[mention]imp[/mention] Be careful where you place sunflowers in the veg garden!
Not many people know about the dark side of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). However, the beautiful bright blooms do hide a nasty secret: sunflowers are allelopathic, that is, they give off toxins (terpenes and various phenolic compounds) from all their parts (roots, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, etc.) that impede the growth of other plants or even kill them.

Was that taken from Laidback Gardener?

https://laidbackgardener.blog/2017/05/0 ... wers-kill/

patihum wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:32 pm @imp Be careful where you place sunflowers in the veg garden!
Not many people know about the dark side of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). However, the beautiful bright blooms do hide a nasty secret: sunflowers are allelopathic, that is, they give off toxins (terpenes and various phenolic compounds) from all their parts (roots, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, etc.) that impede the growth of other plants or even kill them.

Adyes, thanks for the information.

Has anyone mentioned Mexican heather? It's a small compact shrub that tolerates sun and heat, and doesn't require a lot of water. The bees flock to it.

That's a very pretty plant and one that I have never grown. I might have to try it now.

Imp, thank you for mentioning about tansy and squash bugs. I will have to plant some in my squashes this year too. Disaster (aka S.B.'s) struck just as my squashes were really starting to take off last year. So disheartening.

They were flocking to the African blue basil that's been hanging on through the winter and some dianthus planted in pots here and there.

SpookyShoe wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:05 pm 0214201551.jpgHas anyone mentioned Mexican heather? It's a small compact shrub that tolerates sun and heat, and doesn't require a lot of water. The bees flock to it.

I've not heard of it before. I like the looks of it and if it takes the heat it will be a good one for me. Thanks, I'll start looking for it locally.

I love bee porn.

I shall have to try some of that african blue basil maybe I can find it local at the big nursery even though they are often so danged high priced on stuff. That mexican heather sounds good too. I may ask my nephew to bring a bee hive this year and keep it in the back yard!!

Mexican Heather is in the Cuphea family, so lots of nectar

PlainJane wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:11 pm I love bee porn.

Kinky!!!! I like it.

Went out to lunch and saw this bee and many more on a bottle brush plant.

Agastache...

Korean hyssop and Poquito Lavender (actually it's pink) blooming now---

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I found mason bees going in & out of my mason bee house!

We usually grow just zinnias, marigolds and sunflowers in the veg garden. This year I'm adding a few purple coneflowers, some Indian Summer Rudbeckia, Lemon Mint Monarda and some Tithonia torch flowers. Not a lot as I just want to see how they do here.

Speaking of sunflowers, an earlier post mentioned the alellopathic "dark side" of sunflowers and the toxins they produce from all parts of the plants and the negative effect to other plants near them. Not having heard about that before I had to look it up. Articles seem to be all over the place as to exactly what parts of sunflower plants contain these toxins.

However the one part the all seem to identify in common are the seeds. One research study from Poland found that extract from sunflower seeds completely inhibited germination of mustard seeds. Others said one can plant things near sunflowers but it's best to grow them bigger than seedling stage before planting so the roots mature a bit and become more resistant. All articles recommended not tilling in sunflower debris.

There were many anecdotal stories ranging from completely bad experiences to not noticing any growth problems at all in nearby plants. So here's another anecdote. Every year Pickles plants cucumbers among her two rows of sunflowers to act as a natural groundcover and the cukes do well. Sunflower seed heads are cut and hung to dry for the birds. Debris is removed at the end of the season. Seemingly no problem here but something to watch.

Chinese Tallow, right now, that’s the only flower the honey bees want, that and basswood. The Chinese Tallow were planted by the former resident of our home. She was from a place with fall colors and missed that so she planted chinese tallow all over the lot in the 1950s to provide colors like she knew from back east. The Basswood are native here. Many of our tallow trees are huge now and we also have really big Basswood, a.k.a. Linden trees. Walk under either tree at the moment and it sounds like you are inside a hive, the bees are so thick.

A friend that’s a commercial bee keeper says our particular broader area is well known in the bee keeping trade for the Chinese Tallow. Those trees escaped cultivation decades ago and now blanket in thickets many square miles of the countryside. Commercial Bee keepers from all over truck in hives to take advantage of the spring bloom. My buddy helps somehow to arrange all this movement of hives. Both the Chinese Tallow and Basswood are extremely fragrant and I can smell both of them in bloom from a distance. I suppose the bees are even better at this.

I planted a variety sunflowers and zinnias, but neither are quite in bloom yet. There’s a mimosa tree near the garden that gets attention from bees now that its in bloom, but once the Chinese tallow flowered, the Mimosa is largely getting ignored, at least by the bees. The hummingbirds still swarm it.

The bees I do have in the garden are mostly carpenter bees and they love the spaghetti squash blossoms more than anything else. They also hit all the tomato, bean, and cucumber blooms. I have the standard sized big Carpenter bees and a smaller black bee, not sure what it is. Occasionally, there’s some other types of bees and wasps that come to the squash flowers.

The Carpenter bees drill perfectly round holes in my bamboo tomato stakes as those dry out and turn brown. My Amish Paste tomato is tied to a stake that has the bee drilling a hole at eye level. I saw the bee peeking out of the hole it drilled. We have an extensive stand of bamboo growing on the lot so I guess that’s why we have so many Carpenter bees.

The wild dwarf palmetto are about to bloom. I’ve got one near the vegetable garden that is sending up a 10’ bloom spike. It will be covered in hundreds of little cream colored frgrant flowers soon. The bees will be all over it once the tallow are done, which should be pretty soon. The two plants seem to have worked out their schedules so as to not interfere with each other. I’ll be snacking on the palmetto fruit in the fall, thanks to the fine job the bees do with pollination.

[mention]karstopography[/mention], I’m not familiar with Chinese Tallow. By chance do you have a photo?

[quote=karstopography post_id=20357 time=1589962090 user_id=425]The Carpenter bees drill perfectly round holes in my bamboo tomato stakes as those dry out and turn brown. My Amish Paste tomato is tied to a stake that has the bee drilling a hole at eye level. I saw the bee peeking out of the hole it drilled. We have an extensive stand of bamboo growing on the lot so I guess that’s why we have so many Carpenter bees. [quote]

I hear ya!