Rose of Sharon
Ground-covering shrub from the Strandzha and northern Anatolia with large yellow flowers; nectarless but offers abundant pollen all summer.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.3-0.6 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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This St John's wort is a low, semi-evergreen shrub that grows wild in the understorey of woods in the Strandzha mountains, northwestern Turkey and southeastern Bulgaria, spreading by underground stems to form dense carpets. Its bright yellow flowers, 7–8 cm across, carry hundreds of stamens in five bundles at the centre. Like all St John's worts it produces no nectar; but because it yields plenty of pollen, honey bees and bumblebees visit it heavily.
Flowering
It stays in flower for a long time from June to September, with flowers opening in succession.
Honey and pollen
Being nectarless, it contributes nothing to honey. Its value is the pollen income it brings the colony in midsummer.
Note for the beekeeper
It is widely used worldwide as ground cover in parks and on banks and tolerates drought and shade. It is a good choice for beekeepers who want to increase pollen diversity in urban and garden settings, but it should not be planted in the hope of a honey crop.