Videos of Good Nectar Plants

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Bees working some plants in the garden. I get so tired of reading about good nectar plants for bees only to buy it not see a single bee on the thing. So I figured I'd post video evidence that they like things so people can see how big or how much it takes to get their attention.

Hallow Stem Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium fistulosum.

Bees on Joe Pye Weed.MOV

Goldenrod, Solidago gigantea I believe.

Goldenrod Bees.MOV

[Sparky]

Them girls love their goldenrod huh ?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Oh yes, that variety even more so than others because it blooms so much later in the year. Goldenrods tends to bloom based on height. So the smallest species tend to bloom in July, this one and it's 11 feet or more glory blooms in November. It's probably the only thing blooming that late too. 

[Bee Happy]

that must be an HD cam. The close up clarity on the joe pye weed is really nice.

[Shawn]

Very nice videos.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I notice there's a complete lack of videos on youtube regarding this subject in general. I hope to change that. Not just bees but butterflies too. You read about so many plants being "Butterfly Plants" but they don't go into any detail on the label. Liatris for example is one such butterfly plant, but the one so commonly sold in stores blooms way to early in the year to get their true potential. L. spicata blooms in June or July, while most other Liatris species bloom in late summer right when the Monarchs start migrating south.

Butterfly Plant Minneapolis

This isn't my video and I believe the owner has improperly identified their Liatris. I believe it's actually L. ligulistylis. Bees like it too but they're usually to caught up working other plants.

[Sparky]

What is the name of that verity of goldenrod that gets so tall ?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

To be honest I don't know. Originally I had a butterfly bush planted there, and I got rid of that before it got to tall. But while I was removing the butterfly bush I noticed a cane that looked different. So I removed everything but that one cane and in the fall time I found out it was a goldenrod. Solidago though is a very diverse genus with species from around the world and a number of hybrids do exist. The tallest one I could find is Solidago gigantea but that's said to get 7' tall (shorter than the one in the video). For now S. gigantea is my best guess. It also has things in common I think like stem color and leaf orientation.

[Sparky]

I have never seen it so tall and the bees look like they are going at it 10/1 compared to the Joe Pye video.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

That's probably because of how late that goldenrod blooms. It's likely the only thing besides a few asters and tropical plants left out that are flowering. As for the Joe Pye Weed if you notice most of the flowers haven't opened yet but there are still a fair amount of bees. It's also good at attracting butterflies. I usually harvest honey from my hives right after the Joe Pye Weed has bloomed for a week or two, usually in July.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Butterfly Weed Honey Bees

A yellow form of Asclepias tuberosa. The true orange and other forms work just as well as do most other Milkweeds.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Buttonbush Buzzing

Buttonbush. Honey Bees aren't big for this bush but butterflies and bumblebees love it. The flowers are lightly scented, mean you have to put your nose up to them. They're good for poor drainage (they'll grow in 4 feet of water) and shady areas.

Allium sp. Buzzing

Onions. It takes a few of these to get pollinator attention. Even then I never really see more than one pollinator per giant ball of flowers.

Goldfinche on a Sunflower

Sunflowers. Not a video of pollinators but an added benefit for people that grow them. Goldfinches!

[annette]

Wonderful videos, Thanks for sharing the fun

[Highlandsfreedom]

I have a video of my girls on Borage going nuts!!  But its a really long video of my whole garden and don't know how to shorten the video.  Any ideas?

[Shawn]

Again nice videos. Last year when I planted sunflowers I never saw any gold finches but I sure did have the blue jays. It was funny to see such a big bird trying to hang upside down to get the seeds.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

St. John's wort (Hypericum sp.) Buzzing

This was at Pope's Nursery here in NJ on the Old White Horse Pike. This is St. John's Wort, though the species is unclear. We have dozens of native species in the Hypericum genus along with two wide spread nonnatives. I believe this was a native from how puffy the flowers were but I might be wrong. They grow about 4 feet tall and get slightly wider as you can see. Dry conditions are best I read and full sun of course.

I was so impressed by this plant that I bought one. (A 3 gallon potted shrub, for $15.00 was a great deal too!) Upon planting it in my yard the Honey Bees were quick to find it. 

Last year when I planted sunflowers I never saw any gold finches but I sure did have the blue jays. It was funny to see such a big bird trying to hang upside down to get the seeds.

I'd say keep at it. The first year we planted a sunflower patch we only saw a single gold finch off and on. The second year that increased, and this was consistent for the third year but during their migration south we had a day where several dozen of them were out there.

[Shawn]

Well I had a big post all typed out and for what ever reason I got a no connection when I hit the "psot" button. Thank you for starting this post, I have enjoyed it. I want to video my bees, well someone's bees, all over my cat mint and the salvia. Once my Anise Hyssop bloom the bees forget about the cat mint and stay on the hyssop. The liatris I planted last year is up but blooming. The Sea Holly I planted this year is blooming but no bees on them, blooms are really small. I will try to figure out how to upload a video and get it posted.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Blue Globe Thistle, Echinops ritro

Though not native and the very definition of "weedy looking," Blue Globe Thistle, Echinops ritro, gets a fair amount of pollinator action.

Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum

Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum, is native but it's also pretty weedy. Plant with caution. a good alternative would be the classic patch of Sunflowers.


Swallowtail butterflies also love them.

Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum (part 1)

Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum (part 2)

Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, is by far one of the best sources at this time of year. They're a native perennial, will reseed in the right type of soil, and look great in the garden.

[Shawn]

I think your right about the anise hyssop. Mine are covered in bees. My cat mint whcih is usually the best all year round does not seem to have the attraction right now. Sea Holly not showing any signs of attraction or is the Liatris. Great videos keep them coming.

[lisascenic]

Thanks for sharing these!