Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Common name:

Grayleaf raspberry

Scientific name:

Rubus idaeus.

Life form:

Shrub.

Flowering time:

16 - 23 days.

Flowering period

in Connecticut for this plant is: MayJune.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
30 kilograms per ha

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Major in some areas


General distribution:

American red raspberry occurs throughout most of the temperate regions of the world. In North America it grows from Alaska through Canada to Newfoundland, southward to North Carolina and Tennessee in the East, and to Arizona, California, and northern Mexico in the West. The native American red raspberry is Rubus idaeus subsp. strigosus.

R. i. subsp. idaeus grows across northern Europe to northwestern Asia. It is cultivated in Hawaii and throughout much of North America and has naturalized in many locations.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 54 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

American red raspberry is a deciduous, erect or arching, thicket-forming shrub which grows from 1.6 to 9.8 feet (0.5-3 m) in height. The total height and extent of growth is largely attributable to climatic factors. Woody stems are bristly or prickly with shreddy, exfoliating yellow-brown bark. Leaves are alternate and pinnately compound in leaflets of three to five. Leaves are green and glabrous to hairy above but white or gray, hairy to glabrate and greenish beneath. Small showy perfect white flowers are borne in clusters of one to four in a compound cyme. Fruit of the American red raspberry is made up of many to several, red or pinkish-purple drupelets. Aggregates of drupelets are commonly referred to as a "berry."

Seasonal development:

American red raspberry is typically biennial, with each shoot passing through well-defined phenological stages during its 2-year lifespan.

Flowerbud initiation is influenced by temperature, genetics (cultivar), and geographic location.  Flowering is also related to the age and vigor of the plant and the date at which vegetative growth terminates. Flowerbud initiation is triggered by low temperatures and short days and generally begins in late summer or autumn. Flowerbud initiation can be induced by exposure to temperatures of 55 degrees F (12.8 degrees C) at 9 hour days or 50 degrees F (10.0 degrees C) at 16 hour days. Although flower bud initiation occurs overwinter in most red raspberries, initiation in primocane-fruiting cultivars begins in summer. Bud break typically occurs in early spring.  Evidence suggests that higher spring temperatures may promote earlier and more rapid flowering.

Fruit maturation begins soon after flowering.  Timing of flower bud initiation largely determines fruiting season, although fruiting dates also vary according to cultivar and geographic location.


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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Connecticut
See the entire list

Cercis canadensis (aka: Eastern redbud, Redbud, Cersis Reniformis)

Aronia arbutifolia (aka: Red chokeberry)

Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)

Salix discolor (aka: Pussy willow, American pussy willow, Glaucous willow, Large pussy willow)

Malus sylvestris (aka: European crab apple, Common apple, Wild apple)

Acer negundo (aka: Boxelder, Western boxelder, Arizona boxelder, California boxelder, Texas boxelder, Interior boxelder, Violet boxelder)

Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)

Salix nigra (aka: Black willow, Swamp willow, Southwestern black willow, Gulf black willow, Scythe-leaved willow)

Populus tremuloides (aka: Quaking aspen, Trembling aspen, Aspen, American aspen, Mountain aspen, Golden aspen, Trembling poplar, White poplar, Popple, Alamo Blanco)

Salix lucida (aka: Shining willow, Greenleaf willow, Tail-leaf willow, Whiplash willow, Pacific willow, Lance-leaf willow, Longleaf willow, Red willow, Western shining willow)

Vaccinium angustifolium (aka: Lowbush blueberry, Early low-bush blueberry, Low sweet blueberry)

Prunus cerasus (aka: Sour cherry, Tart cherry, Dwarf cherry, Montmorency cherry)

Prunus pumila (aka: Sandcherry, Western sandcherry, Eastern sandcherry, Great Lakes sandcherry)

Liriodendron tulipifera (aka: Tuliptree, Blue-poplar, Tulip-poplar, Yellow-poplar, Yellow wood)

Salix bebbiana (aka: Bebb willow, Beak willow, Beaked willow, Long-beaked willow, Diamond willow, Chaton, Petit Minou, Smooth Bebb willow)

Ulmus americana (aka: American elm, White elm, Water elm, Soft elm, Florida elm)

Prunus americana (aka: American plum, Goose plum, River plum, Wild plum)

Malus domestica (aka: Pyrus pumila, Malus pumila, Apple)

Acer platanoides (aka: Norway maple)

Acer saccharum (aka: Sugar maple, Rock maple, Hard maple)