I have several Salvia plants growing in my yard and they are under attack from Bumble bees. I use the word attack, since the shape of the Salvia flower is not something the BB can easily nectar from given its size. They land on top of the flower and then rip the sides near the nectar end and proceed to empty it. At the end of the process, there is not a drop of nectar left in the flower. How does this effect the pollination of the plant, since they do not enter the flower via the usual route like hummers and maybe bees that are smaller in size. I thought nature would have deviced some self selection method that made the plant and pollinator mutually compatible?

Has anyone had a similar experience? I am really mystified by this behavior. From the narrow Coccineas to the larger Greggii's like Big Pink, and even B&B, every flower has been ripped.

Suchie

If the bees pierce the base of the flower (calyx), the flower in all likelyhood will not be pollinated. I think we all deal with this each year.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Suchie,

I get some bumble bees doing the same thing to my salvia but I plant lots of other flowers for the bees, that hummingbirds don't especially like, to distract the bees.

For example, I plant several dozen Profusion Zinnas every year. They brighten up the garden with color and give the bees something to feed from:




I also have several Glossy Abelias, which bees seem to like more than hummingbirds.




In addition, I have Lantana:


Tropical Milkweed:


Hibiscus:


Cherry-Laurel:


And not pictured, Pentas (Star Flower). All these plants don't eliminate the bees on the Salvias but they help to distract them with other more easily accessable flowers.



Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

Excellent solution Ron!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Penny, Ron,

Thanks for your responses and suggestions. As long the Weigela's and roses were in full bloom they had left my Salvia's alone. They don't seem to care for Echinacea and daisies. I am going to give those Zinnias a try and see what happens.

Suchie

Suchie,

I am not having a problem with bees, I guess I have enough high pollen flowers that they stick to those and leave the salvias bee. I guess my yard is like Ron's where I have enough bee friendly plants that they leave the hummer plants alone. The bees have been all over Veronicastrum Lavender Towers which is fine cause I planted it for the butterflies (and bees), the hummers have enough plants.

Pam NJ 6B

Glossy Abelia is especially good at drawing off the bees. When it is blooming heavily, you can smell the "sweet" in the air. The same is true of (potted or unpotted, if you are warm enough) citrus and gardenias.

Another great Genus of plants to draw the bees are the native american magnolias, which bloom in late spring and summer. I have both Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) and Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) in my garden, both of which are blooming now and really scenting the air around my house.

Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana):


Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora):


Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

Pam, Ron,

Thanks for all the suggestions. They are all over my lavender and coreopsis, but still proceed to shred every salvia that opens. I have come up with a temporary feeder solution. I hang the walmart feeder close the hummzinger. They are all over the walmart feeder and leave the hummzinger alone. This gives the bird easy access to the hummzinger. If I hang only the hummzinger, they hover all over it and intimidate the birds. It's been "fun" trying to come up with solutions.

I have to give the potted zinnias a try.

Suchie

And those profusion zinnas bloom their hearts out all summer. Plus they don't seem to be bothered by any diseases.
dell

The only thing to remember about zinnias is to avoid wetting their leaves when you water them. Normal rainfall won't usually hurt them but repeated hosing of the leaves may result in mildew. So I always water mine from the side with a soaker wand or watering can so as to avoid any extra wetting of the leaves.

Profusions aren't especially vulnerable to mildew (like some of the regular zinnias) but I still avoid wetting the leaves anyway. Zinnias prefer hot sunny locations and can handle some dryness once established.

Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

I am having the same thing here, there are huge amounts of bumble bees around right now and the salvia's are all getting short cutted through the sides, I will have to see if I can pick up some Zinnias, more bee and butterfly plants will bloom soon but meanwhile the hummers will have to use something else.




Martin
--
Vancouver Island, zone 8B
Nikon D70/D200 300 f4 af-s, 400 2.8 af-i
www.frogpondphotography.com
www.frogpondphotography.blogspot.com

Hello Suchie,

We have oodles of Bumble Bees too. They do occassionally go to the salvias, but I see them hang from the blooms and bury themselves in them. I have never seen what you describe, so I'll pay some added attention in the future to see if I can detect that behavior.
We have a wide variety of plants, so they don't seem to pay that much attention to the salvias. They seem to favor the Monarda Bee Balm (hence the name I suppose), 'Tithonia Torch' is another one of their favs, Liatris Gayfeather, and 'Rosita' Agastache.
Hmmmmmmm, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem with the Bumble Bees and the Hummingbirds together in our gardens. I remember watching the hummers and BB's for hours in August/September/October on the 'Tithonia Torch' Mexican Sunflowers...and there would be a couple of dozen BB's and just as many Butterflies...and the hummingbirds would still find "vacant" blooms for themselves. I have pics of the butterflies and BB's sharing blooms too.
Hands down, that is the absolute best plant in our entire gardens...IMHO! The activity with the variety of Bees, Butterflies AND birds...Goldfinches and Hummingbirds too...ALL enjoying the plants at the same time...truely amazing to watch...and never a dull moment...
Here's a pic and a video from last year. You will be able to see that all of nature seems to get along quite well...
One sips the nectar while the other gathers pollen...


This video has a Hummingbird "Chilling", and quite amused by the Goldfinch eating the seeds of the 'Tithonia Torch' in the background...


Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Hi,

Thanks for sharing your stories and experiences with me. It really helps.

Ron, thanks for the warning regarding mildew.

Martin and I seem to be in the same boat right now. I have plenty of lavender blooming and they are stuck to those too, but still don't spare the salvias. Every single bloom is ripped by the end of the day and practically falling off the plant. I have to add that my cupheas also have tears on the side and are nectarless.

Susan, the video clip and photograph were gorgeous and thanks for the tip about titonia. I have never tried it before and hope I can find it at one of our local nurseries. Maybe, Pam can point me to something.

Suchie

Suchie,

You'll probably find seeds, but probably not as plants. I grow them by seed as do several others here on the forum. I had bought Botanical Interests seeds from our local nursery 2 years ago. This year I sowed the seeds I harvested from last year's plants...and had lots of extra I shared with others.
This is the seed company our local nursery carries...and what the packet looked like...
http://tinyurl.com/dn5r8a
I think it's too late now to start from seed...you'll probably will have to wait til next spring to sow seeds. They are fast growers. If you remind me, when I harvest the seed from them next month, I'll send you some...

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Susan,

Thanks so much for offering to send me seeds. I did not have much luck with seeds this year, both my sweet peas and salvia's did not fair well. Maybe I'll luck out with Tithonia.

Suchie

I too will have the same problem as last season , especially in august when everything is in full bloom . Bumblebees will use the guaraniticas along with the coccinias but mainly black and blue is their first target and I have been sitting outside with my coffee waiting for the hummers at dawn and a lot of mornings its the Bbees that come first, how disappointing that is. Lucky that I have other plant flowers that are not robbed of the nectar for the hummers. Bbees dont seem to bother my honeysuckle but the wasps do.

Its amazing to me that this guy was under attack by aphids not that long ago






Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Steve,

I can completely empathize with your situation. I also had the B&B, Coccineas, and Cupheas in large pots on my patio that I can see from the kitchen. About 10 days back, from about 5.30 to 8.30 there were regular hummer visits and now the bees are there and I have not seen a hummer for a while. My honeysuckle never recovered from the Aphid attack. I had planted it late last year and I guess it was not strong enough. I am hoping it flowers later in the season.

Suchie