Culver's root
A tall North American perennial carrying slender candelabra spires of small white or pale lilac flowers in midsummer, and among the most reliably bee-covered plants in a late-summer border. Its narrow spires open from the bottom upwards over several weeks, giving an unusually long useful period.
Value to bees
- Nectar
- High
- Pollen
- High
- As a honey crop
- Not a honey source
- Which bees, and why
- Tiny shallow flowers presented in enormous numbers on a spire — accessible to short-tongued bees and small solitary species, and worked continuously for weeks as the spire opens upwards.
Very small shallow flowers with exposed nectaries, accessible to almost every bee.
- Worth knowing
- A generous nectar and pollen source over an unusually long period for a single plant.
Flowering
- In flower
- July to September (northern hemisphere)
A long midsummer to late-summer flow, with the spires opening progressively from the base.
Growing it
- Conditions
- Sun or light shade on moisture-retentive soil. It dislikes drought and stands without staking in most sites.
- Size
- 1.2-1.8 m tall.
- Native range
- Eastern and central North America, in prairie, meadow and open woodland.
- Suits
- Large gardens, Small gardens, Meadow or wildflower area
- Needs moisture-retentive soil; it flops and disappoints on dry ground.
- Stands well without staking, which is unusual at this height.
- Leave the spent spires standing over winter — they are architectural and they shelter invertebrates.
What it looks like
An upright perennial with whorled lance-shaped leaves and slender tapering spires of tiny white to pale lilac flowers, branching into a candelabra at the top.
Sources
- Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production — Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2016) · Systematic review Link
- 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.
- A bee-friendly garden in the United StatesAround 4,000 native bee species and a continent too large for one planting list. What transfers is the method — regional natives, a long season and bare ground — rather than the species.
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?