Magnolias are undoubtedly a feast for the eyes - but are they also a feast for bees? Given the beautiful flowers in a variety of colors, you would think that wild bees wouldn't be able to resist the plant. You can find out in this article whether the magnolia is actually bee-friendly.
Does magnolia have any real benefits for bees?
The magnolia has no real use for beesIt offers flying insectshardly any nectarIn addition, beesdo not act as pollinators of the magnolia. This has to do with the history of their development: Magnolias have been around longer than bees, so the plants were dependent on other insects to pollinate them. Beetles readily made themselves available.
Why don't bees pollinate magnolias?
The fact that bees do not pollinate magnolias is primarily because theplants are significantly olderthan the flying insects. So magnolias already existed when there were no bees. This is howwingless beetles took on the task of pollination. They were lured by the scent of the flowers and did what they had to do. That has remained the same to this day.
By the way: The beetles eat the pollen and nibble on other parts of the plant, but without harming the magnolia.
Tip
A magnolia in the garden is still not wrong
Even if bees have little or nothing to do with the magnolia, it is anything but worthless as a garden plant. Because wingless beetles get their fill of pollen and take care of pollination. The magnolia is therefore considered insect-friendly - and it is a visual asset anyway. Just make sure to put some bee-friendly plants around them.
