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Wild privet
Ligustrum vulgare · Oleaceae
Shrub
Widely planted hedge shrub whose fragrant white panicles give plenty of nectar in June and July.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 2-5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Wild privet produces dense panicles of small, white, pungently scented flowers. The short flower tube lets honey bees reach the nectar easily; in unclipped hedges and at forest edges the mass of flowers is large, making it a good early-summer source. Pollen is collected in moderate amounts.
Flowering
It stays in flower for about 2-3 weeks in June-July and is useful in the gap after lime and black locust.
Honey and pollen
It is not harvested as a separate honey; it goes into early-summer mixed honey.
Note for the beekeeper
- Hedges that are clipped often and early do not flower; for the bees, hedges should be clipped after flowering.
- The black berries are poisonous to humans, but there is no known problem with the nectar or the honey.
- It also grows well on calcareous soils and in partial shade.