Not every hydrangea flower is a food source for insects such as bees. But there are species that have more than ornamental value and are valuable to animals.
What many hobby gardeners love about hydrangeas is their colorful, usually lush flower balls. Or, in the case of plate hydrangeas, flower plates. But strictly speaking, the leaves, which shine in pastel colors or strong blue, are only false flowers. The real flowers - and only these provide nectar and pollen to insects - are very small and are well hidden between the false flowers. And with many hydrangeas they are quite rare or difficult to reach. But if you love both bees and hydrangeas, you can choose varieties that insects also like to fly to and are useful for them.
Bee-friendly hydrangeas have real flowers
The particularly popular farmer's hydrangeas in particular consist almost entirely of false flowers. These definitely serve to attract insects. But in the middle there is neither a fertile node, pistil nor stamen that bees etc. normally fly to. This can also be seen from the fact that the false flowers do not later form seeds.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
Use the following tips to find insect-friendly hydrangeas:
When buying, look for hydrangeas with easily accessible, small true flowers where you can see the ovaries, pollen and stamens.
There are big differences between panicle hydrangeas. Some varieties produce mostly false flowers, but many also have a large number of fertile flowers. The flower spikes should not be arranged too closely. The varieties 'Vanilla Fraise' or 'Kyushu', for example, are often visited by insects.
With hydrangeas the situation is usually clear. The center of its large flower plate consists of numerous real flowers, which are a perfect landing place for the six-legged friends and are framed on the outside by a few false flowers. Climbing hydrangeas also have similarly shaped fertile umbrella flowers.
The mountain hydrangea and the velvet hydrangea are also considered bee-friendly, depending on the variety and cultivation form.
The flowering time of hydrangeas also plays a role. If you would like to plant several hydrangeas, it is best to choose the varieties so that they bloom at different times - some earlier, others later in the year. This means that the insects have as long a supply of food as possible.
There are also very insect-friendly shrubs that can be a good alternative with their showy, beautiful flowers. These include the woolly and common viburnum, wild roses, bird cherry or the fragrant Seven Sons of Heaven bush. Double flowers are often not suitable for bees, bumblebees or butterflies.