Planting for Bees


Plant Lists and more..

The European honey bee (originally from Asia/SE Asia) has broader tastes and provides many services to crops and may have preferences toward European species of plants that are not necessarily native to North America, and some of those plants may be invasive and cause problems in some ecosystems. Take care

Note that planting for native bees has special considerations, they have preferences for certain native species

The following guides can help with your planting…many will benefit a range of pollinators, in addition to bees.

From the Xerces Society: 

From the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab:


From the California Native Plant Society:

From the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) :

A series of  comprehensive  (fantastic)  pollinator specific  eco-regional planting guides, including the “Selecting plants for pollinators California Coastal Steppe  region (pdf link- download the entire thing). Visit the site to review all the guides at Ecoregional Pollinator Guides

The Bee Conservancy:

https://thebeeconservancy.org/10-ways-to-save-the-bees/

Consider the following:

  • Eliminate the use of pesticides
  • Plant a diversity of nectar- and pollen-rich plants (10 or more species)
  • Mass each plant in patches 1 square meter or larger
  • Choose plants that bloom in succession over the seasons
  • Avoid excessive manicuring
  • Set aside some bare patches of soil for nesting native bees