Everyone is buzzing about bees because these vital pollinators need safe habitats where they can freely live and feed. The problem for many who don’t have space to grow bee plants is how to support these amazing insects. Even if you have just a small apartment or condobalcony, you can do your part to care for bees by growing a few outstanding bee plants. And of these plants, foxgloves (Digitalis spp.) are some of the best early summer bloomers for bees. Grow foxgloves in large pots to see the bees visit the colorful flower spikes while you relax and watch them work.
Foxgloves and Bees
The goal with all bee gardens is to provide flowers that bees pollinate. Colorful bee flowers like foxgloves tend to be rich in sweet nectar while providing quality fragrant, sticky pollen. Many bee flowers also tend to be old-fashioned cottage garden flowers that our grandmother’s grew and loved, like classic foxgloves. So, why not join the party with simple, well-planted pots of these beautiful herbaceous plants that pollinators love?
The common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a magnificent flower that has evolved to lure a specific pollinator: the bumblebee. That’s why foxglove is purple, the favorite flower color of bumblebees. The sturdy, broad, tubular flowers makes it easy for these plump bees to land on the spotted nectary of each bloom. The deep purple and white spots diminish deeper inside each bloom where nectar resides. The flower mouths are constructed to help bumblebees close their wings as they enter. From there, the flowers narrows, which forces the bees to squeeze in to reach the the nectar while also getting dusted with pollen.
Growing Foxgloves
Growing common foxgloves in pots is easy. To achieve the right size for flowering and longevity, be sure to plant them in large pots filled with the right potting soil. In dry climates of the western states where it’s rare to see summer rain, stick with potting soil designed to hold more moisture in the root zone. We suggest using eitherBlack Gold® Moisture Supreme Container Mix orBlack Gold Waterhold Cocoblend Potting Soil. Bothreduce water use during drought by retaining water better at the root zone. Once foxgloves stop flowering,augment pots with salvias, petunias, asters and other bee- friendly flowers
What are the benefits of our two top potting soils for water retention? The OMRI Listed Black Gold Waterhold Cocoblend Potting Soil is rich in coconut coir, a sustainable coconut byproduct renowned for its ability to absorb and hold moisturefor a long time without rapidly decomposing. This helps your plants remain moist in between watering, or if you forget to water the plants will survive.Black Gold Moisture Supreme Container Mix contains coir as well as a slow release fertilizer that’s effective for six months. It also contains earthworm castings, which are nutritive while encouraging natural, healthy microbial activity at the root zone.
Growing Foxgloves in Pots
Keep in mind that large pots grow larger plants, so don’t scrimp on the pot size and make sure it drains very well. In hot, dry conditions larger pots also allow your plants to root in deep where moisture is plentiful after the surface soil dries out. Lightweight pots are perfect for condo or apartment gardeners and are also easier to move and store for winter. Cast resin pots that copy great classical containers are attractive and light. To ensure adequate drainage of any pot you choose, slide a few pieces of broken tile underneath to create a gap which allows water to flow through the drain holes more freely.
There’s no greater reward than to discover a host of bumblebees and honey bees visiting your potted flowers. Just remember to avoid frilly hybrids and stick with the classic garden plants your grandmother grew. Easy-to-grow cottage garden flowers, like foxgloves, come true from seed and have offer a timeless allure to bees.
A bee's flower preference depends on the length of its tongue! Some bees have long tongues that can easily access nectar in tubular-shaped blossoms like penstemon, columbine, and honeysuckle, while those with short tongues go for daisies, asters, and sunflowers.
Flowers that come back up from their roots every year in the springtime are called “perennial” flowers. Some of the best perennial flowers to grow in a garden are peonies, daylilies, coneflowers, and hollyhocks. The specific types of flowers that return each spring depends on your region.
Add plants in the mint family, including peppermint, lavender, basil, and oregano. Bees also like rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile, marjoram, and bee balm. The heady perfume of these and other herbs often calls bees to visit your garden.
Geraniums. Geraniums can be helpful in repelling bees, particularly red geraniums, as bees cannot see the color red. It may seem counterintuitive that a flower would repel bees, but these flowers contain little to no pollen and have a scent that the stinging pest does not particularly like.
Some of the plants that are most attractive to bees and produce high quality honey are the flowers of blackberries, fruit and citrus trees, herbs (like rosemary, borage and sage), flowering bushes, clover and other wild flowers and, in the case of Monte-Bellaria, lavender.
Although scientific studies have varying results, most experts agree that bees prefer violet- and blue-colored flowers, as these flowers are frequently the most fruitful in many natural habitats. White flowers also attract bees, possibly because bees see the flowers as blue-green rather than white.
Honey produced from the nectar of Rhododendron ponticum contains alkaloids that can be poisonous to humans, while honey collected from Andromeda flowers contains grayanotoxins, which can cause paralysis of limbs in humans and eventually leads to death.
Perhaps the biggest showstopping perennial of them all is rose mallow, which is a hardy form of Hibiscus. Dinner plate-sized blossoms in shades of pink, red, magenta, lavender and white adorn these blooming plants every year from midsummer into early fall.
Many flowers make it easy for bees by having a built-in landing pad, such as the Lamiaceae family. Bee-friendly plants include basil, lavender, marjoram, oregano, sage, rosemary and mint, and they don't taste so bad for us either! But bees like more than just these tasty herbs.
Marigolds are attractive to bees provided you choose a variety with open centers, so insects can easily find the yellow florets. Little 'Gem' marigolds fit this description, but they are not as long-blooming as many French marigolds, which are the preferred type among pollinators in my garden.
They can also see blue-green, blue, violet, and “bee's purple.” Bee's purple is a combination of yellow and ultraviolet light. That's why humans can't see it. The most likely colors to attract bees, according to scientists, are PURPLE, VIOLET and BLUE.
Darker colors such as red appear black to bees, and since black is the absence of color bees are not naturally attracted to plants with red hues. Also, some tubular flowers are not attractive to bees because the shape is not conducive to pollination. Choosing red plants will discourage bees in the garden.
When the bees smell the banana scent, they interpret it as warning that there's danger, and some of their mates have already launched the attack. This can prompt the rest of the colony to aggressively seek out the intruder. The final scent that can trigger a reaction in bees is that of lemons.
Well we don't all look alike to them, according to a new study that shows honeybees, who have 0.01% of the neurons that humans do, can recognize and remember individual human faces.
Interestingly, vinegar is a natural and effective way to get rid of bees in a quick and swift fashion. Bees cannot handle vinegar, causing them to die almost instantaneously after exposure. Simply mixing a solution of strong vinegar and water is all you have to do to get rid of small amounts of bees in your home.
Bees also have a distaste for lavender oil, citronella oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon, and lime. These are all topical defenses you can add to your skin to keep bees away. Unlike other flying insects, bees are not attracted to the scent of humans; they are just curious by nature.
Enemies of the honey bee are everywhere, even including some of their insect relatives. Praying mantises, dragonflies, and ambush bugs eat adult honey bees. Spiders either catch bees in their webs and wrap them up for later, or they strike and kill bees as they forage.
Bees are particularly attracted to bee balm, echinacea, snap dragon, and hostas, as well as a number of other wildflowers like California poppies and evening primrose. Fun fact: Did you know that bees have excellent color vision? For this reason, they flock to yellow, purple, blue, and white flowers.
Research seems to conclude that the minerals and antioxidants found in honey have a positive correlation, meaning darker honey has higher amounts of both. Minerals found in honey come from the environment and soil, and then into the plants that bees pollinate.
Researchers believe that the original habitats of the honey bee are tropical climates and heavily forested areas. Honey bees can thrive in natural or domesticated environments, though they prefer to live in gardens, woodlands, orchards, meadows and other areas where flowering plants are abundant.
An untreated wooden plank, at least 10 cm wide. Plenty of hollow stems of different diameters (including the bees' preferred 3-5 mm), such as bramble, reed or bamboo. To attract a range of species include 2-10mm diameter holes. Saw, drill, screws and secateurs.
Vinegar is a great solution for deterring bees. Unlike chemical deterrents, vinegar doesn't contain any harsh substances, and it doesn't harm most plants. To make a homemade vinegar solution, mix together equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle.
Nectar is the sweet fluid produced by flowers to attract bees and other insects, birds and mammals. Worker bees drink the nectar and store it in a pouch-like structure called the crop.
We can, however, tell you the colors they are less likely to be drawn to. This would include lighter shades of any color but especially pale colors. These will almost make you invisible to bees. If this is exactly how you want to appear because you know the area you'll be in has lots of bees, just wear white.
Face the hive entrance away from the prevailing winds. Ideally, face the entrance in a southerly direction if you're in the northern hemisphere and northerly direction for the southern hemisphere.
They can also see blue-green, blue, violet, and “bee's purple.” Bee's purple is a combination of yellow and ultraviolet light. That's why humans can't see it. The most likely colors to attract bees, according to scientists, are PURPLE, VIOLET and BLUE.
The ideal situation would be early morning sun, late afternoon shade, and evening sun. A colony in those conditions would warm up early in the day and start flying. By late afternoon when temperatures spike, the bees would be shielded from direct sunlight.
Many of the insect hotels sold in garden markets, DIY stores or similar places are death traps: the borings, stems etc. have frayed edges. This can injure or kill the animals. Not exactly what people mean by “saving the bees”, isn't it? Simplification is harmless at best, but sometimes – like in this case – harmful.
The ideal height for a bee hotel is between 1 and 1.5 m off the ground. This will allow you to observe the nests and clean out any tubes that are clogged up.
Bee hotels should be placed 3 to 5 feet off of the ground. Trim any vegetation block- ing the front of the hotel. Mount the bee hotel on a 4x4 fence post (Figure 10) or to another structure by screwing through the front of the hotel frame, through the closed back, and into the structure.
Some of the plants that are most attractive to bees and produce high quality honey are the flowers of blackberries, fruit and citrus trees, herbs (like rosemary, borage and sage), flowering bushes, clover and other wild flowers and, in the case of Monte-Bellaria, lavender.
“If you find a tired bee in your home, a simple solution of sugar and water will help revive an exhausted bee. Simply mix two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water, and place on a spoon for the bee to reach.
The minimum amount of honey you should leave on your full-sized colony is equal to one full deep box, or about 90-100 pounds (this is the full weight of the box, frames, bees, and honey). If you are overwintering nucs, each nuc should have the equivalent of 8 deep frames full of honey.
Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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There’s no greater reward than to discover a host of bumblebees and honey bees visiting your potted flowers. Just remember to avoid frilly hybrids and stick with the classic garden plants your grandmother grew. Easy-to-grow cottage garden flowers, like foxgloves, come true from seed and have offer a timeless allure to bees.