Many beautiful barberries are applying for a place in your natural garden. A very specific type of barberry, which is widespread in Europe, makes a name for itself as ideal bee pasture. You can find out which barberry is teeming with bees here.
Which barberry is particularly bee-friendly?
The common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is the best barberry species for bees. It offers a rich source of food through yellow cup flowers, rich in nectar and pollen, and has an insect-friendly nectar value of 3, which is particularly beneficial for wild bees, honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
Which barberry is best for bees?
From the species-rich barberry family, theCommon barberry(Berberis vulgaris) is best suited for bees. The decorative tree is commonly known as sour thorn and barberry. These arguments sum up why this particular type of barberry deserves the titleBee Pasture:
- Yellow cup flowers from May to June, rich in nectar and pollen.
- Insect-friendly nectar value of 3.
- Rich food source for wild bees, honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
What does the most bee-friendly barberry look like?
The real barberry impresses as a majestic, summer-green flowering shrub with bright yellow flowers in spring, deep red berries from August and a yellow-orange autumn color. Further growth characteristics in brief:
- Growth height 200 cm to 300 cm.
- Upright, densely branched growth habit.
- Ogg-shaped, dark green leaves.
- Raceous inflorescences of 5 cm small, bee-friendly, yellow cup flowers.
- Special features: up to 5 cm long thorns, slightly poisonous in all parts of the plant with the exception of the ripe, edible berries.
Tip
Birds would plant sourthorn
The common barberry is much more than a pasture swarmed by bees. Once the bumblebees and bees have done their job, the yellow flowers turn into dark red, nutritious berries. From August/September the table is set for hungry birds at Sauerdorn. At any time of the year, birds greatly appreciate the thorn-filled, impenetrably branched wood as a safe place to retreat.
