Hemp agrimony

Value to bees

Nectar

Very high

Pollen

High

As a honey crop

Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally

Which bees, and why

The flat head of tiny shallow florets acts as a landing platform and is accessible to almost every insect. It is one of the best butterfly plants in northern Europe and equally good for bees, hoverflies and beetles.

Flat heads of tiny shallow florets on a broad platform — the most accessible arrangement there is.

Worth knowing

An outstanding late-summer nectar source and one of the more productive plants in a European garden for its size.

Flowering

In flower

July to September (northern hemisphere)

A late summer flow, running when much of the meadow has finished.

Growing it

Conditions

Sun or part shade on damp to wet soil. It thrives in ground too wet for most border plants.

Size

1-1.5 m tall.

Native range

Europe, North Africa and western Asia, on damp ground, riverbank, fen, ditch and woodland ride.

Suits

Large gardens, Meadow or wildflower area, Small gardens

• Excellent for a pond margin, damp border or rain garden.
• Cut back in late winter rather than autumn — the hollow stems shelter overwintering invertebrates.
• Self-seeds moderately in damp ground; deadhead if that is unwelcome.

What it looks like

A tall upright perennial with hemp-like three-lobed leaves and broad flat-topped heads of fluffy dusty-pink florets, giving a soft hazy appearance.