September 10, 2021 Bees and Bulbs

The time is here for planting bulbs of those spring blooming plants that are so nice to see when the snow melts and soft breezes waft the aroma of sun percolated soil  to our noses. Our eyes crave flowers in spring. But there is another good reason to plant spring blooming bulbs.

Alliums of all types are bee favorites

Bees also crave flowers in the spring, in fact they are vital to bee survival.  As bees wake up and emerge from their winter homes, they go looking for flowers to feed on. There aren’t many things that bloom as early as spring blooming bulbs, and whether they are native species or not, bees will be very grateful to you for planting them.

Bees are attracted to blue, purple, white and yellow flowers in spring. Red, orange and pink flowers are not visited as much but some of the early spring flowers in those colors often have a yellow or white center that will attract bees. Luckily there are many spring blooming bulbs that will fulfill those bee desires.

Good spring flowering bulbs for bees are crocus, snowdrops, Anemone blanda (Windflowers), Corydalis solida, hyacinths, Muscari (grape hyacinths), Eranthus hyemalis (Winter Aconite), Ipheion, Chionodoxa, (Glory of the Snow), Pushkinia (Squill), Scilla, Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem), Erythronium, (Trout lilies, dogs tooth violets), Camassia, and alliums of all types.

Not all spring blooming bulbs are bee candy. Some common spring flowering bulbs don’t attract many bees, such as daffodils, narcissus,Fritillaria, Dutch iris and most tulips.  A few species tulips like T. bakeri and T. sylvestris are bee favorites as well as Fritillaria meleagris (Guinea Hen flower) in the Fritillaria family.

The bulbs of most bee friendly spring bloomers are small and should be planted in large drifts or groups. Most are inexpensive and buying 25-50 bulbs will cost you little. Plant them closely for the best show. Many of these beauties will multiply for you over the years into larger and more glorious shows.

Crocus

Some bulbs like crocus and snowdrops bloom very early, sometimes through the snow, and other bulbs like alliums bloom later in spring.  Planting a variety of these small bulbs helps the bees throughout spring. And it keeps the garden looking pretty too.

And the good news is that many of these early blooming bulbs are not deer favorites and will be left alone when they bloom. But the bulbs may be eaten by mice and squirrels shortly after you plant them.  And because they are planted shallowly, they are also subject to being heaved out of the ground during freezing and thawing.

To keep them from being eaten by mice and squirrels do not use bonemeal when planting. Bonemeal attracts these animals.  Also mulch bulbs lightly with chopped straw, leaves or chipped bark after planting to help disguise the disturbed soil. This also helps to prevent frost heaving.

If you plant the bulbs early you can often tuck them under perennial plants like hosta and daylilies and the pests will be less likely to find them. They will come up and bloom before your perennials get large.

Small spring blooming bulbs are excellent to plant under deciduous trees in woodland settings. They will complete their life cycles before the shade gets dense in most cases.  But they are also nice in the front of beds and close to the house so you can see them in early spring when you really need to see flowers. The bees will find them wherever you plant them.

Glory of the Snow

Most of the bulbs mentioned are hardy to zone 5 and many to zone 4 or even lower. Check the zone hardiness when purchasing. But if you live in warmer zones, zone 8 and higher, you will need to buy pre-chilled bulbs as they won’t get enough winter cold to bloom.

Now is the time (early fall) to purchase spring blooming bulbs and you can plant them until your ground freezes solid. Buying your bulbs from reputable mail order nurseries (most have websites too) usually gives you better results and better-quality bulbs than buying them in a big box store.

Some bulb companies I like are;

McClure and Zimmerman  https://www.mzbulb.com/

John Scheepers  https://www.johnscheepers.com/

Colorblends (for larger quantities), https://www.colorblends.com/

 

I know it can be tedious planting a 100 or so little bulbs but the more you plant, the better you’ll like the show.  (Some things like the larger alliums won’t need as large a display to make a statement.) You’ll quickly get a rhythm and method mastered as you plant your bulbs, and the job won’t seem as daunting. You’ll be surprised how many you can plant in a few hours. Many people plant bulbs as they do the fall garden clean up.

Add some more bulbs each year and try something different each year too. Bulbs are a quick and inexpensive way to brighten the garden in spring while you wait for the perennials and shrubs to begin blooming. And the bees will be happy you thought of them as well.

Winter aconite  top
Anemone Blanda -windflowers
Hyacinths - Bottom