Lavender and bees are, simply put, very good friends! Lavender is immensely popular for its essential oils and refreshing fragrance.
This mild yet soothing scent attracts bumblebees and honeybees towards the lavender shrubs similar to how rosemary and mint plants attract the same.
To people who have a knack for gardening, it is a known fact that bees or wasps and lavender have a symbiotic relationship in between. In this article, we will be addressing questions regarding this relationship or attraction of bees to the lavender flowers.
The English lavender and French lavender are two of the most favored flowers by them. If you love lavenders and happen to grow these in your backyard or garden then you might have noticed the exceptional inclination of bees towards lavender flowers.
It is pretty plausible for you to get shocked seeing this association if not seen before. Alongside bees and wasps, lavender shrubs can attract a wide range of butterflies due to its exceptionally bright colored flowers and ample amount of nectar.
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Now that you have a basic knowledge about their relationship, let us discuss in detail the reasons behind such fondness.
Do Bees Like Lavender?
- Generally, Lavender floral spikes have a long tongue-like shape and the nectar is stored right at the base of these flowers. Due to this morphological feature, majorly three types of bees i.e. bumblebees, honeybees, and mason bees are attracted to the flowers of this plant as the nectar is a rich source of honey.
- If you have a backyard garden blooming with lavenders, you must be knowing their blooming season. They bloom profusely during the midsummer gap or just after the spring. Unfortunately and coincidentally, this is the breeding season of bees.
- During this time they require a high amount of honey for the nourishment of the new generation. That is why these pollinators kind of raid lavender blooms during this period.
Why Are Bees Attracted to Lavender?
Bees prefer a clean environment. They do not prefer any interspecific competition when it comes to collecting nectar from flowers.
They always try to go for those gardens or backyards which have ample solar energy or places which are well lit.
Lavender flowers also grow in well-lit places and they prefer slightly warm and dry climatic conditions for full-bloom.
The extravagant color and orientation of the flowers are extremely alluring for the bees. Also, the amount of nectar produced by each floral spike is more compared to flowers like sunflower or butterfly bush which are also favored by them.
Conclusion
As mentioned before bees and lavenders help each other in each other’s life cycle. To have a blooming backyard or garden covered with these purple aesthetic flowers, you should provide maximum priority to the proper cleaning of the entire place.
A clean, weed-free garden is the best place for the lavender shrubs to grow in a healthy fashion. If you want to be considerate about the bees and wasps then there is an added advantage to your choice.
A nice symbiotic relationship between the two of them will not only help the bees to grow; it will also make your garden bloom with a fresh fragrance all the time.
However, some people might not consider allowing bees and wasps in their garden, in that case, using a repellent will give you a quick fix.