Bee Friendly Trees and Shrubs

Woody Ornamentals for Bee-Friendly Landscapes (Ohio Valley Region)

Each plant listed below has been assigned a visitation rating, From light to very heavy, based on how regularly they are visited by bees.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Native	Type	Rating	Bloom Time
Cornelian Cherry	Cornus mas	non-native	tree	heavy	March
Dwarf Fothergilla	Fothergilla Gardenia	native	shrub	light	March - April
Winter Honeysuckle	Lonicera fragrantissima	non-native	shrub	moderate	March- April
Higan Weeping Cherry	Prunus subhirtella 'pendula'	non-native	tree	moderate	March - April
Higan Cherry	Prunus subhirtella 'autumnalis'	non-native	tree	heavy	March- April
Flowering Cherry	Prunus spp.	varies	tree	heavy	March - April
Flowering Crabapple	Malus spp.	varies	tree	very heavy	March - April
Burkwood viburnum	Viburnum burkwoodii	hybrid	shrub	moderate	April
Cherry Laurel	Prunus laurocerasus	non-native	shrub	light	April - May
Red Horsechestnut	Aesculus x carnea	native	tree	moderate	April - May
American Holly	Ilex opaca	native	tree	moderate	April - May
Foster's Holly	Ilex x attenuata	hybrid	shrub	moderate	April - May
Winter King Hawthorn	Crateagus viridus	native	tree	moderate	April - May
Serviceberry	Amelanchier spp.	native	both	moderate	April - May
Eastern Redbud	Cercis Canadensis	native	tree	very heavy	April - May
Black Gum	Nyssa sylvatica	native	tree	moderate	April - June
Ninebark	Physocarpus opulifolius	native	shrub	moderate	May
Fuzzy deutzia	Deutzia scabra	non-native	shrub	light	May
Pyracantha	Pyracantha spp.	non-native	shrub	moderate	May
Japanese Tree Lilac	Syringa reticulata	non-native	tree	light	May - June
American Yellowwood	Cladrastis kentukea	native	tree	light	May - June
Mock Orange	Philadelphus spp.	varies	shrub	moderate	May - June
Virginia Spiraea	Spirea virginiana	native	shrub	moderate	May - June
False Indigo	Amorpha fruticosa	native	shrub	heavy	May - June
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occidentalis	native	shrub	moderate	June
Climbing Rose	Rosa setigera	native	shrub	heavy	June
Common Winterberry	Ilex verticillata	native	shrub	very heavy	June
Sweetspire	Itea virginica	native	shrub	light	June - July
Bottlebrush Buckeye	Aesculus parviflora	native	shrub	heavy	June - July
Linden	Tilia cordata, americana	non-native	tree	heavy	June - July
Golden Raintree	Koelreuteria reticulata	non-native	tree	very heavy	June - July
St. John's Wort	Hypericum frondosum	native	shrub	very heavy	June - August
Devil's Walking Stick	Aralia elata	native	tree	heavy	July - August
PeeGee Hydrangea	Hydrangea paniculata	non-native	shrub	very heavy	July - August
Clethra	Clethra alnifolia	native	shrub	very heavy	July - August
Bee Bee Tree	Tetradium danielii	non-native	tree	very heavy	July - August
Winged Sumac	Rhus compallinum	native	tree	very heavy	July - August
Crape Myrtle	Lagerstroemia spp.	non-native	tree	light	July - September
Glossy Abelia	Aleblia x grandiflora	non-native	shrub	heavy	July - September
Seven-son Flower	Heptacodium miconioides	non-native	tree	very heavy	August - October

Plants that attract few or no bees

*Plants with average visitation rates of 2-5, indicating infrequent visits by bees. All others had average snapshot counts of less than 1. All information is based on data from an ongoing project, subject to change.
Common Name	Scientific Name	Native	Type
Ozark Witch Hazel	Hammamelis vernalis	native	shrub
Forsythia	Forsythia spp.	non-native	shrub
Star Magnolia	Magnolia stellata	non-native	tree
Spicebush*	Lindera benzoin	native	shrub
European boxwood	Buxus sempervirens	non-native	shrub
"PJM" Rhodedendron*	Rhodedendron spp.	non-native	shrub
Sassafras	Sassafras albidum	native	tree
Japanese Flowering	Prunus 'Kanzan'	non-native	tree
Mulan Magnolia	Magnolia liliiflora	non-native	tree
White Azalea	Azalea spp.	non-native	shrub
Koreanspice Viburnum	Viburnum carlesii	non-native	shrub
Flowering Dogwood*	Cornus florida	native	tree
Lilac*	Syringa vulgaris	non-native	shrub
Vanhoutte Spiraea*	Spiraea x vanhouttei	hybrid	shrub
Yellow Buckeye*	Aesculus flava	native	tree
Carolina Allspice	Calycanthus floridus	native	shrub
White Fringetree	Chionanthus virginicus	native	tree
Kousa Dogwood*	Cornus kousa	non-native	tree
Roughleaf Dogwood*	Cornus drummondii	non-native	tree
Japanese Spirea*	Spirea japonica	non-native	shrub
Catalpa*	Catalpa speciosa	native	tree
Hybrid Tea Rose	Rosa spp.	non-native	shrub
Smooth Hydrangea	Hydrangea arborescens	native	shrub
Bigleaf Hydrangea	Hydrangea macrophylla	non-native	tree
American Elderberry*	Sambucus canadensis	native	tree
Oakleaf Hydrangea*	Hydrangea quercifolia	native	shrub

Our Top Woody Ornamentals for Honeybees

Common Name	Scientific Name
Cornelia Cherry	Cornus Mas
Higan Cherry	Prunus subhirtella 'autumnalis'
Foster's Holly	Ilex x attenuata
American Yellowwood	Cladrastis kentukea
Common Winterberry	Illex x verticillata
Linden	Tilia cordata, americana
Golden Raintree	Koelreuteria reticulata
St. John's Wart	Hypericum frondosum
Bee Bee Tree	Tetradium danielii
Winged Sumac	Rhus copallinum

Our Top Woody Ornamentals for Bumblebees

Common Name	Scientific Name
Red Horsechestnut	Aesculus x carnea
American Yellowwood	Cladrastis kentukea
False Indigo	Amorpha fruticosa
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occidentalis
Sweetspire	Itea verginica
Golden Raintree	Koelreuteria reticulata
St. John's Wort	Hypericum frondosum
Clethra	Clethra alnifolia
Glossy Abelia	Abelia x grandiflora
Seven-son Flower	Heptacodium miconioides

Data compiled by Bernadette M. Mach and Daniel A. Potter.

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Horticultural Research Institute, The American Foundation.

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