The best spring plants for bees
The plants that flower between March and May are feeding colony expansion and solitary emergence at once. Quantity matters less here than presence.
What to prioritise
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.
How this list is built
Every plant in the catalogue whose flowering window overlaps March to May. The heaviest nectar section below is a filter to the top nectar band present this season and preserves catalogue order within it — there is no ranking, because nothing in the records would justify one.
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.
The heaviest nectar plants of spring
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusFebruary to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- ThymeThymusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- White cloverTrifolium repensMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Wildflower meadowMixed native floraApril to September. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- EucalyptusEucalyptusJanuary to December. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Ogeechee tupeloNyssa ogecheApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Oilseed rapeBrassica napusApril to June. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- 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
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- RaspberryRubus idaeusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Red cloverTrifolium pratenseMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CotoneasterCotoneasterMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Horse chestnutAesculus hippocastanumApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- SycamoreAcer pseudoplatanusApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- AsphodelAsphodelus ramosusMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major 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
In flower through the whole of spring
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusFebruary to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- CherryPrunus aviumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- EucalyptusEucalyptusJanuary to December. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- DandelionTaraxacum officinaleMarch to October. Nectar high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- AsphodelAsphodelus ramosusMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- LemonCitrus limonMarch to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Chinese milk vetchAstragalus sinicusMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.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
- Dead-nettleLamiumJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- GorseUlex europaeusJanuary to December. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- 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
- AvocadoPersea americanaFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- CoffeeCoffea arabicaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- PearPyrus communisMarch to May. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
- KaranjPongamia pinnataMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Resin spurgeEuphorbia resiniferaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- NeemAzadirachta indicaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Lesser celandineFicaria vernaFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- AubrietaAubrieta deltoideaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Sea buckthornHippophae rhamnoidesMarch to May. Nectar none, pollen high.Not a honey source
- MoringaMoringa oleiferaJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Coconut palmCocos nuciferaJanuary to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- MangiumAcacia mangiumFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- NiaouliMelaleuca quinquenerviaMarch to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Oil palmElaeis guineensisJanuary to December. Nectar low, pollen very high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Spanish needleBidens albaJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen high.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.
| Month | In flower | Nectar | Pollen |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30 | Yes | Yes |
| February | 44 | Yes | Yes |
| March | 69 | Yes | Yes |
| April | 84 | Yes | Yes |
| May | 109 | Yes | Yes |
| June | 78 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 48 | Yes | Yes |
| August | 34 | Yes | Yes |
| September | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| October | 15 | Yes | Yes |
| November | 12 | Yes | Yes |
| December | 18 | Yes | Yes |
By what you are planting
Check these against your region before planting
19 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Eucalyptus, Cotoneaster, Sycamore, Thistle, Gorse, Oxeye daisy, Broom, Black locust, Mesquite, Chinese tallow, Tamarisk, Norway maple, Buckthorn, Lesser celandine, Sweet rocket, Sea buckthorn, Mangium, Niaouli, Spanish needle. 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.
The rest of the year
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?