Basil
An annual herb grown in gardens and fields; when allowed to flower it blooms until late summer and gives bees moderate nectar and pollen.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,2-0,6 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
An annual native to tropical Asia and Africa, now grown everywhere in the world as a herb and ornamental. In Turkey it is common in gardens, pots and small fields. Honey bees visit its white-pink flower spikes; its nectar and pollen are of moderate value.
Flowering
It flowers from July to September, until the first frosts. It loves heat; in cool weather below 20 °C bee visits drop. An important advantage is that in irrigated gardens it stays in flower even in the dry midsummer.
Honey and pollen
Plantings are small and the leaves are picked before flowering, so no monofloral honey is produced.
Note for the beekeeper
In basil grown for the kitchen, the flower tips are constantly pinched off; leaving a few plants in the garden to flower creates a small but continuous late-summer source for bees. In fields grown for seed, keeping bee colonies there during flowering can also increase the seed yield. Purple-leaved and large-flowered cultivars are visited by bees as well.