Seven-son flower
A Chinese shrub that flowers in September and October in clusters of seven, carrying scented cream flowers followed by brilliant rose-red sepals that colour the plant for weeks afterwards. It is one of the best late-flowering shrubs for bees and remains rare in gardens.
Value to bees
- Nectar
- High
- Pollen
- Moderate
- As a honey crop
- Not a honey source
- Which bees, and why
- Worked heavily through September and October by bees and butterflies. Its late timing puts it alongside ivy and fatsia in the small group of plants carrying colonies into winter.
Small tubular flowers with a flared mouth in accessible clusters.
- Worth knowing
- A generous late-season nectar source, and among the better shrubs for autumn forage.
Flowering
- In flower
- September to October (northern hemisphere)
A late flow, running when very little else is available.
Growing it
- Conditions
- Full sun to light shade on well-drained soil. Fully hardy and undemanding once established.
- Size
- 3-6 m tall.
- Native range
- Central China, where it is rare and endangered in the wild.
- Suits
- Large gardens, Small gardens
- The rose-red display after flowering is the sepals, not a second flowering — the nectar has gone by then.
- Peeling tan bark makes it worth siting where it can be seen in winter.
- Endangered in the wild in China and secure in cultivation, which is an unusual combination.
What it looks like
A large shrub or small tree with peeling tan bark and terminal clusters of small scented cream flowers arranged in whorls of seven, followed by conspicuous rose-red persistent sepals.
Sources
- Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland — Bloomsbury (2015) · Field guide
- HoneyHQ editorial synthesis — HEKNO Ltd · HoneyHQ synthesis
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.
Guides covering this plant
- How to make a garden genuinely useful to beesMost bee-friendly advice covers flowers in June, which is the one thing bees are least short of. The gaps are at the ends of the year — and half the problem is not flowers at all.
- Autumn plants for beesAutumn forage decides how well colonies enter winter. It is also when one plant does more work than everything else combined, and most people regard it as a nuisance.
Tools for planning planting
- 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?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?