Florida Honey Production calendar

[pdmattox]

Got this from Apis629:

Honey Plants of Florida

Major
   Citrus-January to June

   GALLBERRY-Late April-Early June

   Palmetto-Late April to Mid June

   Tupelo-Mid April to Late May (not local…anywhere near)

   Titi- Mid January-Mid April

Brazilian pepper (schinus terebinthifolius) Early Sept - mid Nov; dependable honey crop in FL  - bees won't touch if love bugs on them; range (local); slight peppery taste

Black mangrove; June - mid July; only good honey producer (Jackson's) - slight salty taste - coastal

Cabbage Palm (sabal palmetto)  June - Sept

Chinese Tallow (popcorn) best honey producer (Sapium sebiferum) late May to mid July

Cottons (Gossypium spp.) Mid June - Late Sept., incr cotton production by 25%
-   GRANULATES RAPIDLY, extract immediately after sealed, 3 crops off of Cotton (panhandle)

Minor

Tag Alder (Hazel Alder) Alnus serrulata late Dec - Feb

Punk( Melaleuca quinquenervia) - Fall and Winter after rain - tastes terrible!
Spanish Needle (Bidens alba) Excellent maintenance plant for bees. Blooms all year.

Mustard and turnips (Brassica spp.) plant for bees - blooms all winter long. Excellent nectar and pollen for colony maintenance and build-up. Blooms fall, winter and spring.

-   cannot economically plant crop for bees, but perhaps this is.

Red maple …excellent spring build up plant, blooms Late Nov- mid March

Redbud (Cercis Canadensis) Mid Jan- Mid March (what mom saw)

Dogwood (Cornus florida) - nothing for bees but they do work it. Feb - June

Oaks (Quercus spp.) - lots of pollen and some honey

Pines - lots of pollen. Early spring. Sand pines most valuable to bees as others are not available.

Black gum - Nyssa biflora. Hard to see on a tree; not low - up 20 feet. Early April. - Almost to our area.

Tulip poplar. Liriodendrm tulipifera. Bee can get a full load of nectar from one bloom. April.

Hollies. Ilex spp. Spring. Ornamental hollies excellent honey producers.

Yaupon. Ilex vomitoria. (tea and puke by Indians). Extremely light honey with slight green tint. Blooms early April.

Willows. Salix spp. Excellent build up plant. Late Dec - April.

Mexican Clovers. Pulsey. Richardia spp. Disturbed soil. All year. Fall forage crop.

Clovers. Triflium spp. White dutch - temps need to be 85 in daytime. Spring.  Crimson clover - not as good honey plant, must have clay soil to produce. Alfalfa.

Blackberries. Rubus spp. Excellent. Mid March - late May.

Partridge Pea( Chamaecrista fasciculata) Late May - October. East coast, up north. Covers us.

Gopher apple. Licania Michauxii. Early May- Late June.

Knotweeds (Smartweeds) Polygonum spp.  Bloom April- Late fall (produces in August).

Seagrape. Coccoloba uvifera. Coastal. Slight salty flavor. Mid- April - Mid July. Delicious! Slight grape taste.

Matchweel. Phyla nodiflora.  All year.

Thistles. Cirsium spp. Bloom? Good honey plants.

Wild cherry. Prunus serotina. March- April.

Primrose Willows. Ludwigia spp. (yellow). May- December. Good crop of this sometimes. Beautiful golden, clear color…tastes awful; foul.

St. Johns Wort. Hypericum spp. June- August. 2 varieties in FL. Not health food type!

Sunflowers. Helianthus spp. Years ago all over Everglades on higher ground (now pastures). August - November

Hopefully you find this helpfull, as all the information is catererd to Florida.  As is to be guessed, these dates may very, earlier for farther south.

-Nathan G.

[Understudy]

I received a list like that from Dr. Malcom Sanford but it wasn't as complete. A very nice list. I add the missing ones to the calendar I have for the PBC beekeepers.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Bee Happy]

 
Snagged it.
Tons of blackberry blossoming here right now.
Tried to kill all of them last year  - still have plenty.

[crowhammer]

Great list! Now to learn what half of these are, and see which grow in my area.

[Nate]

That's a pretty cool list there with some useful information.  It's also cool his name is Nathan G. which is the same as mine

[mgmoore7]

Thanks Dallas