Pollen free flowers

Mia K · #1 (**permalink**) 13-04-2011, 12:12 PM

Hi,

I grow lots of flowers to attract bees and butterflies etc. but one I wanted to try is advertised as "pollen free". It does say it attracts insects though, so I'm confused.

If i want to feed bees, should I stick to the regular sunflowers they can't get enough of (if the squirrels don't get the heads off them first).

Thanks,

Mia

These are the sunflowers I was interested in: Sunflower Black Magic F1 (Helianthus Annuus) from Homebase.co.uk

Brocakat · #2 (**permalink**) 13-04-2011, 12:47 PM

Bees & butterflies/moths go for any flowers Nectar, don't they?.

They picking-up & unwittingly distribute the pollen to a different flower & fertilise it, when visiting the flower.

DoraMac · #3 (**permalink**) 14-04-2011, 03:47 PM

Bees are attracted to and feed on nectar and so the you should be ok with the sunflowers you describe as pollen free.

Bees do also feed on pollen which is also fed to the young as it is high in energy giving nutrients. Probably best bet is to grow a variety of plants which are attractive to bees.

King Edward · #4 (**permalink**) 14-04-2011, 09:47 PM

It says 'pollen free' but also that it produces seeds, so I'm not sure how both are true. As an F1 hybrid, it won't come true from seed if you save any. Perhaps you should try it and also regular sunflowers to see if there's any difference in their insect attractiveness, if you have space for both.