Native California Plants for Native Bees and Pollinators

California Plants for Native Bees and Pollinators

From bees the size of a grain of rice all the way to those giants of the bee world, the Xylocopa carpenter bees, you can begin to see that bees and other native pollinators fly around us in a range of shapes and sizes! With this range it is easy to see that native pollinators would retrieve pollen and nectar in different ways. It is important to keep in mind when planting to use a variety of flowers that will provide access to this great range of pollinators. Equally important is providing food for pollinators year round. This can be achieved by keeping in mind a calendar of color when you are choosing your plants. Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos sp.) are especially great, as they provide early flowers at the beginning of the season when fewer plants are blooming. Below are a few plants that we recommend; this of course isn’t a complete list, as it doesn’t even touch on the native annuals. We encourage exploration both for your interest and delight as well as the pollinators that will benefit! If it is native and you like it… give it a try, your native neighbors will likely enjoy it as well.

Su=Summer flowers; Sp=Spring flowers; W=Winter flowers; F=Fall flowers

List of Perennials

Large Shrubs and Trees