5 Blooms You Might Expect In March

We are on day three of March, and as you know here in parts of the deep south it is beginning to look a lot like Spring! This is great news for beekeepers as now is the time we come out of hibernation and start watching our bees very closely for signs of swarm cells and general colony health. One big factor to early colony health is the availability of forage, and that is determined by many factors including a prolonged winter, late freezes, too much or too little rain among other things.
As I mentioned above, forage is essential this time of year. When your bees start bringing in large amounts of pollen and nectar it is nice to have an idea of what is being foraged. Below is a list of things that are commonly in bloom throughout the State of Louisiana in the month of March. Keep in mind that weather conditions can affect bloom dates which in turn can lead to early or later bloom times. Also, the blooms this time of year will generally start in the more southern regions of the state and then work northward as the temps in the north begin to warm up. Again, many variables will determine exactly how this is played out as well.

Here's the list:

1. Butterweed or Groundsel                    Wikipedia Page                   Buy Seeds Here

2. Hairy Vetch                                         Wikipedia Page                   Buy Seeds Here

3. Willow Tree                                        Wikipedia Page                   Buy Seedlings Here

4. White Clover                                      Wikipedia Page                   Buy Seeds Here

5. Parsley Hawthorne                            Wikipedia Page                    Buy Seeds Here

I want to thank LSU AgCenter for making available Dr Dale Pollet's book Louisiana Honey Plants. It made the information in this article possible. There were many more honey plants that I could have listed, but these are among the most important plants for the month of March in Louisiana.

Please consider making it a priority to help the honey bee population in your area by planting some of these plants on your property, and where possible, on surrounding properties.

And soon the willow blooms.....

March 3, 2020 just days away from the Willow flow!

Bloom Dates For Red Maple, Redbud, Huckelberries, and White Clover

Got some catching up on some bloom dates. Let's start with White Clover. It was the second Sunday in Jan when I first spotted White Clover in bloom. I did not see it on the farm as the clover I planted is not yet mature enough to bloom, but in Leesville at the Lowes in the parking lot. At that point I began seeing it more and more as the days went by.
It was also about that time that I saw Dandelions blooming in Rapides Parish, the neighboring Parish to the east of the farm. For some reason Dandelions have not naturalized here in Vernon Parish very well. My guess is because of the abundance of pine tree forests owned by timber companies who spray huge amounts of pesticides everywhere. However, I am growing some dandelions from seeds this winter and plan on planting them in my yard soon in Hope's that they will begin to naturalize here on the farm.
On Feb 1st I finally laid eyes on proof of what I had suspected for about a week. That is, i finally saw bees working some Red Maple blooms. I promptly went home, opened the hives, and viola my queens were all laying.
This past week, Feb 23-29, I noticed the Huckleberry bushes beginning to bloom and the blueberries looked to be days behind them. Also, just today I saw Redbud trees pushing out their red buds.
Spring is here and the forecast is warm weather (60+ days/40+ nights) for the next 2 weeks. So I'm thinking this weekend may be a good time to start making a few splits and putting on some hive top feeders.
Don't you just love this time of year!?