Primrose family plants for bees
Early, low and modest. Primroses and cyclamen are not heavy producers, and in February that is not the point.
Why this family matters
The value of this family is entirely a matter of timing. Primrose, cowslip and hardy cyclamen produce moderate nectar and moderate pollen, which in June would make them unremarkable — but they flower between December and May, when a bumblebee queen emerging on a mild afternoon has almost nothing else to visit. A garden's value to bees is limited by its worst month rather than its best, and this is a family that improves the worst month.
When it flowers
Hardy cyclamen from December to March, primrose February to May, cowslip in April and May. All three naturalise in grass or under deciduous shade, which is space most gardens are not using for anything else.
Which bees it serves
Cowslip's deeper tube favours long-tongued bumblebees and the bee-fly; primrose is more open and takes a wider range. Both are visited by early solitary bees. Quantities are small, which is why these belong in a plan alongside willow or hellebore rather than instead of them.
Primrose family plants in the catalogue
What this group covers
6 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 | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| March | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| April | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| May | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| June | nothing | No | No |
| July | nothing | No | No |
| August | nothing | No | No |
| September | nothing | No | No |
| October | nothing | No | No |
| November | nothing | No | No |
| December | 1 | Yes | Yes |
What this group does not cover
Nothing in flower: June, July, August, September, October, November. Planting only from this group would leave those months empty.
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.
Other families
- Daisy family
- Mint family
- Rose family
- Pea family
- Honeysuckle family
- Heather family
- Buttercup family
- Myrtle family
- Cabbage family
- Borage family
- Carrot family
- Mallow family
- Onion family
- Buckthorn family
- Maple and horse chestnut family
- Sapodilla family
- Plantain family
- Citrus family
- Protea 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?