Fennel
Its yellow umbels in midsummer offer exposed nectar accessible to all bees; a valuable supporting source for Mediterranean apiaries in the dry summer.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 1-2,5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Fennel is an aromatic plant that grows wild in the Mediterranean basin along roadsides, on rocky slopes and on abandoned land, and is also cultivated for its seed. Its small yellow flowers are gathered in wide umbels; since the nectar is secreted openly on the surface of the flower disc, honey bees can use it easily. As one of the few plants that can stay green during the dry midsummer period, it helps keep the nectar and pollen flow going.
Flowering
It lasts 6-8 weeks from June to September; on hot coasts it starts earlier.
Honey and pollen
Commercial monofloral honey is not common; it is a component of mixed summer honey.
Note for the beekeeper
In fennel seed production areas, bee visits improve seed set; during flowering, spraying should be left to hours when bees are not flying. Wild fennel, gathered in the Aegean region under the name arapsaçı, eases the summer dearth in coastal apiaries. It is invasive in Australia and California and native in the Mediterranean.