The best autumn plants for bees in pots
September and October forage is worth disproportionately more than anything else you can plant, because it determines what survives the winter.
55 plants in flower between September and November · 8 through the whole season
The rule behind this list
Plants the catalogue records as suited to containers and window boxes. 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
- VerbenaVerbena bonariensisJune to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisMay to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- DahliaDahliaJuly to November. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- WallflowerErysimumMarch to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Lesser calamintClinopodium nepetaJuly to November. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- AbeliaLinnaea x grandifloraJuly to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Greek heathErica manipulifloraSeptember to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- TulsiOcimum tenuiflorumSeptember to February. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
In flower for part of autumn
- SunflowerHelianthus annuusJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- HeatherCalluna vulgarisAugust to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Strawberry treeArbutus unedoOctober to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor 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
- Michaelmas daisySymphyotrichum novi-belgiiAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- SageSalviaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- MintMenthaJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- MarjoramOriganum vulgareJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- CatmintNepetaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CosmosCosmos bipinnatusJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- YarrowAchillea millefoliumJune to October. Nectar moderate, 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
- SedumHylotelephium spectabileAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumMay to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- EchinaceaEchinacea purpureaJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- AgastacheAgastache foeniculumJuly to October. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- HyssopHyssopus officinalisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Sea hollyEryngiumJuly to September. Nectar very high, 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
- RudbeckiaRudbeckia fulgidaAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HebeHebeJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HarebellCampanula rotundifoliaJuly to September. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Small scabiousScabiosa columbariaJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Sea asterTripolium pannonicumJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- SelfhealPrunella vulgarisJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Lemon balmMelissa officinalisJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Bell heatherErica cinereaJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- BottlebrushMelaleuca citrinaOctober to January. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- GojiLycium barbarumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- LoquatEriobotrya japonicaNovember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- TeaCamellia sinensisOctober to December. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Winter clematisClematis cirrhosaNovember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Blazing starLiatris spicataJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Woodland sageSalvia nemorosaJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Russian sageSalvia yangiiJuly to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- BluebeardCaryopteris x clandonensisAugust to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaMay to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- 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
- Winter savorySatureja montanaJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- ZinniaZinnia elegansJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- FatsiaFatsia japonicaOctober to November. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- AgapanthusAgapanthus praecoxJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- MandacaruCereus jamacaruNovember to February. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
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
- Sunflower honeyStraw, beeswax and pollen, with a slightly waxy mouthfeel and a fresh, faintly herbal edge.
- Heather honeyStrong, smoky and slightly bitter, with a lingering woodfire-and-toffee character. One of the most complex honeys produced anywhere.
- Tree heath honeyStrong, malty and slightly bitter, with a burnt-caramel depth and a woody finish — assertive in a way that divides opinion sharply.
- Tibetan highland honeyDense and strongly herbal with a resinous depth and a faintly smoky finish — a concentrated honey that reflects both a short intense season and traditional processing.
- Mountain laurel honeyReported as bitter and sharp with a burning sensation in the throat, though the toxin is not reliably detectable by taste — which is the single most important fact about it.
- Strawberry tree honeyAggressively bitter — coffee grounds, artichoke and burnt sugar, with the sweetness arriving late and briefly. Nothing in food prepares most people for it.
- Borage honeyVery light and very clean, with a faint cucumber-fresh note that fades with age. Sweetness without commentary.
- Sage honeyMild, clean and slightly herbal, with a heavy silky body that is more of the experience than the flavour is.
- Dalmatian sage honeyDelicate and clean with a faintly medicinal sage note and a light herbal finish — subtle in a way that rewards eating it plain.
- Savory honeyIntensely herbal with a distinct peppery, almost oregano-like bite over a warm sweetness — one of the more assertive Mediterranean aromatics.
- Dittany honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal with a distinct medicinal lift and a warm oregano character — closer to a herbal infusion than to a floral honey.
- Coriander honeyWarm and spicy with an unmistakable coriander-seed aroma over a caramel base — one of the most immediately recognisable honeys there is.
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?