Heather starting to flower.

The bell has been in flower for over a month now... noticed yesterday that the ling is just starting to flower on some of the lower more sheltered slopes, anyone else seen the ling starting to flower yet in other areas?

I'll let you know tomorrow.

Nope, just bell at the moment in North Yorkshire. But close. Preparing hives tomorrow.

Just bell and heath at the moment.start taking summer honey off tomorrow so I have some supers spare for the heather.

the bell is the same here on the lower parts, i moved my hives to the heather this time last year and never got a drop till near the end of august, its a hard one to call.
Darren

Hivemaker. said:

The bell has been in flower for over a month now... noticed yesterday that the ling is just starting to flower on some of the lower more sheltered slopes, anyone else seen the ling starting to flower yet in other areas?

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Not here yet! It mainly starts the second week of August, I understand its one of your main crops on Exmoor?

We have the same here in the New Forest as well bell in flower we noticed it a couple of weeks ago,no ling yet.

A colleague had an interesting experience last heather season. He took half his hives up at the beginning of July. The bees started foraging on the Bell to such an extend they ignored the ling when it came out. Lots of runny reddish honey from these hives.
His other bees which he took early August were straight on the Ling and produced normal heather honey.
I think the lesson is don't be in too much of a rush to get them there......

REDWOOD said:

I'll let you know tomorrow.

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nothing in flower here although the plants are looking really healthy

HB in full flower though, a few ghost bees entering the hives today.

Redwood, any update on the state of the ling on your nearby hills?

In the wilderness of the north hampshire highlands the ling is still not out.

Just Bell on Haldon and the southern flanks of Dartmoor.

North Yorks moors update. Drive along the western edges today showed only bell in flower, some small florets appearing on the ling, but nowhere near in flower, this is at least 2 weeks behind the last few years, so no mad rush to get the hives up there yet. It's quite amazing to see the expanses of Bell heather standing out, they are not usually as noticeable when all the moor is purple with the ling out.
There is also lots of tormentil and bog asphodel out, a veritable flower paradise compared to the agricultural plains (not sure how these later 2 rate as nectar sources). Tempted to take a hive up and see what sort of honey we get, although I'm told Bell honey is rather bitter and not popular.

Large areas of ling in full flower now, the moors are purpling up nicely.

moving some on the 8th so hope its out then

on the pembrokeshire coast (Castlemartin range east) as of saturday

will get a walk all being well up onto the high mournes tomorrow evening and post back then.

Hivemaker. said:

Large areas of ling in full flower now, the moors are purpling up nicely.

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I'd like to see that. Can you smell it when the bees are curing the honey?

I went to check out my spot in Snowdonia and I'm supposed to take them Saturday, but it looks like 2 or 3 weeks before the heather is ready.
I may have to feed the ones I take there, as forage still looks really light. I'm tied to dates by the forestry folk, but I think I need to get them to extended it by a few weeks.
Anyone else in Gwynedd seeing things running late ?