Leek
The large, round flower heads of seed leeks are heavily visited by bees in midsummer; nectar is plentiful and pollen moderate.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 1-1,8 m
- Life cycle
- Biennial
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Leek, in its cultivated form, is a selection of the wild Allium ampeloprasum and is placed within that species in current classification. In its second year it sends up stalks up to 1.5 metres tall, topped by dense, pinkish-white flower heads that honey bees visit more eagerly than onion. It has plenty of nectar and moderate pollen.
Flowering
It flowers from June to August; a single flower head opens gradually over 3-4 weeks. This long period is valuable during the summer dearth.
Honey and pollen
There is no commercial single-flower honey. Fresh nectar can give off a sharp smell like that of onion. No reliable record of the pollen colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
Even a few leeks gone to seed in the garden are a good summer source for bees. Wild leek (wild A. ampeloprasum), which grows spontaneously around the Mediterranean and in Anatolia, is visited in the same way.