What's flowering for honey bees near Bartow, FL (Central Florida Ridge / Lakeland-Bartow Citrus & Sandhill Country (Polk County, Bone Valley/Lake Wales Ridge vicinity)), month by month — 34 local nectar and pollen sources.
Open the interactive, printable calendar →← More Florida bee forage calendars
| Plant | Scientific name | Category | Bloom months | Forage value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Maple | Acer rubrum | Trees | Jan–Feb | medium |
| Spanish Needles | Bidens alba | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jan–Dec | high |
| Slash Pine | Pinus elliottii | Trees | Feb–Mar | low |
| Southern Live Oak | Quercus virginiana | Trees | Feb–Mar | low |
| Wild Black Cherry | Prunus serotina | Trees | Feb–Mar | medium |
| Blackberry | Rubus spp. | Shrubs & Vines | Feb–Mar | medium |
| Crimson Clover | Trifolium incarnatum | Clover & Legumes | Feb–Apr | medium |
| Deer Vetch/Bur Clover mix weeds | Medicago spp. | Wildflowers & Weeds | Feb–Apr | low |
| Citrus (orange, grapefruit, tangerine) | Citrus spp. | Trees | Mar–Apr | high |
| Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua | Trees | Mar–Apr | low |
| Gallberry (Large & Small) | Ilex glabra / Ilex coriacea | Shrubs & Vines | Mar–May | high |
| Virginia Willow (Itea) | Itea virginica | Shrubs & Vines | Mar–Apr | medium |
| Wax Myrtle | Morella cerifera | Shrubs & Vines | Mar–Apr | low |
| Titi (Buckwheat Tree) | Cliftonia monophylla | Shrubs & Vines | Mar–Apr | medium |
| Coral Honeysuckle | Lonicera sempervirens | Shrubs & Vines | Mar–Jun | low |
| White Clover | Trifolium repens | Clover & Legumes | Mar–May | medium |
| Florida Tickseed (Coreopsis) | Coreopsis floridana | Wildflowers & Weeds | Mar–Jun | low |
| Tallow/Chinese Tallowtree | Triadica sebifera | Trees | Apr–May | medium |
| Saw Palmetto | Serenoa repens | Shrubs & Vines | Apr–Jun | high |
| Muscadine Grape | Vitis rotundifolia | Shrubs & Vines | Apr–May | medium |
| Elderberry | Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis | Shrubs & Vines | Apr–Jun | low |
| Black Mangrove | Avicennia germinans | Trees | May–Jul | high |
| Cabbage Palm | Sabal palmetto | Trees | May–Jun | medium |
| Virginia Creeper | Parthenocissus quinquefolia | Shrubs & Vines | May–Jun | low |
| Trumpet Creeper | Campsis radicans | Shrubs & Vines | May–Aug | low |
| Indigo (Wild) | Indigofera spp. | Clover & Legumes | May–Aug | low |
| Partridge Pea | Chamaecrista fasciculata | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Sep | medium |
| Alyce Clover | Alysicarpus vaginalis | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Sep | medium |
| Rattlebox / Crotalaria | Crotalaria spp. | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Oct | low |
| Spanish Clover (Desmodium) | Desmodium spp. | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jul–Sep | medium |
| Ragweed | Ambrosia artemisiifolia | Wildflowers & Weeds | Aug–Oct | low |
| Goldenrod | Solidago spp. | Wildflowers & Weeds | Sep–Nov | high |
| Saltmarsh/Aster (Elliott's Aster) | Symphyotrichum elliottii | Wildflowers & Weeds | Sep–Nov | high |
| Dogfennel | Eupatorium capillifolium | Wildflowers & Weeds | Sep–Oct | low |
A bee forage bloom calendar shows which nectar and pollen plants are blooming in a given area, month by month, so beekeepers can plan colony buildup, splits, and honey harvests around the local bloom.
Every calendar starts with your zip code's specific growing region — its climate, elevation, and local ecology. From there, we use AI trained on horticultural and beekeeping knowledge to work out which nectar and pollen plants actually grow there and when they typically bloom, the same kind of judgment call an experienced local beekeeping mentor or extension agent would make, just automated so any US zip code can get a calendar in minutes instead of years of local observation. Each calendar typically covers 25-40 plants across trees, shrubs and vines, clover and legumes, and wildflowers, plus the area's named honey flows. We keep the exact generation process under wraps, but the goal is always the same: real, locally-grounded bloom timing instead of generic national averages.
The region-specific bloom timing, honey flows, and beekeeping notes are produced by an AI system drawing on general horticultural, ecological, and beekeeping knowledge, applied to your area's specific climate and geography — rather than looked up from a single official bloom-timing database, since no such nationwide dataset exists at this level of local detail.
A nectar dearth (or dearth period) is a stretch of the year when little or no medium-to-high value forage is blooming. Colonies may need supplemental feeding during a dearth to avoid starvation or robbing behavior.
A honey flow (or nectar flow) is a period when nectar is abundant enough for a colony to produce surplus honey beyond what it needs to survive, often tied to a specific major regional bloom like clover or black locust.
Bloom timing is generated from regional climate and ecology data and is intended as a general planning reference. It may not perfectly match a specific microclimate, so it's worth cross-checking against your own field observations.
Yes. Enter any US zip code to get a free, printable bee forage bloom calendar — no signup required.