The genus Phacelia is now colloquially referred to as "bee friend" because the flowers of this plant can produce comparatively high amounts of nectar. At the same time, the fast-growing bee pasture is also used as intercropping and green manure to improve the soil.
The Phacelia blooms around June
Summer bloomers with endurance
The main flowering time of the Phacelia is in nature and when self-sowing between June and September. Since new flowers gradually open on the tuft-like inflorescences, the total flowering time is quite a few weeks. During this time, each individual flower can produce nectar with a sugar content of 0.7 to 1 milligram of sugar daily, depending on the weather, which makes the plant a magnet for bees and other flying insects.
Targeted control of the flowering time of the phacelia
Since the Phacelia flowers in a suitable location four to five weeks after sowing, beekeepers like to use it as bee pasture in months with low yields. Even crops sown in August will flower the same year if adequately watered in dry summer weather. Positive effects of phacelia are:
- use as a weed suppressant
- the enrichment of the soil with nitrogen
- the inhibitory effect on nematodes (advantageous, for example, for the cultivation of sugar beet)
tips
In a whole bed full of phacelia, you can extend the flowering period by overseeding at different times and thus cultivating different old plants next to each other.