The best spring plants for bees in pots
The plants that flower between March and May are feeding colony expansion and solitary emergence at once. Quantity matters less here than presence.
The rule behind this list
Plants the catalogue records as suited to containers and window boxes. Filtered to plants whose flowering window overlaps March to May.
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 spring
Spring planting competes with nothing — this is the season most gardens are already reasonably covered in, thanks to fruit blossom, bulbs and the willows. The genuine gaps sit at either end: early March, before the blossom starts, and late May, in the pause between fruit blossom and the summer perennials. A plant that covers either of those is worth two that flower in April.
The spring mistake
Tidying. The single most damaging spring habit is cutting, mowing and clearing at exactly the moment bees need the ground undisturbed and the dandelions flowering. A lawn left uncut through April produces more forage than most deliberate planting, and it costs nothing.
In flower through the whole of spring
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusFebruary to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- LemonCitrus limonMarch to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- BanksiaBanksiaMarch to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- PrimrosePrimula vulgarisFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- WallflowerErysimumMarch to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Sweet orangeCitrus sinensisMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- CoffeeCoffea arabicaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Resin spurgeEuphorbia resiniferaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- AubrietaAubrieta deltoideaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
In flower for part of spring
- ThymeThymusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- SnowdropGalanthus nivalisJanuary to March. Nectar low, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- SageSalviaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- CatmintNepetaMay to October. Nectar very 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
- CrocusCrocusJanuary to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- CotoneasterCotoneasterMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- HelleboreHelleborusDecember to April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Winter aconiteEranthis hyemalisJanuary to March. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumMay to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- AlliumAlliumApril to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- BilberryVaccinium myrtillusApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Christmas boxSarcococca confusaDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- MangoMangifera indicaJanuary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- GooseberryRibes uva-crispaMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ApricotPrunus armeniacaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- PeachPrunus persicaMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Winter clematisClematis cirrhosaNovember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- DaphneDaphneJanuary to April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Hardy cyclamenCyclamen coumDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Siberian squillScilla sibericaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Grecian windflowerAnemone blandaMarch to April. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
- BugleAjuga reptansApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaMay to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasiiApril to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaMay to September. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- ChivesAllium schoenoprasumMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- AjwainTrachyspermum ammiJanuary to March. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Green cardamomElettaria cardamomumApril to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
Check these against your region before planting
1 plant in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Cotoneaster. 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
- Rosemary honeyDelicate and softly aromatic — floral first, with a thin thread of resin behind it that tells you where it came from.
- Hymettus honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal, with a warm thyme character, a resinous maquis edge and a long finish that carries a distinct savoury note.
- Alcarria honeyDelicate and aromatic, with a clean herbal sweetness — the rosemary type is softer and more floral, the lavender type more perfumed and slightly camphoraceous.
- Narbonne rosemary honeyDelicate and clean with a soft herbal floral note and a texture that does much of the work — one of the classic pale European honeys.
- Thyme honeyWarm, herbal and savoury — thyme and dry stone, with a peppery lift and a very long finish.
- Alpine meadow honeyComplex and aromatic, with a herbal lift over warm caramel and a distinctly clean finish — the flavour of a great many plants rather than of any one.
- 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.
- Ak balMild, creamy and delicately floral with a faint herbal lift — the texture is much of the appeal, dense and smooth and dissolving rather than sticky.
- 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.
- Blue curls honeyExtremely delicate with a clean sweetness and a faint herbal lift — one of the mildest honeys there is, and prized for exactly that.
- Central Otago thyme honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal with a warm thyme character and a long savoury finish — closely comparable to a good Greek thyme honey, which surprises most people.
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?