It's not easy for bees to find enough food these days. Monocultures and weedkillers have reduced blooming wildflowers to a minimum. The beneficial insects are grateful for every piece of garden that is transformed into a bee pasture. The Blauruute belongs right in the middle!
Why is the blue rue important for bees?
The Blue Rue is an important pasture for bees because it is hardy and flowers for four months, providing bees with plenty of pollen and nectar. Combining with other bee-friendly plants such as asters, lavender and snowdrops can provide a year-round food supply.
Why the blue diamond?
All flowering plants that serve as a food source for bees together form the so-called bee pasture. For good reason, this also includes all varieties of blue rue. They are not pure cultivated plants, even if we plant them as such.
The origin of the blue rue is a wild steppe plant from Asia. Blue Rue is hardy and therefore perennial here too.
Winter-hardy wildflowers not only bloom beautifully, they also offer plenty of pollen and nectar. This makes them the biggest bee magnets of all types of flowers.
Tip
You can increase the number of blue diamonds in the garden for free by propagating more specimens from cuttings.
Your time as a provider
Blue rue, also called Siberian lavender or silverbush, blooms for about four months. The first long ears of corn appear from July, after which things continue until the end of October. This is the period in which it generously supplies the bees with their nectar.
It is already a big help for the bees if you just grow this flowering plant in the garden. However, if you want to do something for the bees all year round, you should combine the blue rue with other plants. These should bloom outside of the blue rue's flowering period in order to cover as long a period as possible. The following are ideal, among others:
- Asters
- Broom heather
- Bluestar
- Christmas Rose
- Bellflower
- Lavender
- Snowdrops
- sweet clover
- Hollyhocks
- Snow Heath
Tip
So-called weeds such as daisies, groundweed, dandelions, yarrow and thistles are also part of the bee pasture. They settle on their own if part of the garden is left to nature.
What to pay attention to
If we serve the bees such delicious food, nothing should spoil their enjoyment. Since every blue rue attracts bees with its wonderful scent, it is automatically a bee pasture. Therefore, the use of pesticides and insecticides should always be avoided when cultivating them.
