Cornelian cherry
One of the year's first sources, flowering yellow on bare twigs in February-March and giving valuable pollen and some nectar on mild days.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 3-8 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Cornelian cherry is a long-lived small tree or large shrub that covers its branches with small clusters of yellow flowers before the leaves open. Together with hazel and willow it is one of the first bee sources of the year. The nectar of the flowers is low to moderate, but the pollen is abundant and nutritious; for colonies coming out of winter the first fresh pollen often comes from cornelian cherry.
Flowering
It flowers from late February to late March, for about 3-4 weeks. Bees can only work at sunny midday hours above 10-12 °C, so the number of usable days depends on the weather.
Honey and pollen
It gives no harvestable honey; nectar and pollen are used directly for brood rearing. The pollen loads are yellow.
Note for the beekeeper
An inflow of fresh pollen quickly starts brood rearing; at this time check the colonies' honey stores and support them with candy or syrup if needed. It is common at forest edges in the Black Sea, Marmara and Central Anatolia regions and is one of the best early trees to plant around an apiary.