The best fruit trees for bees

Fruit trees in the catalogue

• AppleMalus domesticaApril to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• CherryPrunus aviumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• Sweet chestnutCastanea sativaJune to July. Nectar high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
• BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• RaspberryRubus idaeusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• Crab appleMalus sylvestrisApril to May. Nectar high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• Horse chestnutAesculus hippocastanumApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• CarobCeratonia siliquaSeptember to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• AlmondPrunus dulcisFebruary to March. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• LemonCitrus limonMarch to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• JujubeZiziphus jujubaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• Sweet orangeCitrus sinensisMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• AvocadoPersea americanaFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• MacadamiaMacadamia integrifoliaAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• PearPyrus communisMarch to May. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
• PlumPrunus domesticaMarch to April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• American persimmonDiospyros virginianaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• LoquatEriobotrya japonicaNovember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• CashewAnacardium occidentaleNovember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• MangoMangifera indicaJanuary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• BlackcurrantRibes nigrumApril to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• QuinceCydonia oblongaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
• MedlarMespilus germanicaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen high.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
• LycheeLitchi chinensisFebruary to April. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop

What this group covers

12 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.

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.

• Mason bees
• Mining bees
• Western honey bee
• Bumblebees
• Rusty patched bumblebee
• Horned mason bee
• Japanese orchard bee
• Early mining bee
• Anatolian honey bee
• Western bumblebee
• Common eastern bumblebee
• Leafcutter bees

Honeys from these plants

• Wildflower honeyVaries with the season and the landscape. Pale spring crops are floral and light; late-summer crops darker, fruitier and stronger.
• Chestnut honeyAromatic, woody and unmistakably bitter — sweetness first, tannin second, and a long dry finish.
• Blueberry honeyTangy and lightly fruity with a green, slightly astringent edge — recognisably related to the berry without tasting of jam.
• Lingonberry honeyDelicate and clean with a distinct tart berry note and a fresh acidity — one of the few honeys that genuinely tastes of the fruit its plant produces.
• Raspberry honeyDelicate and lightly fruity with a clean bright acidity — one of the few honeys where a taster unprompted names the right fruit.
• Siberian taiga honeyComplex and warm with a herbal lift over caramel, and a density that comes directly from the low moisture — thick, concentrated and long on the palate.
• Urban honeyVaries enormously and is frequently more complex than a rural multifloral, because the flowering succession is longer and the species mix wider.
• Tochi honeyMalty and rich with a distinct woody astringency and a long dry finish — assertive without being harsh, and closer to a dark forest honey than to a blossom one.
• Carob honeyDark, malty and distinctly savoury with a fermented, almost cheesy note that people either find fascinating or cannot get past.
• Almond blossom honeyDistinctly bitter with a marzipan aroma over it — one of the few honeys where bitterness arrives before sweetness, and an acquired taste even among people who like bitter honeys.
• Lemon blossom honeyBright, sharply citrus and clean — lemon zest and blossom rather than the softer neroli of orange blossom, with a genuine acidity behind it.
• Mikan honeyDelicate and bright with a pronounced fresh citrus-blossom aroma and a clean acidity — lighter and fresher than Mediterranean orange blossom honey.