The Trees

A honey bee colony eats what blooms around it. In the Blue Ridge, the native trees carry the colony from the first warm days of late winter to the long days of summer. These are six of them, in the order they bloom. Bloom times shift with elevation and weather.

The Trees That Feed the Bees

Six native trees, in the order they bloom

Red Maple Red Maple Acer rubrum

Red maple is among the first trees to bloom in the Blue Ridge. Its small red flowers open on bare branches in late winter and give the colony an early meal of pollen and nectar.

February to MarchWillow Willow Salix spp.

Willow catkins are among the earliest pollen sources of the year. Their golden blooms help the colony build strength for the spring ahead.

March to AprilTulip Poplar Tulip Poplar Liriodendron tulipifera

Tulip poplar towers over the Appalachian forest. Its tulip-shaped blossoms bring one of the great spring nectar flows of the mountains and a dark, rich honey.

April to JuneBlack Locust Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia

Black locust fills the late spring air with long white clusters of fragrant flowers. Its pale, mild honey is the same honey Europe knows as acacia.

MayBasswood Basswood Tilia americana

Basswood is often called the bee tree. In early summer its fragrant cream flowers hang from leafy wings, and the whole canopy hums with bees.

June to JulySourwood Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum

Sourwood is one of the most treasured nectar trees of the Blue Ridge. Its sprays of tiny white bells bloom in midsummer and make a light, buttery honey prized across the South.

July to August
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The Bloom Calendar

When each tree feeds the bees in the Blue Ridge

FebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Red Maple
Willow
Tulip Poplar
Black Locust
Basswood
Sourwood

Bloom shifts with elevation and weather.