Himalayan Balsam Crop

[MrTrueman]

Hi All,

After a wet July I had to feed a couple of my hives. However after the rain all three of my hive have gone completely mad….I have never seen them work so hard all season. I have finally sussed out the strip across their back is Himalayan balsam. One of the hives I was feeding has a super three quarters full and I have added another.

The apiary backs on to a river and I have taken a look and I can see loads of Balsam along the banks. So I am thinking I have struck gold and the bank is full of it all along the river. What do you guys think? And is it true it flowers until the first frost?

 

[VEG]

I have balsom too it flowers well into october for me.

 

[DrNick]

Mine are coming back covered in the stuff, they look like little flour graders from the TV adds from when I was a kid.

 

[Frisbee]

I've got loads

 

[ribblesbees]

Great picture Frisbee, I wondered what it looked like. Now I know what to look for.

 

[David P]

Now whatever would happen if a few of those seeds were to find their way into the post and were accidently dropped near a pond close to my bees. Wouldnt that be a shame.

 

[Nopants]

I've got loads

Got loads of that here too..

I was wondering what they were working on... Also they are comming back with bright red pollen. Whats that from?

 

[ribblesbees]

Now whatever would happen if a few of those seeds were to find their way into the post and were accidently dropped near a pond close to my bees. Wouldnt that be a shame.

Or if a eco terrorist/green warrior or whatever wanted to act on this idea of helping bees.

I know Pete's done videos about planting wild flowers on canal banks, but has anyone else done any wild flower planting.

 

[Frisbee]

Now whatever would happen if a few of those seeds were to find their way into the post and were accidently dropped near a pond close to my bees. Wouldnt that be a shame.

Himalayan Balsam is a bad invasive weed, only recently introduced to this country, it doesn't need any encouraging. If you walk through it when it has seed pods on, they pop open and the seeds fly out with some force, quite a surprise. In June 2007 this happened and it washed all the young plants away, it has built itself up pretty quickly as you can see, the riverbank is covered for some distance. It has a funny narcotic type smell (not that I would know....................) I was very lucky with that hive, the legs are in the floods and it's fast flowing there. I moved it after that, but it hasn't really flooded since.

Frisbee

 

[ribblesbees]

Oh didn't realise it was so invasive. I'd rather stick to native plants.

You were lucky with that hive/floods Frisbee.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

I was quite naughty and uprooted several of those recently and planted them on a stream near me.
I know, I know, I'm bad.

Thing is, I've only seen bumbles going into it though......

 

[rae]

Thing is, I've only seen bumbles going into it though.....

I was waiting for someone to say that! We've got two hives, and quite a bit of balsam, but the bees don't seem to care for it - they're getting tons of pollen from somewhere else. The Bumblers on the other hand are all over the balsam - saw a couple of queens this week end, now they're really big bees!

 

[Marvin]

I was quite naughty and uprooted several of those recently and planted them on a stream near me.
I know, I know, I'm bad.

Thing is, I've only seen bumbles going into it though......

That's not "naughty"; that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard anyone admit to doing.

This pernicious weed is wrecking riverbanks all over the country and is a BIG threat to native species.

 

[hedgerow pete]

stick to transplanting native flowers it safer and easier to do, other wise we send marvin round with the weed killer