The best autumn annuals for bees
September and October forage is worth disproportionately more than anything else you can plant, because it determines what survives the winter.
The rule behind this list
Every plant in the catalogue recorded as an annual or biennial. Filtered to plants whose flowering window overlaps September to November.
Months here are northern-hemisphere temperate. Southern-hemisphere readers should shift by roughly six months — but that shift is an approximation rather than a translation, because day length, rainfall pattern and the local flora do not shift with it. Records that genuinely span both hemispheres say so.
What to prioritise in autumn
This is the highest-value gap in most gardens. Ivy first — allowed to reach adult growth and flower, which means not clipping it. Then the late daisies: Michaelmas asters, sedum, rudbeckia, helenium, Japanese anemone. Then autumn-flowering shrubs like abelia and seven-son flower. A garden that flowers into November is doing something almost no garden does.
The autumn mistake
Clipping ivy, which prevents it ever reaching the flowering growth phase, and pulling out annuals that are still in flower because the border looks untidy. Both remove forage at the moment it is most valuable and least replaceable.
In flower through the whole of autumn
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisMay to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Fodder radishRaphanus sativusAugust to November. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Niger seedGuizotia abyssinicaSeptember to November. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Spanish needleBidens albaJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
In flower for part of autumn
- SunflowerHelianthus annuusJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- BuckwheatFagopyrum esculentumJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- 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
- CosmosCosmos bipinnatusJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CornflowerCentaurea cyanusJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.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
- Yellow starthistleCentaurea solstitialisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Red bartsiaOdontites vernusJuly to September. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Himalayan balsamImpatiens glanduliferaJuly to October. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- Common ragwortJacobaea vulgarisJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Squash and pumpkinCucurbita pepoJune to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- SesameSesamum indicumJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Tree mallowMalva arboreaJune to October. Nectar high, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- HollyhockAlcea roseaJune to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaMay to September. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- ZinniaZinnia elegansJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Mexican sunflowerTithonia rotundifoliaAugust to October. Nectar very high, pollen high.Not a honey source
Check these against your region before planting
5 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Viper's bugloss, Yellow starthistle, Himalayan balsam, Common ragwort, Spanish needle. 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
- Sunflower honeyStraw, beeswax and pollen, with a slightly waxy mouthfeel and a fresh, faintly herbal edge.
- Buckwheat honeyMalt, molasses and wet straw, with a savoury, almost animal depth. The most polarising honey in general production.
- 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.
- 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.
- Star thistle honeyLight and clean with a distinct anise-and-cinnamon lift and a fruity sweetness underneath. Delicate but not blank.
- Balsam honeyMild and clean with a light pear-drop fruitiness and a soft floral finish — considerably gentler than its late-season timing suggests.
- Sesame honeyMild and clean with a distinct toasted-nut note and a light caramel base — the nutty character is genuine rather than suggested by the name.
- Niger seed honeyGolden, clean and gently grassy, with a soft finish. Closer to sunflower honey than to the darker forest honeys of the same country.
- Spanish needle honeyLight, mildly fruity and clean. An easy, agreeable honey rather than a dramatic one, which is exactly what an all-year background source produces.
Keep going
Plan the season
- Seasonal bee planner
It is this season and I want to do this — what should I plant?
- 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?