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:
- UBG Bee Plant Master List A comprehensive list by season and region
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
