Pomegranate
A fruit tree flowering for a long period from May to July; little nectar but pollen-rich flowers keep colonies supplied in early summer.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 2-6 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Pomegranate is common as an orchard and hedge plant in the Mediterranean, Aegean and southeastern Anatolia. Its red-orange flowers have many stamens and produce abundant pollen; nectar, however, is scarce and irregular. Bees visit pomegranate mainly for pollen.
Flowering
It starts flowering in late May and keeps opening flowers a few at a time until July, and even longer in irrigated orchards. This long period provides a continuous pollen flow in coastal areas, where the spring sources are over and the summer dearth begins.
Honey and pollen
A separate product sold as pomegranate honey is not common; its nectar contribution is small. The pollen helps keep brood rearing going in early summer.
Note for the beekeeper
Pomegranate is partly self-fertile, but bee visits improve fruit set and fruit size. Spraying in commercial orchards during flowering is risky; agree with the grower on the timing of treatments and on closing the hives.