Planting for Pollinators

How to use this page?

Click on a Bumblebee to see the flowers it favours:

Common bumblebees

Bombus terrestris

Buff-tailed bumblebee

Bombus pratorum

Early bumblebee

Bombus pascuorum

Common carder bee

Bombus lucorum

White-tailed bumblebee

Bombus lapidarius

Red-tailed bumblebee

Bombus hortorum

Garden bumblebee

Less common bumblebees

Heath bumblebee

Tree bumblebee

Bilberry bumblebee

Broken-belted bumblebee

Rare bumblebees

Bombus humilis

Brown-banded carder bee

Bombus muscorum

Moss carder bee

Bombus ruderatus

Ruderal bumblebee

Bombus ruderarius

Red-shanked carder bee

Very rare bumblebees

Bombus sylvarum

Shrill carder bee

Bombus distinguendus

Great yellow bumblebee

Cuckoo bumblebees

Bombus sylvestris

Forest cuckoo bumblebee

Bombus campestris

Field cuckoo bumblebee

Bombus bohemicus

Gypsy cuckcoo bumblebee

Bombus vestalis

Southern cuckoo bumblebee

Bombus barbutellus

Barbut's cuckoo bumblebee

Bombus rupestris

Red-tailed cuckoo bumblebee

Planting for Pollinators

Learn about the plants that different bumblebee species feed on, as recorded by our Citizen Scientists:

Step 1: Choose a bumblebee species in the left column.

The middle column will then display information on that bumblebee species and the right column will display a list of plants that our Citizen Scientists most frequently record that species on.

Step 2: Choose a plant species in the right column.

The middle column will then display information about that plant and the left column will highlight the bumblebee species that our citizen scientists have recorded feeding on that plant.

Note:You can choose any bumblebee species (highlighted/not highlighted) to find suitable plants.

For a more detailed exploration of the data, and recommendations of bumblebee friendly plants that flower year-round, click on the Year-round planting recommendations tab above this panel.

Hardiness ratings	Hardiness description	Temperatures
H1a	Under glass all year	>15C
H1b	Can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)	10 to 15
H1c	Can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)	5 to 10
H2	Tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)	1 to 5
H3	Hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)	-5 to 1
H4	Hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)	-10 to -5
H5	Hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)	-15 to -10
H6	Hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)	-20 to -15
H7	Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)	< -20