Heather
The late-summer honey plant of NW European heaths, producing the famous dark, strongly flavoured jelly-like heather honey.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,2-0,8 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Heather is a small-leaved shrub that forms extensive heathland on acid, sandy, nutrient-poor soils. In Scotland, on the Veluwe in the Netherlands and on the Lüneburg Heath in Germany, beekeepers move their hives to these areas in late summer. Nectar secretion needs warm days, cool nights, high humidity and moist soil; in dry years the flow is weak.
Flowering
It flowers from early August to late September, for about 4-6 weeks. The small pink-lilac bell flowers form dense spikes.
Honey and pollen
Heather honey ranges from dark amber to reddish brown, with a strong, slightly bitter aroma. Because it is jelly-like (thixotropic), it cannot be spun out in a normal extractor; it is sold as comb honey, pressed, or loosened with a needle tool. Air bubbles are typical.
Note for the beekeeper
In Turkey it occurs locally on the acid soils of the Black Sea coastal belt; the name püren is sometimes used for this species as well as for the heaths. Some beekeepers prefer not to leave this colloid-rich honey as winter food.