Konrad, the bees used to go crazy for my Harison's Yellow rose. More so than the other roses. I don't know about any actual trees that bees prefer. But I also noticed they really liked the Gaillardia last summer, and its bloom period is much longer than most trees too.

Bees here love my cranesbill geraniums, especially 'phaeum' which is dark purple with an orange centre. A couple of summers ago, i was trying to get pictures of bees in different flowers but they were always in the geraniums!

Good Morning. I have lilacs in my back yard and the bees get drunk on the nectar. I have often gone out and found them hanging from the blossoms. The area where i walk my dog has Black Locusts. They have bees swarming around them when they flower. At the farm we have elders and the bees love them. Hope this is some help. Marric

When my ornamental pussywillow (French?) has pussywillows, it's covered in bees. They also seemed to love the allium family. Also in the spring, it can be hazardous to brush by the cotoneaster hedge because of all the bees on it.

My Mayday tree is a buzz in late May with bees while it blooms and also the honey suckle bushes are a bee magnet (they are a June bloomer here for me)..savona

Thank you all!
northspruce
That Harrison's Yellow rose is grafted right? How many years do you think they can grow?
Actually, honey bees work our Alberta rose pretty good.
The Gaillarida sounds interesting, especially because it is somewhat native to southern Alberta and it is a perennial!

marciaz3
I like to give it a try!....are you sure they where honey bees?
Honey bees are funny, they would ignore allot of flowers and just work the "big crop"....usually in spring
it starts with willow, a good pollen source for raising new bees, also some poplar.
Then they go for dandelion, then clover and alfalfa.
Usually small batches of flowers the bumbles take care of.

marric
That sounds interesting!
Can you tell me what species of lilac,.... have never seen honey bees in lilacs.
Black Locusts....not sure if they are hardy for here, have to check it out.
I was thinking about elders before, is it this one ?..I like the to try this one, also good to attract birds.

Blueberry elder
(Sambucus cerulea)
Plant Hardiness Zone: 3
A multi-stemmed and shrubby tree, the 10-metre high blueberry elder is the largest of Canada's elders, preferring to grow on dry open sites with stony or gravely soils. With its large compound leaves and light brown-reddish bark, this shrub is best known for its flowers and fruit. It is naturally found in south-western B.C. and on Vancouver Island. The spectacular creamy white flat-topped flower appears in mid-summer after the leaves are fully-grown. The fruit, which ripen in early autumn, are bluish-black, resembling blueberries and are quite sweet and attractive to birds.

Laurie
I have allot of this one and have seen mostly bumbles and moth. Honey bees prefer our native willow, I have a good size wind break cotoneaster and have not seen honey bees, tons of wasp and bumbles.

Savona
Had ones some honey suckle bushes, some bugs where always in the leaves, never had flowers so after
about 15 years have pulled them out.
Mayday is good for bees there are many in this family I think, do you know which one you have?

This is what interest me, .....anybody growing this one?
Québec: Black cherry
(Prunus serotina)
Plant Hardiness Zone: 3
The majesty of this forest giant (22 metres high) is unsurpassed for the beauty of its flowers, fruit and distinct bark. Fast-growing when young, it goes from a smooth shiny bark (like pin cherry) to large, black plates with age. With a beautiful flower some 10-15 centimetres long appearing in early summer after the leaves reach full size, this tree grows on a wide variety of soils and is generally intolerant of shade ("sunloving").

It seems honey bees only go to large trees with lots of flowers like Linden, Choke cherries are fairly good, Saskatoon's I'm not so sure.
Again, our native willows is a awesome pollen source comes spring.
Konrad

Konrad, i have no idea what kind of bees they were. They just seem to be the usual type of bees we have around here, about three quarters of an inch long, the usual black and yellow stripes. One of these evenings when i have more time i'll find a picture and post it.

Good morning Konrad. At home, we have the French lilacs, syringa vulgaris. We also have a wild lilac that we transplanted from the roadside into the garden. I've seen the bees on both. They are supposed to be hardy to Z4. The Preston lilacs we have at the farm are hardier, Z2, and the bees were on them last spring. The French are more fragrant so maybe that's why. The elder we have is the golden elder. This is the second year it bloomed and the bees seemed to like it. Another plant the honey bees seemed to love was Russian Sage. I have to move mine from the seating area because the dogs lie under the bench and occasionally snap at the bees. Marric

My Harison's Yellow was own-root, not grafted. I had to leave it behind when I moved this fall (sniffle). It was there for at least 40 years that I know of... it just kept getting bigger each year.

I think you'll find any tree in the Prunus genus will do well - Mayday, wild plum, Chokecherry, Amur chokecherry, Nanking cherry, Pin cherry, Black cherry. Black cherries are native to MN, but don't grow as large as the do farther south. Even stretching for light in a forest situation, 22 m would be a mighty tall one here. I have never seen one that tall. 15m I'd say is the norm. Very nice trees though. The bark is exquisite whether young and smooth, or old and platy. Here, depending on individual trees, the fall color can range from yellow to orange to pinky, to peach. Birds eat the fruit so you'll never have a mess to deal with. Just make sure you purchase is of a northern provenance. Like all prunus, they are susceptible to blackknot fungus, but you might not have a problem in your area.

You might want to experiment a bit with different willows too. Obviously, they don't all bloom at the same time. You could find a more continuous source for your bees. Maybe do some research on Salix chaenomeloides. (Not sure if it is hardy for you.) Bees sure like mine, and I could send you some sticks to root in the spring. Most willows are either male or female. Obviously, for pollen production that's important.

My ninebarks(shrubs) seethe with flowerflies and honeybees when they bloom.

Another good very early bloomer is Lonicera caerulea (kamchatka). Blue, edible and tasty berries too. Here in MN, I am afraid they might become an invasive pest, as they seed around freely. But I have found that netting the shrubs(because of birds) at berry picking time (the only way you'll ever get any berries) eleviates the problem. you need more than one for pollination. They are hardy to at least USDA zone 3.

Rick

Thanks allot all of you!
This gives me something to study!

Rick
Do you know the variety of ninebark you have?

Konrad

We have one especially great 'bee' tree in our yard. I know that spring has officially arrived in our yard when the Siberian White Willow (Salix alba, 'Seridea') blooms. The whole tree is just full of bees. This willow reaches a height of about 12 meters (according to one book) and has silvery-gray silky leaves. It is an upright oval tree. The only drawback I find to this tree is that I would consider it a 'dirty' tree, meaning that its branches are very easily broken and fall onto the perennial bed below it. This means more work for me. But I do like the contrast that it makes in the yard with its silvery leaves.

We also have a Golden Willow tree in the yard. This tree is not as close to the house as the Siberian White Willow and so we do not see or hear the bees in it as much.

The next trees to bloom in the yard are the long row of ornamental pear trees that we have. The large (4 cm in diameter) white blossoms are fragrant and very attractive to bees. These trees were planted in a double row and spaced about 3 - 4' feet apart. There must be about 16 in each row. When these mature trees bloom you see a mass of white blossoms when you come into the yard.

Of course, apple trees, cotoneasters and lilacs (little leaf, Japanese tree lilac and all kinds of others) are a great drawing card for bees. But...so is the Linden tree. Our Tilia Americana (basswood or linden) is very mature (about 15 meters tall) and has about 4 main trunks coming from the base. When in bloom the whole tree is very fragrant and you can smell the perfume from a long way. The little yellow flower clusters will give pea sized fruit later in the season. (see the picture I posted in the 'water to ice pictures in the gallery). This tree is also full of bees when in bloom. I love the huge green leaves in the summer and in the fall those leaves turn yellow. Interestingly the leaves all seem to drop in one day.

Our Amur maple trees are also very popular with the bees when in bloom but this tree has already been mentioned.

Brenda

Brenda I believe your willow is Salix alba var. sericea. Splitting hairs here, but if you are keeping records it will help a lot. A most beautiful willow with very deep green leaves with the whitist leaf undersides.

Konrad, my ninebark is Physocarpus opulifolius 'Nanum', with all parts of the shrub about half size of normal. For bee attraction, I don't think it would be any different than any full size species or cultivar.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. Slip of the typing keys...too bad we do not have an edit button or I could just go back to my posting and change the 'd' to a 'c'. I love this particular willow tree.

And, yes, I have a very detailed record of what is in my yard. Thanks.

Brenda

Sorry for getting back here so late Konrad ..I forgot I had replied (blush)..I don't know which Mayday tree we have..Art Knapp's had ordered in some small Mayday trees for a special order and had one too many..I think we Paid $6.99 for it, which has turned out to be an excellant deal ..Too bad about the honey suckle bushes, they are a cloud of pink blossoms in June..savona
Mayday tree- May 21 2006
{{gwi:781429}}

Thank you all!
Brenda
That Salix alba....does it have cats on them, have goggled and didn't see any catkins on them, would like to see what they look like. It must have, because it's blooming right?

>There must be about 16 in each row

Wow....that's nice! Pears are good bee trees!

>> I posted in the 'water to ice pictures in the gallery).

A pretty cool looking branch with seeds!
I have about a 20 year old tree in front of the house and as you say, a very good bee tree too.
Have about 10 more growing on the acreage, [small] from the seeds.

>>my ninebark is Physocarpus opulifolius 'Nanum'

Rick, it looks like I have to get some ninebark too!...thanks for posting! That Salix chaenomeloides, Japanese willow is zone 5 and up...too bad.

Savona...that is sure a nice looking tree!...It's a nice change from this early winter with snow we been having, it sure freshen things up doesn't it!
Does your honey suckle set fruit after flowering!

I stumbled onto a very interesting pollen and nectar source site for honey bees, and it turns out that the Manitoba maple is one of the better ones.
Konrad

Here is a link that might be useful: [Pollen source](http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:YHo-dYxs_F4J:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollen_source+Manitoba+maple+(Acer+negundo+bees&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=2)

Konrad...when you asked if there were cats on the willow I was thinking of my pussy cat (Sneaker) and yes, she has been up the tree... years ago when she was many many pounds lighter and there was a strange dog in the yard.

But yes, the Siberian White Willow is just full of little catkins in the spring and the bees love the catkins.

Brenda

Thanks Brenda!
LOL...about your pussy cat!

If I can find one of those Willow I will buy one.
Konrad

Several people have mentioned willows. Poplars are also good bee trees. In our area (Zone 3, near Edmonton) bee keepers almost always site their hives on the south side of a poplar wind break. This makes a short trip in the spring when they are recovering from witner. As one of the earliest pollen sources, willows and poplars are critical for bee health.

Both poplar and willow are dioecious. Male and female flowers are on different trees. Brooks #6 is a fast growing male hybrid that does well around here.