The best thing you can do for bees in winter is plant a tree
- One flowering tree can produce thousands if not millions of nectar and pollen-rich blooms, so it’s able to feed many more bees and other pollinators than wild flowers or shrubs covering the same amount of ground.
- Native trees will also provide leaves for caterpillars to munch on before turning into butterflies or months, and non-natives will significantly extent the flowering season providing much needed food for bumblebee queens and honeybee colonies going into winter.
- Few flowers are in bloom in early spring and late autumn, so trees that blossom in these months provide a vital source of energy and protein for foraging bees.
- Catkins on hazel and alder trees in early spring are full of pollen which bumblebees and honeybees collect to feed their brood (babies).
- Some solitary bees are totally dependent on one species of tree for nectar and pollen. The clue is in the name: Large Sallow Mining Bee, Small Sallow Mining Bee, Hawthorn mining bee.
My top 10 trees for bees
- Goat Willow (mid bottom)
- Hazel (top left)
- Cherry ‘Okame’ (mid top)
- Dwarf Horse Chestnut/Bottlebrush buckeye (bottom left)
- Chinese Privet
- Seven Son Flower (top right)
- Crab apple (bottom right)
- Oleaster
- Sweet Chestnut
- Strawberry Tree
To find out why they are my favourites, read my article in BQ magazine, Planting the right trees for bees
For trees that flower sequentially go to the Urban Bees Trees for Bees guide
Of course, many of us don’t have large gardens to accommodate trees, but smaller varieties, such as crab apples like Malus sylvestris ‘Evereste‘, can grow in pots on rooftops and balconies. And speak to your local ward councillor, or the councillor responsible for green spaces, to encourage them to plant more trees in streets and parks to help pollinators as well as ensuring mature trees are protected from being cut down.