Horse Chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum
- Flowering period
- April–May
- Nectar
- gut
- Pollen
- gut
The Horse Chestnut flowers in April and May, providing a strong flow exactly when the colony is growing rapidly. It provides nectar and pollen equally well, plus a great deal of sticky resin from its buds, which the bees bring in as propolis. The tree usually stands in parks, along avenues and on village squares and is therefore also easily reachable for urban beekeepers. Because the bloom is short and stands are usually small, the yield rarely makes it into the jar as a varietal honey, but it noticeably strengthens spring development.
Sources (6)
- Baude, Kunin, Memmott (2015): Nectar sugar values of common British plant species [AgriLand]
- Baude, Kunin, Davies, Wright, Memmott (2025): Pollen production values of common British plant species
- Trachtpflanzen-Katalog Bienenroute: Rosskastanie
- Bienenweidepflanzen für den Hausgarten, Bayerische Landesanstalt für Weinbau und Gartenbau (LWG) Veitshöchheim
- Bienenweiden, Hortipendium
- Filipiak, Walczyńska, Denisow, Petanidou, Ziółkowska (2022): Phenology and production of pollen, nectar and sugar in 1612 plant species from various environments