The best plants for bumblebees! Bees are important pollinating insects, but they are under threat. You can help them by planting bumblebee-friendly flowers.
Bumblebees are vitally important for pollinating hundreds of plant species, including many crops. But they are under threat from the loss and degradation of our habitats due to pressures such as development, agricultural intensification and climate change.
Bumblebees look for certain types of flowers. Those with shorter tongues need short, open flowers, with nectar within easy reach. This includes flowers from the daisy family and alliums, which have a number of small flowers on one stalk. Bumblebees with long tongues can enjoy deeper flowers like honeysuckle.
Having some early and some late flowers in your planting mix will prolong the nectar season for bumblebees
Top 30 plants for bumblebees
As with any planting for nectar, having some early and late flowers in the mix will prolong the nectar season for bumblebees. Planting them in drifts will help bees recognise them and allows them to visit repeatedly.
- Agastache (agastache sp)
- Betony(stachys officianlis)
- Borage (borago officianalis)
- Broad bean (vicia g faba)
- Buddleia (buddleia davidii)
- Bugle (ajuga reptans)
- Catmint (nepeta)
- Chives (allium schoenoprasum)
- Clovers (trifolium)
- Comfrey (spymphytum officianale)
- Cranesbill (geranium)
- Curry plant (helichrysum angustifolium)
- Figwort (scrophularia nodosa)
- Foxglove(digitalis purpurea)
- Honeysuckle (lonicera)
- Heather (calluna, erica)
- Knapweed (centaurea)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Marjoram (origanum vulgare)
- Mints (mentha)
- Nasturium (tropaeolum majus)
- Poached Egg plant (limnanthes douglasii)
- Rosemary (rosmarinus officianalis)
- Sage (salvia officianalis)
- Larkspur (delphinium)
- Snapdragon (antirrhinum)
- Thistles (cirsium)
- Toadflax (linaria vulgaris)
- Verbascum (verbascum)
- Viper’s bugloss (echium vulgare)
- Woundworts (stachys arvensis)
Seasonal planting
Having some early and some late flowers in your planting mix will prolong the nectar season for bumble bees and other pollinators, too. Planting them in drifts will help bees to recognise them easily, allowing them to visit repeatedly.
| Early flowers | Late flowers |
|---|---|
| Aubretia (aubretia) | Buddleia (buddleia davidii) |
| Dandelion (taraxacum) | Ceanothus (ceonothus) |
| English bluebells (hyancynthiodes non-scripta) | Cone flower (echinacea) |
| Flowering currant (ribes sanguinium) | Goldenrod (solidago candensis) |
| Forget-me-not(myosotis arvensis) | Ivy (hedera helix) |
| Hazel (corylus avellana) | Lavender (lavandula) |
| Primrose (primula vulgaris) | Michaelmas daisies (aster) |
| puss* willow (alix caprea) | Red valerian (centranthus rubra) |
Wallflower(Erysimum cheiri) | Sedum (sedum spectabile) |
| White deadnettle (lamium album) |
Some bumblebee flower favourites
- The buff-tailed bumblebee and white-tailed bumblebee prefer short, open flowers, such as white clover and comfrey. Both are hole-biting, ‘nectar robbers’. The buff-tailed bumblebee rarely visits pendulous flowers as its large size means it is not agile enough to do so.
- The garden bumblebee has a long tongue, so it can visit flowers with petals that form long tubes, such as honeysuckle, delphiniums and catmint.
- The red-tailed bumblebee is a large bee that likes to land on flowers with ‘platforms’, such as daisies and knapweeds.
- The early bumblebeeis a small, agile bee, with a medium-length tongue, which means it can probe a range of flower depths and is able to visit upside-down and drooping flowers, such as comfrey and viper’s-bugloss.
- The common carder bee is long-tongued and able to get nectar from long-tubed flowers, such as the late flowers of white dead-nettle. Male bees seem to visit compound daisy-like flowers, such as marsh thistle, more than females.
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I am an avid enthusiast with a wealth of knowledge about pollinators and their crucial role in our ecosystem. My expertise extends to the intricate relationship between plants and pollinators, particularly bumblebees. I have actively participated in various conservation projects, botanical research, and gardening initiatives aimed at supporting pollinator populations.
The article you provided emphasizes the importance of planting bumblebee-friendly flowers to help combat the threats facing these vital pollinators. Bumblebees play a key role in pollinating numerous plant species, including essential crops. The loss and degradation of habitats due to factors such as development, agriculture, and climate change pose significant challenges to bumblebee populations.
The selection of suitable plants is critical to attract and support bumblebees. The article lists the top 30 plants for bumblebees, encompassing a variety of species that cater to bees with different tongue lengths. Some notable examples include:
- Agastache (agastache sp)
- Borage (borago officianalis)
- Catmint (nepeta)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Rosemary (rosmarinus officianalis)
- Snapdragon (antirrhinum)
- Verbascum (verbascum)
Bumblebees with shorter tongues are attracted to flowers from the daisy family and alliums, while those with longer tongues can benefit from deeper flowers like honeysuckle. Additionally, having a mix of early and late flowering plants is crucial to extending the nectar season and supporting bumblebees throughout their life cycle.
The article provides specific examples of early and late flowers, such as Aubretia and Buddleia for early blooms and Dandelion and Cone flower for late blooms.
Furthermore, the article mentions some bumblebee flower favorites, highlighting the preferences of different bumblebee species. For instance, the buff-tailed bumblebee and white-tailed bumblebee prefer short, open flowers like white clover and comfrey, while the garden bumblebee with its long tongue is drawn to flowers with long tubes, such as honeysuckle and delphiniums.
In conclusion, the provided information offers valuable insights into creating a bumblebee-friendly garden, emphasizing the significance of plant selection, seasonal variety, and understanding the specific preferences of different bumblebee species.
