Top 10 Plants For Bees During The Winter Months

Winters in the Northern Hemisphere are a little hard to survive for anybody. It is sad to share with you all, but nowadays, bee’s populations are decreasing at a very rapid speed.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere this list will give some ideas for planting for winter bee feed.

Some Bees remain active in colder months and need flowers to remain alive. They demand open flowers to access pollen and nectar easily.

Farmers who are into the business of growing crops such as strawberries, squash, and almonds are completely dependent on traveling of honey bees to get their fields pollinated. If bees are not there, there will be no food.

This can be best explained as the inadequacy of bees will lead to less pollination. As a result, most of the food, which is dependent on them to grow, will not be able to survive as a result we have to live without them. In short, the inadequacy of bees has a real impact on our food supply directly.

According to research, 42 percent of colonies collapsed in the United States in 2015.

Now, you all must be worried and must be thinking as to how you can help to get rid of this problem.

So let me tell you that if you want you can support bees to survive. Yes, you heard it correct. Bees need flowers whenever they are active.

In winter’s they ask for winter blooming flowers to provide pollen and nectar. Plants provide an essential habitat for honey bees with beehives and bee checks. Flowers in winter are a welcome sight for both gardeners as well as for pollinating insects. To make your task a little easier than before, here is a list of top 10 plants that you can go to help bees to survive even in harsh winters.

1. Aconite : Aconite starts blooming in the beginning of the year that is in the months of January and February. These plants can tolerate temperature even if it is -20 degrees. It consists of a bright, buttercup like flowers and bears green leaves which help to attract bees.
2. Rosemary: Vacations Rosemary, an evergreen perennial herb blossoms in the month of November- December as well as March- April. It is a woody plant with a needle like leaves that attracts bees from far and wide. The main disadvantage with them is they can sometimes be short lived.
3. Lung wort: White With blue, pink flowers Lungwort blossoms in late winters that are in the months from March to May. They prove to be popular with bees.
4. Heather: Grows in the month of September to May, Heather is a native evergreen shrub. The bees automatically turn towards this plant and make it their habitat.
5. Primrose: Growing in March, April and May Primrose are woodland flowers and provides a perfect shady bank to honey bees to pollinate and provide nectar.
6. Willow: These plants provide enough pollen and nectar for bees and give them shelter. Willow plants have become a necessary plant to attract the bees.
7. Cornflower: Growing in near May-November this hardy annual flowering plant are popular in bee lovers garden. With a lot of nectar, they are full of color which is perfect to attract bees. They are very easy to grow, and bees can easily spot them from a distance.
8. Strawberry tree: Strawberries tree grows in September, November. “Arbutus Unedo” is the Latin name for this tree. It is an evergreen shrub and gets full of small, creamy white or pink flowers in autumn.
9. Blue Bells: They are often grown to give the garden a complete woodland feel. Bees will thank you if you have blue bells in your garden as these plants are wildlife friendly plants.
10. Monarda: Bees loves this flower because it is full of nectar and pollen, the things that every bee searches for. Monarda is a perennial that attracts bees hummingbirds and butterflies. Monarda is very quick in naturalizing and needs to be divided after every few years.

Borders and clusters of flowers will attract more pollinators dispersed in your whole garden. Planting these plants will not only help in bee attracting process but will also make the garden look beautiful. Without bees, many plants will die off as there would be no one to pollinate.

Just be careful about some pests in the garden, they can make all your efforts go to waste. Bugs, rats and there may be even birds, but nothing can be as dangerous as moles.

Bees are an essential part of the food chain. We need bees and bees need us and our help to survive. So, what are your thoughts about helping them?