Armenian grape hyacinth
A bulb from Anatolia and the Caucasus with blue spring spikes; it gives bees nectar and pollen early in the season.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,1-0,25 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Armenian grape hyacinth grows wild in northern and eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus and parts of the Balkans, and is one of the best-selling ornamental bulbs in the world. Its dark blue flowers, narrowed at the mouth and arranged like a bunch of grapes, give a little but steady nectar and pollen. On the first warm days of spring it is one of the bees' important sources around the hive.
Flowering
It flowers for 3-4 weeks between March and May, depending on altitude. In gardens and meadows it spreads by itself into large clumps.
Honey and pollen
No single-flower honey is produced. No reliable record of the pollen load colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
Planting bulbs in autumn around the apiary and under fruit trees creates a cheap, lasting early forage strip for spring brood. Other Muscari species in Turkey (M. neglectum, M. comosum) are also visited by bees.