Add mason bees to your yard to increase pollination of your fruits and flowers, leading to more blooms and a larger harvest. Crown Bees photo.
March is the perfect time to add mason bees to your yard. These small, shy bees are a great way to increase your fruit harvest and encourage native flowers in your yard. They are called mason bees because they use clayey mud to build protective walls.
Choose a warm, sunny day with little wind. Hang the mason bee house on a sunny, preferably south-facing, fence or wall. The bees will hatch and fly around your yard, pollinating fruit trees and early blooming spring plants.
Crown Bees recommends picking a shipping date that is two weeks ahead of when your first fruit tree or berry bush begins to bloom. You can store mason bee cocoons in your fridge, which keeps them sleepy until the time is right.
“If using the bees for pollinating your fruit trees, wait until the trees are about 25 percent in bloom,” said Brian Campbell in West Coast Seeds. “Otherwise look around your garden and neighborhood to see what is flowering. Imagine your bees visiting 17 blooms a minute in a 100-meter radius from the nest. Is there enough forage? If so, bring out the bees.”
Mason bees are solitary bees (they don’t live in a hive). They are non-aggressive, so you don’t need to be concerned about kids or pets.
For greater success with your bees, make sure there is exposed clay nearby. If you have sandy or loamy soil, consider buying some clay along with your bees.
Plant a diversity of flowering material to feed your bees. Consider color, height, type of flower and time of blossoming.
Where to get bees for your garden
You can buy or rent mason bees and houses to pollinate your own garden. It’s best to use local sources.
Crown Bees sells bees and houses. You may also find them at local nurseries.
Renting is an easy way to get started with bees. Rent Mason Bees offers bees for shipment to your house.
Later in the spring, you can also bring in leafcutter bees for plants that bloom later in the year. Like mason bees, they are small, shy, solitary bees. Both Crown Bees and Rent Mason Bees offer leafcutter bees.
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