Creeping thistle
A stubborn field weed whose scented lilac heads give good nectar in midsummer, even in dry spells; an important source in the summer dearth.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.3-1.5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Creeping thistle spreads rapidly by root shoots and is one of the weeds farmers find hardest to control; for the beekeeper, however, it is a valuable nectar source that stays in flower during the summer dearth. The tubular florets in its small, fragrant lilac heads are short, so honey bees reach the nectar easily. Being deep-rooted, it secretes even in drought.
Flowering
It flowers for 6-8 weeks from late June into August; it grows in patches along field margins, fallows, irrigation canals and roadsides.
Honey and pollen
It is not sold as a separate honey; it gives a light-coloured, pleasantly fragrant contribution to summer multifloral honeys. Thistle-dominated honeys are mentioned in Canada and England. Its pollen contribution is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
The plant has separate male and female individuals; both give nectar. Mowing for control means a loss of forage for bees, but farmers cannot be expected to keep this species inside their fields; field margins and canal banks are what matter.