What's flowering for honey bees near Bedford, MA (Eastern Massachusetts / Merrimack Valley-Boston Basin (Southern New England Coastal Lowlands)), month by month — 37 local nectar and pollen sources.
Open the interactive, printable calendar →← More Massachusetts bee forage calendars
| Plant | Scientific name | Category | Bloom months | Forage value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Maple | Acer rubrum | Trees | Mar–Apr | high |
| Silver Maple | Acer saccharinum | Trees | Mar–Apr | medium |
| Pussy Willow / Willows | Salix spp. | Trees | Mar–Apr | high |
| American Elm | Ulmus americana | Trees | Mar–Apr | low |
| Skunk Cabbage | Symplocarpus foetidus | Wildflowers & Weeds | Mar | low |
| Sugar Maple | Acer saccharum | Trees | Apr | medium |
| Norway Maple | Acer platanoides | Trees | Apr–May | medium |
| Serviceberry / Shadbush | Amelanchier canadensis | Trees | Apr–May | medium |
| Forsythia | Forsythia spp. | Shrubs & Vines | Apr | low |
| American Pussy Toes / Dandelion | Taraxacum officinale | Wildflowers & Weeds | Apr–May | medium |
| Wild Black Cherry | Prunus serotina | Trees | May | medium |
| Apple / Crabapple | Malus spp. | Trees | May | medium |
| Black Locust | Robinia pseudoacacia | Trees | May–Jun | high |
| Tulip Poplar | Liriodendron tulipifera | Trees | May–Jun | high |
| Black Locust (repeat noted above) | Robinia pseudoacacia | Trees | May–Jun | high |
| Highbush Blueberry | Vaccinium corymbosum | Shrubs & Vines | May | high |
| Tatarian & Morrow Honeysuckle | Lonicera tatarica / morrowii | Shrubs & Vines | May–Jun | medium |
| Autumn Olive | Elaeagnus umbellata | Shrubs & Vines | May–Jun | medium |
| Multiflora Rose | Rosa multiflora | Shrubs & Vines | May–Jun | medium |
| White Clover | Trifolium repens | Clover & Legumes | May–Sep | high |
| Basswood / American Linden | Tilia americana | Trees | Jun–Jul | high |
| Wild Grape | Vitis spp. | Shrubs & Vines | Jun | low |
| Staghorn Sumac | Rhus typhina | Shrubs & Vines | Jun–Jul | medium |
| Red Clover | Trifolium pratense | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Sep | medium |
| Sweet White Clover | Melilotus albus | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Aug | high |
| Yellow Sweet Clover | Melilotus officinalis | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Aug | high |
| Birdsfoot Trefoil | Lotus corniculatus | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Sep | medium |
| Purple Vetch / Cow Vetch | Vicia cracca | Clover & Legumes | Jun–Aug | medium |
| Common Milkweed | Asclepias syriaca | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jun–Jul | high |
| Purple Loosestrife | Lythrum salicaria | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jul–Aug | medium |
| Queen Anne's Lace | Daucus carota | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jul–Sep | low |
| Knapweed | Centaurea spp. | Wildflowers & Weeds | Jul–Sep | medium |
| Japanese Knotweed | Reynoutria japonica | Wildflowers & Weeds | Aug–Sep | high |
| Boneset / Joe-Pye Weed | Eutrochium spp. / Eupatorium perfoliatum | Wildflowers & Weeds | Aug–Sep | medium |
| Canada Goldenrod | Solidago canadensis | Wildflowers & Weeds | Aug–Oct | high |
| Smartweed / Knotweed (Persicaria spp.) | Persicaria pensylvanica | Wildflowers & Weeds | Aug–Sep | medium |
| New England Aster | Symphyotrichum novae-angliae | Wildflowers & Weeds | Sep–Oct | high |
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.