Get free sunflower seeds on Harvest Day
A bee visiting this sunflower already has packed "pollen baskets" on its back legs. Bees are attracted to sunflowers for nectar as well as pollen. Kathy Morrison
Why do bees go crazy for sunflowers? It’s all about how they view the world – and a color only bees can see.
Bees perceive the world differently than us human gardeners, according to experts. That definitely affects their choice of flowers.
Gardeners who want to attract more bees to their garden – as well as support these important pollinators – should plant flowers to which bees are naturally attracted.
Bees can’t see true red; it looks black or gray. All red flowers – which may be a magnet for hummingbirds – appear like boring black blobs to bees.
Instead, bees prefer light colors – white, yellow, pink, lavender and blue. In their flights over foraging areas, they search for green (a color they see well) because green growth likely contains flowers, too. (By contrast, a dried brown field or golden hillside would yield few if any flowers with nectar and pollen.)
Bees also can distinguish between dark and light, so flowers with high contrast – such as yellow sunflowers with dark centers – offer ready targets.
Composite flowers – lots of tiny florets in one big flowerhead – are bee favorites, too; they offer a lot of nectar in one stop. Yarrow, anise, allium, goldenrod and lantana are examples of these bee-pleasing flowers.
So are sunflowers. Although they look like one big bloom surrounded by a fringe of petals, sunflowers are actually composite flowers. Their centers contain hundreds of florets, each with its own sip of nectar.
But what really gets a bee’s attention is “bee’s purple” – which isn’t purple at all. It’s a mix of yellow and ultraviolet light that only bees can see. And that’s a big part of sunflowers' appeal to bees.
Regardless of their color to people, sunflower petals are bright “bee’s purple.” It’s as if they had neon stripes pointing to their floret-packed centers – find food here!
Among the best sunflowers for bees are ‘Lemon Queen’ and ‘Autumn Beauty.’ They’re rich in pollen and have a late growing season. In fact, they can be planted now for blooms this fall, feeding bees well into November.
Get your free sunflowers seeds from Sacramento Digs Gardening at Saturday’s Harvest Day at Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park. We’re giving away little packets of seeds as part of the Harvest Day goodie bag, free to attendees while supply lasts.
Hosted by the Sacramento County master gardeners, Harvest Day hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; admission and parking are free. Arrive early to get your goodie bag – and your free sunflower seeds.
For more on Harvest Day: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-gardeners-sacramento-county/harvest-day
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16
During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
Powered by California Local
