I am a freelance writer working on a story about the lengths gardeners go to for their plants. I'd like to interview someone who started raising bees because it would benefit the garden.
Please contact me if you're interested in talking.
Thanks,
Melissa
Beekeeping for pollination
Bingo! One of the main reasons I gave into my husbands whine for bees was that I have seen such a decline in wild bees and thought it would help my gardens. It DID help the garden, but the things the bees put me through last summer.....You start to wonder just how much you like squash, beans and peas....
You can get an idea by checking out my posts on psyco bees starting back in June. Don't know a whole lot about bees, but I'm good at talking if you are intrested. jyl
I planted about 150 roses with 72 coming in April and am considering buying a hive to pollinate and hybridize, so I could plant seeds and see what I come up with, but that would probably be next year.
Honey bees do not pollinate roses.
Why don't honeybees do roses?
Most roses have flowers that are so dense that they aren't accessible to bees for pollination.
This message was edited Mar 19, 2008 11:28 PM
yes but the blossom unfolds to expose the pistils and stamens. and that usually means they are at the peak for their pollen.
there are some roses that are more fertile than others. I think some of the fuller flowered roses have genetically turned some of their pistils into petals. some are not fertile because of their ploidy or other reasons, like they don't produce enough viable pollen.
but the bees do try.
I pollinate my pumpkins and melons manually. No need for bees. (That sounded dirty!)