Growing bee-friendly plants

Many bee plants are easy to grow, either from seed or bought as young plants – here’s how to look after them and keep them flowering for as long as possible

Sowing seeds

Borage is particularly easy to grow from seed and is best sown direct outdoors in spring. Others, including viper’s bugloss and calamint, can be sown individually in modules indoors, then planted out once they have four true leaves.

Chelsea chop

If you cut back some of the stems in a clump of upright perennials, such as heleniums, this will extend the flowering season and give you more flowers overall. Near the end of May (usually during the RHS Chelsea Flower Show), cut about half of the flowering stems in half, allowing some to flower at their natural time and the rest to flower later.

Caring for seedlings

Be careful when watering small plants, particularly new seedlings. Aim to keep the compost slightly damp but not soggy. Avoid blasting them with a hose – use a watering can fitted with a rose, as it’s more gentle.

Caring for young plants

Buying plug plants is cheaper than buying mature plants, but you’ll need to pot them up and look after them until large enough to plant out. You can also buy young garden-ready plants that are big enough to plant out straight away.

Deadheading

Removing faded flowers regularly encourages plants to produce more, especially with scabious and campanulas, providing more food for bees and extending your display.