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SouthWestern Ohio Beekeepers Association SWOBA

Beekeeping in the tri - States area, Cincinnati and surrounding states and counties

Best Easy to Find and Grow Flowers for Bees

Echium (Viper’s Bugloss)

Phacelia (Tansy)

Sage-Blue Bedder, Russian

Catanache (Cupid’s Dart)

Centaurea (Bachelor’s Buttons)

Sunflower (Check to make sure the variety is not pollen free)

Asclepias (Milkweeds, esp Incarnata and Green Milkweed

Goldenrod species

Asters

Melissa Officianalis (Lemon Balm)

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower, Clasping Coneflower)

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)

Monarda (Spotted Bee Balm)

Lobelia (Native Blue)

Cosmos (Single flowered varieties

Poppies (California and Oriental varieties)

Best Late Winter-Early Spring Flowers for Bees

Winter Aconite

Siberian Squill

Snowdrops (Galanthes)

Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)

Spring Flowering Crocus

Bluebells(try Virginia Bluebells)

Lenten Rose (Helleborus Orientalis)

Tulips- use by bees depends on the variety

Best Spring/Summer Flowers for Bees

Eryngium

Poppy

Borage Officianalis

Chives

Bugle (Ajuga)

Crane’s Bill Geranium

Thyme

Cerinthe purpurasceus (Blue Honeywort)

Lupine

Achillea

Pentstemon\Salvia

Echinops

Allium

Gaillardia

Sweet Pea

Passion Flower

Muscari

Forget-me-not (Myosotis)

Foxglove

Best Summer-Autumn Flowers for Bees

Scorpion Weed (Phacelia Tanacetifolia)

Asters

Sedum (Stonecrop)

Goldenrod (Solidago)

Cornflowers (Bachelor’s Buttons)

Salvia

Nasturtium

Scabiosa

Sunflower

Veronica

Nepeta (Catmint)

Bergamot (Bee Balm)

Balsam

Hollyhock

*English Ivy * (very invasive)

Mint Species

Sneezeweed (Helenium)

Oregano

Best Native Plants for Bees

Hairy Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum incanum)

Goldenrod

New England Aster

Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)

Cup Plant (Scrophularia californica)

Monarda Punctata

Phacelia Tanacetifolia (Lacy scorpion weed)

Chamerion angustifoium) (Fireweed)

Chamerion latifolium) (Dwarf Fireweed)

Cleome serrulata (Rocky Mountain Bee Plant)

Dalea Compacta (Compact Prairie Clover)

Dalea candida (White Prairie Clover)

Dalea purpurea (Purple Prairie Clover)

Eutrochium fistulosum (Joe Pye Weed)

Asclepias (Milkweeds)

Agastache (Hyssop)

Tidy Tips

Mimulus (Sticky Monkey Flower)

Echinacea purpurea (Coneflower)

Liatris (Prairie Blazing Star)

Smooth Blue Aster

Eryngium yuccafolium (Rattlesnake Master)

Best Trees and Bushes for Bees

PLANT

Part/Catalog No.

SHRUB

NOTES

Hazelnut

Corylus americana


X

Native, pollen source, nuts for food

and wildlife

Cornelian Cherry Dogwood

Cornus mas

X


Small ornamental tree, some fruiting

varieties available

Serviceberry

Amelanchier spp

X

X

Native, tree and bush forms

available, delicious fruit

Chokeberry

Aronia melanocarpa


X

Native, good fall color, fruit for food

and wildlife. Likes wet sites

Cane Fruits

Raspberry and Blackberry


X

Native, good fall color, fruit for food

and wildlife. Likes wet sites

Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis


X

Native, likes wet sites

Cotoneasters


X

Many varieties available

Basswood and Lindens Tilia spp.

X


Large shade trees, Basswood is a

native

Korean Evodia

Tetradium danielii

X


Small to medium tree, difficult to find

but great nectar source

Devil’s Walking Stick

Aralia spinosa

X

X

Native, usually grows in groups, very

unique tree, fruit for wildlife

Sweetspire

Itea virginica


X

Native, several varieties available ,

‘ Little Henry’

Butterfly Bush

Buddleia spp


X

Very fragrant, attractive to insects

and hummingbirds, many varieties

Russian Sage

Perovskia atriplicifolia


X

Long bloom times, very tough plant,

can spread

Franklin Tree

Franklinia alatamaha

X


Rare native, blooms appear with fall

color at the same time

Witch Hazel

Hamamelis virginiana

X

X

Native varieties bloom in the fall,

Non-native varieties bloom winter