topic Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees in Garden

Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

qshpr89 — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:32:27 GMT

I have researched on-line and found some tips, but wondered if anyone has any good suggestions for helping to build Bumble Bees but not attract wasps? The plantings I have done seem to draw a couple bumbles but tons of nasty wasps. Last year the wasps even started nesting in siding of the house so we have caulked and sealed. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

dex — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:39:55 GMT

I have blueberry bushes that are always full of bumblebee when they are in bloom.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

Icegoddess — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:57:02 GMT

I have a small garden out front, not large enough to grow blueberries unless I wanted to grow just one blueberry bush and nothing else. Ha ha. My dad had a couple of blueberry bushes, but he had a big yard. I didn't see any honey bees last year, but had a lot of bumblebees. They loved my caryopteris bush as well as the dwarf butterfly bushes in the bed.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

dex — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:26:35 GMT

@Icegoddess I have a friend who grows hers in large pots.You need two so they can cross pollinate.I have four bushes and usually get around fifty pounds of very large sweet berries.My neighbors love to steal them and send me pics of them all picking while I am away.LOL.They also send later pics of muffins and other baked goodies.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

Icegoddess — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:38:58 GMT

@dex, the ones my daddy had were too big for pots. Maybe it depends on the variety. I know there are different types depnding on what part of the country you live in. We're in the South. His were taller than me. Some years he would get plenty to share and others not much of anything.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

dex — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:41:56 GMT

@Icegoddess @Oh those were huge bushes.Mine are about four feet tall.I fertilize them with pine needles,coffe grounds,egg shells and dried banana peels.We always get tons of berries.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

piperbay — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:41:38 GMT

I was lucky to have milkweeds come up on their own and they attracted bees and butterflies.

I was just reading that we should not buy plants treated with the broad spectrum pesticides, called Neo Nicontinoids. They can be deadly to bees!

Neonics are systemic pesticides that get inside plants causing them to produce pollen that's toxic to insects. They are responsible for bee colony collapse.

If I buy plants , I will look to see if they have a pick that states if they have been treated with this. Europe has banned this.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

JustJazzmom — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 23:38:49 GMT

Hopefully your states list on the labels if the plants have been treated with neonicotinoids.

I think bumblebees like honeybees nest in the ground.

Great website IDing various flies, wasps & bees: http://pollinator.com/identify/whatsbuzzin.htm

Mud dauber wasps will create a nest for their larve in ridged shingle type siding.

Paper wasps make those hexagonal paper nests that can attach to aluminum siding ceilings or maybe inside a whiffle ball caught in a gutter!

Carpenter bees make 5/8” round holes in cedar, redwood or pine wood (think arbors & patio furniture) for their tunneled nests.

Having 2 varieties of blueberries increases yield.

http://ccenassau.org/resources/blueberry-growing

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

jpie — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 03:40:03 GMT

I noticed that there were several bumble bees buzzing around my ajuga (groundcover) plants that are in full bloom right now. They love them!

Also my hibiscus/rose of Sharon attracts them like crazy during the summer months!

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

depglass — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 16:21:02 GMT

Whatnow, thanks for my hoot of the day. I can just see my neighbors sending pics like that.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

Wahoogaz — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 22:34:47 GMT

Last year I purchased some Penstemon Superbus (Superb Coral Beardtongue) because I was told they were a hummingbird magnet. So far this Spring, they've attracted hummingbirds and bumble bees - so I'm happy. You might want to google them and see if they'd work in your area.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

MoJoV — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 18:33:09 GMT

I see bumble bees around my Butterfly bush in Summer and around the Seedum foliage in Fall. Love seeing them.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

roster — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 18:46:54 GMT

Call your local nursery. They should be able to advise.

Re: Need Garden Advice for Bumble Bees

Flatbush — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 03:33:56 GMT

I planted a few Rosemary plants to cover a small, chicken wire fence.It grew quickly and I noticed that Bumble Bees were attracted to them. I wondered if it was the color of the flowers ...a lavendar bluish color.