Crocus

[alfazer]

Hoping to plant some crocus in the garden. Are there any particularly good varieties to look out for regarding pollen yield for my honey bees?

 

[beeno]

I would go for snowdrops as the birds and rain spoil the flowers of crocus.

 

[Swarm]

Hoping to plant some crocus in the garden. Are there any particularly good varieties to look out for regarding pollen yield for my honey bees?

Bog standard yellow and purple. The yellow ones will flower first, great early pollen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Species crocus naturalise well but blooming earlier than Swarm’s bog standards are often over before the bees are out properly.
I have hundreds planted in the apiary

 

[Tomlow bee]

Get snowdrops. I have many snowdrops in my garden and the spring is the only time that i see my bees in the garden in any numbers. I also have crocus but they are udually ignored.

Also do not waste your time with snowdrop bulbs but buy the snowdrops in the green just after they have finished flowering. Plenty of suppliers on internet.

 

[alfazer]

Neighbouring property has hundreds of snowdrops but it changed hands recently and I see the new owners are grazing goats where the snowdrops were. I guess that will be an end to the snowdrops?
Another reason to plant snowdrops too.

Thanks for the advice folks.

 

[Beefriendly]

Just move them to the stray at Harrogate for the spring...

 

[Tomlow bee]

Depends if the goats are still out grazing in January / February when the green leaves come through. Many goat owners around here, house their goats indoors over the winter.

 

[Millet]

I have recently panted 300 crocus and 40 hyacinth in planters so they can be moved out of harms way if the chickens take a fancy to them.. at my original apiary i planted hundreds of them a few years back and come spring the bees are all over them collecting pollen..they prefare the crocus and willow over the large areas of snow drops and i am yet to see my bees foraging on the snowdrops..

 

[Into the lions den]

Go to Parkers Dutch bulbs...wholesale site...not the retail one. A world of choice. Planted 10000 mixed crocus at the queen unit in 2016 from them...nice. Modest little flowers mainly but the bees still took a lot of pollen from them.

Its not a major benefit normally, even 10000 probably only gives enough pollen to keep a couple of decent colonies going, but it gives a little extra pollen to the mother colonies early in the season to get a little more breeding going.

 

[Curly green fingers]

I have recently panted 300 crocus and 40 hyacinth in planters so they can be moved out of harms way if the chickens take a fancy to them.. at my original apiary i planted hundreds of them a few years back and come spring the bees are all over them collecting pollen..they prefare the crocus and willow over the large areas of snow drops and i am yet to see my bees foraging on the snowdrops..

I'm the same I've never seen bee's on snowdrops but they were foraging on purple crocuses this spring
Have you ever had a honey flow from willow as this spring I had 3 brood frames of willow honey?

 

[philipm]

We've got plenty of snowdrops but they are like most flowers in spring unless it is warm you won't see a bee on them,when the sun comes out the ones not in the shade are covered in bees.

 

[Beefriendly]

I'm the same I've never seen bee's on snowdrops but they were foraging on purple crocuses this spring
Have you ever had a honey flow from willow as this spring I had 3 brood frames of willow honey?

Weather dependent foraging in spring. And the bees are inside the snowdrop flower, not always easy to spot.
.

 

[masterBK]

If you want to see bees on flowers in your garden at that time of year also consider Hellabores.

 

[Curly green fingers]

I didn't know about willow producing nectar untill this spring . We were very lucky this year to have such good weather and high temperatures enough for the willow to produce nectar . What temp will willow produce nectar at?

 

[alldigging]

Go to Parkers Dutch bulbs...wholesale site...not the retail one. A world of choice. Planted 10000 mixed crocus at the queen unit in 2016 from them...nice. Modest little flowers mainly but the bees still took a lot of pollen from them.

And ask your local councillors if they can support a bee friendly planting session on a verge somewhere. They can buy the bulbs and help organising a team to plant them.

 

[alfazer]

And ask your local councillors if they can support a bee friendly planting session on a verge somewhere. They can buy the bulbs and help organising a team to plant them.

Oh I like that idea. I know there are some don't-mow-let-it-grow schemes going on with the road verges.

The bulb planting was done too but it was daffodils, just to lift community spirits. Not much good for honey bees, as far as I know.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Oh I like that idea. I know there are some don't-mow-let-it-grow schemes going on with the road verges.

The bulb planting was done too but it was daffodils, just to lift community spirits. Not much good for honey bees, as far as I know.

Biggest problem is getting councils to differentiate between mowing like a lawn and total abandonment with sight lines obscured and noxious weeds spreading far and wide.
Mind you a thick patch of brambles is good to hide the odd corpse

 

[Swarm]

My local authority just mowed a nice verge of Borage flat to the ground. The only other planting they are interested in is Daffodils.

 

[Tomlow bee]

Oh I like that idea. I know there are some don't-mow-let-it-grow schemes going on with the road verges.

The bulb planting was done too but it was daffodils, just to lift community spirits. Not much good for honey bees, as far as I know.

Thats what i thought until i planted some early dafs that had fragrance. The bees love them so more being planted.