White sweet clover
A drought-tolerant biennial legume that flowers for weeks in summer and yields abundant nectar; one of the most productive summer honey plants.
- Nectar
- Very good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Honey yield
- 200–600 kg/ha
- Crystallisation
- Medium
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 1-2.5 m
- Life cycle
- Biennial
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White sweet clover is one of the honey bee's favourite legumes. Its small white flowers have short tubes, so the nectar is open to every bee. Thanks to its deep roots it keeps secreting even in dry summers, and it grows well even on calcareous, poor soils. Yields are highest on hot, sunny days.
Flowering
In the first year it develops leaves and roots; in the second year it flowers in long racemes from June to August and stays in bloom for 4-6 weeks. This long season fills the gap after the chestnut and linden flows.
Honey and pollen
Sweet clover honey, famous in North America, is almost colourless or very light; it has a faint vanilla-like aroma and a mild sweetness, and crystallises finely. The pollen loads are a dull yellow, and the amount is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
Very well suited for sowing on fallow land, roadsides and erosion sites; 1.5-2 kg of seed per decare (1,000 m²) is enough. Because it contains coumarin, mouldy hay made from it can cause bleeding in livestock; this does not apply to honey or bees.