Shade tolerant plant for bees

[Falesh]

I'm looking to fill a 2m long bed in full shade with plants that flower for a long time and are very attractive to bees. My ideal would be something like Catmint but from what I have ready that doesn't like full shade. Does anyone have any suggestions that might fit the bill?

Cheers!

[Deb London]

Lungwort might be worth a look. It is an attractive, early and shade-tolerant plant that is very "bee-worthy".

http://www.habitataid.co.uk/acatalog...ulmonaria.html

[artdemole]

Bed of lavender is always nice....

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Falesh

I'm looking to fill a 2m long bed in full shade with plants that flower for a long time and are very attractive to bees. My ideal would be something like Catmint but from what I have ready that doesn't like full shade. Does anyone have any suggestions that might fit the bill?

Long flowering period is a challenge, really needs to be a mix of species to achieve that, three that would work = Lungwort (already mentioned) is a good early flowerer, Bugle - Ajuga reptans, up to six weeks of flowering, April/May, and Meadow Sweet - Filipendula ulmaria, only in flower for a couple of weeks but 'bees go mad for it', flowers June/July. I've had surprising success with Geranium macrorhizome in shaded areas, a good bee plant for April/May, may be worth a try. Yellow Archangle is happy in shaded area though not heavily flowered for the space it occupies. And fox gloves are worth trying though they prefer 'dapled' rather than full shade.

CM

[Falesh]

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to go for Ajuga reptans as that looks very nice.

[b0mbus]

Try Soloman's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) which is very attractive to long tongued bumblebees. It is a native, perenial with lovely drooping white flowers on green arching stems. Also very happy in the shade.

[Ygdrasil]

Ajuga as said before, but howabout Deadnettles?

[Falesh]

Originally Posted by Ygdrasil

Ajuga as said before, but howabout Deadnettles?

I actually had quite a lot of red deadnettle that had turned up on it's own. Unfortunately it has all died now to an ailment, probably fungus, that turned it more and more white until it withered away. Would this be passed on to white deadnettle if I planted those or do you think it is specific to the red variety?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by artdemole

Bed of lavender is always nice....

... but not shade tolerant!
Some of the native Geranium species are really quite shade-tolerant and flower from now until the autumn - I have a pink one (whose name I forget) growing all over the place! For a bit of winter/sping flowering the various hellebores ae very useful, Helleborus hybridus is later flowering than H. niger &c so you can have sequence..

[Africa]

Another shade tolerant native very attractive to a range of bees is the Hedge Woundwort, Stachys sylvatica, which flowers from mid-may to july. The red dead nettles might have reached the end of their lives if the weather has been dry, but they'll come back next year from seed. For the spring I find wild primroses brighter up shady areas and are liked by the Hairy Footed Flower bee.