Lime Tree Question?

[Bee-Key-Pur]

I have been offered an out apiary on a farm that has a half mile long drive through an avenue of lime trees.
I have no experience of lime honey, so my question is, does it present any problems honey production wise?

 

[Poly Hive]

Can be fickle. Can be profuse. I well remember seeing an apiary of forty Langstroths with three full supers on each. Stuffed to the brim they were.

As for the honey it handles normally.

PH

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Thankyou PH, sounds like it will be worth a go. Do you know at what time of the year they give up pollen and nectar?

 

[rockdoc]

I understand its around the end of June (in a normal year!). I'm in a similar position and am keen to see what this honey is like. It is highly regarded in Europe. Hope you get a good crop.

 

[Jimbo]

The Lime usually flowers in the first two week of July in our area. The colour is very light but is quite tasty and a lot of people seem to like the flavour. It can be a bit fickle and some years you might not get honey from it

 

[peterbees]

Lime honey is one of the best, with a gorgeous delicate flavour and very light, almost greenish in colour. Here in north Wales it flowers mid July, when blackberry is also in flower. It doesn't yield a crop of honey every year, but in a good lime year like 2011 you can get several supers per hive. It extracts easily, and it's good for drawing out foundation. You should do well!

 

[Adie]

Tastes really good; strong, tangy citrus flavour. Tends to flower in June here, but needs warm weather to yield well.
Adrian

 

[richardbees]

go for it!....better than being in the middle of a rapeseed farm

There's a v big Lime close to my hives which was in full blossom about the last 2 weeks of June last year. Walking underneath, you could hear the bees working the flowers, hard to say what came from where but it's definitely a Light honey

 

[adrian wilford]

THE BEST honey that my bees produce, most years, including the last 10 have yeilded. wish i was offered the site.

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Thanks guys, i’m feeling more inspired to put a number of hives up there and as it is an estate farm and the farm house is empty, I can move my bees from hell up there, I don’t know how secure the area is, but being in the middle of nowhere it should be safe, even my GPS couldn’t find the place....

 

[richardbees]

Maybe you can negotiate a fee for using your 'bees from hell' as a squatter deterrent!

 

[Swarm]

Sounds perfect, I was talking to a keeper from mid Wales last year and he was over the moon with his harvest.

 

[Meg]

You do need temperatures over 76 degrees F for a flow from lime 'though. Sorry to put a slight dampner on things......

Meg

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

You do need temperatures over 76 degrees F for a flow from lime 'though. Sorry to put a slight dampner on things......

Meg

Hmm, well lets hope this weather we are having sorts it's self out soon...

 

[MandF]

As other have said, bees love lime trees, and people generally love lime honey.

Re: temp, that shouldnt be a problem in summer as long as the trees arent in the shade ;-)

 

[Tom Bick]

You do need temperatures over 76 degrees F for a flow from lime 'though. Sorry to put a slight dampner on things......

Meg

I understand they also like a damp spring.

Last year the spring for me was very dry and for the first time in a few years the Limes produced less nectar and it looked like they produced less flowers.

This year it has been far from a dry and providing the sun will shine will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I envy any beeks near Bushy Park where I used to live. The area is awash with lime trees. I remember the scent was so heavy I'm not surprised bumbles fall out of the trees.

 

[dclewis]

Here the limes flower in June, and can be a good crop. But I tend to get them at the same time as the sweet chestnut so never get a true lime honey.

Dosn't the sticky stuff exuded by the aphids that suck the lime leaf sap also attract the bees which contributes to the earlier inflows of nectar about now and onwards?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes honeydew
Prized by some

 

[Skyhook]

I envy any beeks near Bushy Park where I used to live. The area is awash with lime trees. I remember the scent was so heavy I'm not surprised bumbles fall out of the trees.

you need to be careful which limes they are. Some are narcotic to bees, and many can fail to make it back. The wild small-leaved lime (tilia cordata)is good, as is the common lime (t. x europaea), commonly used in avenues. Unfortunately, due to the problems with honeydew dripping and with lots of suckering from the trunk, this has been to some extent superceded by T. x euchlora, specially selected for being poisonous to insects and therefore aphid and honeydew free.

The difference between T. x europaea and T. x euchlora is not obvious- there's a good page here