces flat heads of tiny flowers in enormous quantity and almost no nectar — it is a pollen plant and a hoverfly plant, and describing it as a great bee shrub without that qualification would be misleading. Guelder rose does better on nectar and adds sterile outer florets that advertise without producing anything, which is a nice illustration that a flower's visual display and its reward are separate things. Winter viburnum earns its place purely by flowering from November to March.

When it flowers

Guelder rose and elder in May to July; winter viburnum November to March. The winter member is the reason to grow the family in a small garden.

Which bees it serves

Elder is worked mainly by hoverflies and pollen-collecting solitary bees. Guelder rose takes a wider range including honey bees. Winter viburnum is visited by bumblebee queens and honey bees on mild days and by little else, because there is little else flying.

Elder and viburnum family plants in the catalogue

What this group covers

8 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.

Flowering, nectar and pollen coverage by month for this group
Month	In flower	Nectar	Pollen
January	1	Yes	No
February	1	Yes	No
March	1	Yes	No
April	nothing	No	No
May	2	Yes	Yes
June	2	Yes	Yes
July	2	Yes	Yes
August	nothing	No	No
September	nothing	No	No
October	nothing	No	No
November	1	Yes	No
December	1	Yes	No

What this group does not cover

Nothing in flower: April, August, September, October. Planting only from this group would leave those months empty.

Flowers but no meaningful pollen: January, February, March, November, December. Nectar feeds adult foragers and pollen feeds brood, so a plan supplying only the first starves the next generation.

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.

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?