Blooms for Mason Bees
A project made possible by the USDA
We know pollinators need blooms to do their work, but which flowers are best?
With your help, we found out.
Botanical Bee Blend™
Wildflower Seed Mix
The bees have spoken! Meet Botanical Bee Blend™, the first science-backed seed mix designed for Midwestern pollinators that blooms all season long.
We found that native bees visited more than 200 flowers, and this is a mix of their favorites. After 3 years of research and development, Osmia Bee is proud to present our small-batch, Ohio-grown, proprietary blend backed by bees.
Though created in the Midwest region, Botanical Bee Blend™ is designed to flourish in most of the continental United States.
10% of Botanical Bee Blend™ sales are donated to Pollinator Partnership to support pollinator education through their Bee Friendly Gardening program.
What is in the mix?
Allium cernuum – Nodding wild onion
Aster novae-angliae – New England aster
Aster pilosus – Frost aster
Astragalus canadensis – Canadian milk vetch
Baptisia alba (leucantha) – White wild indigo
Baptisia australis – Blue false indigo
Chamaecrista fasciculata – Partridge pea
Coreopsis lanceolata – Lanceleaf coreopsis
Dalea candida – White prairie clover
Dalea purpurea – Purple prairie clover
Echinacea purpurea – Purple coneflower
Gaillardia aristate – Blanket flower
Gaillardia pulchella – Indian blanket
Geum canadense – White avens
Mertensia virginica – Virginia bluebells
Monarda citriodora – Lemon mint
Monarda fistulosa – Wild bergamot
Nemophila menziesii – Baby blue eyes
Penstemon digitalis – Foxglove beardtongue
Pycnanthemum incanum – Hoary mountain mint
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium – Narrow leaved mountain mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum – Virginia mountain mint
Ratibida columnifera – Upright coneflower
Ratibida pinnata – Yellow coneflower
Rudbeckia hirta – Black-eyed Susan
Solidago nemoralis – Old field goldenrod
Solidago rigida – Stiff goldenrod
Trifolium incarnatum – Crimson clover
Trifolium repens – White clover
Verbena hastata – Blue verbena
Verbena stricta – Hoary verbena
Zizia aurea – Golden Alexanders
Who is the mix for?
This all-season mix of annuals and perennials is a pollinator’s paradise. The mix is ideal for anyone looking to support our powerful native pollinators with science-backed species that bees visit most often.
Gardeners
Orchardists
Farmers
Beekeepers
How to Plant the Botanical Bee Blend™
Planting Instructions
One page of simple instructions, perfect for beginning and intermediate gardeners.
Advanced Planting Instructions
A comprehensive 15-page guide to planting native grass and wildflower seed.
About the project
The Osmia Bee Company has designed a seed mix to support springtime pollinators — particularly Mason Bees. The blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria) is the most agriculturally important species in North America; they rapidly pollinate edible plants like apples, almonds, cherries, pears, raspberries, and so much more.
When we started this project, no springtime seed mix had been developed for Midwestern pollinators. We changed that! We deployed Mason Bees and shelters across Ohio to collect and analyze the pollen collected. This told us which flowering plants Mason Bees are using to survive and reproduce. Then, our friends at Ohio Prairie Nursery developed a seed mix of annual and perennial plants for farmers, orchardists, backyard gardeners, and anyone who wants to save the bees.
Our Partners
Thank you to our collaborators who helped make this research possible.
Blooms for Mason Bees is funded by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer Rancher Grant. Supporters across Ohio are assisting with the management of Mason Bee shelters including The Strange Lab at The Ohio State University, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, GreenAcres Foundation, and backyard gardeners. Once collected, pollen samples are sent to Natalie Boyle at Penn State University’s Center for Pollinator Research for DNA metabarcoding.
Stay in touch.
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Let’s chat.
info@osmiabee.com