09/24/2026
Good Morning Bee Friends! ☀️
Goldenrod (Solidago)🌼
Did you know Florida has over 20 varieties of Goldenrod? It is a native plant that often gets mistaken for ragweed which wreaks havoc for those with allergies. Goldenrod is a robust wildflower that grows in open woodlands, prairies and in undisturbed areas such as roadsides and fields. Its impressive display of golden flowers from late summer through fall attracts numerous pollinators, including butterflies, bees and beetles. Late summer and early fall can be a stressful time for pollinators. As the major summer blooms fade, honeybee colonies must build up their food stores to survive the colder months ahead. This is where Goldenrod becomes an absolute lifesaver. It provides a massive, late season flow of both nectar and protein rich pollen right when colonies need to build up their winter food stores. When soil moisture and temperatures are ideal, Goldenrod secretes heavy amounts of nectar. Honeybees convert this nectar into a distinct, dark, and robust flavored honey. While curing in the hive, Goldenrod nectar gives off a notoriously strong, pungent odor. Many novice beekeepers panic when they walk into their apiary in late summer/ early fall mistaking the smell…often described as “dirty gym socks” or “wet cardboard” for disease or something going wrong inside the hive. Fortunately, this odor dissipates once the honey is fully cured, leaving behind a rich, buttery, and slightly spicy honey. Winter honeybees, the generation of honeybees responsible for surviving the cold months, require high amounts of protein to build up their fat bodies. Goldenrod produces large quantities of heavy, sticky, bright orange pollen. This late season protein is directly converted into the fat reserves that keep a winter honeybee cluster healthy and warm.
Goldenrod is often falsely blamed for late summer allergies. In reality, its pollen is heavy and sticky, designed to be carried by insects, not the wind. The true culprit of fall allergies is ragweed, which blooms at the exact same time but relies on wind pollination.
Goldenrod is a beautiful native plant that provides a wide range of benefits to our pollinators, wildlife and ecosystem. You can help support them by finding one of the many native varieties and creating a pollinator habitat. You can find more information at the links provided. We thank y’all for taking your precious time reading and for buzzing by and supporting us on our mission of preserving our local honeybee and pollinator population. As Always…
Bee Well & Blessed
Heather Elliott 🐝💛
https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-solidago-odora-chapmanii/
https://www.plantrealflorida.org/
https://www.fnps.org/plant .tab=0
