The value of barberry as a honey plant

The barberry honey plant is an ornamental shrub plant belonging to the family of the same name. In the wild, there are twelve varieties of barberry, and in culture – about 45 species. The shrub is prized as a good nectar plant.

The content of the article

  • 1 Distribution and significance to humans
    • 1.1 Barbaris Tunberga
    • 1.2 Common variety
    • 1.3 Amur
  • 2 Agrotechnics
  • 3 Honey productivity
  • 4 Useful Properties

Distribution and significance to humans

Barberry shrubs are common in southern and central Europe. Some species grow successfully in Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Siberia. There are varieties cultivated in North America.

Curbs and hedges are formed from barberry, which fit perfectly into urban, park and garden landscape design.

The berries of the plant are edible when ripe. They are used for making drinks, sweets, marshmallows, jams, pilaf, cereals. The foliage is used for pickling, and the rhizomes, bark, wood for the manufacture of yellow paint.

Three types of barberries can be distinguished as good melliferous plants:

  • Thunberg;
  • ordinary;
  • Amur.

Any barberry bushes are resistant to frost, drought, unpretentious to the quality of the soil (they do not grow only on swampy and highly moistened soils!), But they also like illuminated areas.

Barbaris Tunberga

This wild plant originally from China and Japan has taken root in our country as an ornamental plant. It is found practically throughout the territory of the former CIS.

It is distinguished by reddish-brown shoots, arcuate ribbed branches and oval leaves with a characteristic color. In autumn, the lower part of the leaves turns from gray to bright red.

tunberga

Flowers reddish on the outside with a yellow core can be single or collected in small clusters. They each have six sepals, petals and stamens. The aroma during flowering is subtle, attracting honey bees and other insects well.

Inflorescences bloom by the third decade of May for two to three weeks, which allows the apiaries to receive valuable supporting bribes. The most active attendance of the bushes by bees will be when the air temperature is above +15 degrees (the peak of summer is from 11 am to 15 pm).

The barberry of this variety has a low-growing variety, not exceeding half a meter in height. Such a hedge does not need regular pruning and shrub formation – therefore, the entire mass of flowers remains intact, and the bees receive the maximum honey yield.

Common variety

ordinary

This variety is a typical wild plant, the thickets of which are found along the slopes and edges. Bushes are unpretentious to soils, perfectly tolerate severe frosts and early spring frosts.

The plant reaches a height of 1,2-1,5 meters. The flowers are yellow, collected in clusters of medium size. Blossom in late May or early June, depending on the region. They are well visited by flight bees.

The variety is used to form a garden landscape, fencing apiaries.

Amur

The Amur barberry is a tall shrub (up to 1,5 m) with yellow flowers grouped in clusters.

Amur

This June honey plant grows wild on forest edges and river floodplains. It can be used for fencing an apiary, personal plots, decorating a garden and an adjoining territory.

Agrotechnics

We will consider the propagation of barberry bushes using the example of B. Thunberg.

On a note! It is not recommended to plant any variety of barberry near sown fields. The minimum distance from them should be 800 meters. Plants contribute to the spread of fungal diseases!

Seeds are planted in the fall. With spring sowing, they will have to be stratified within 2,5-3 months. Strong seedlings are obtained from the seeds, which are planted in a prepared place at two or three years of age.

Landing is carried out in trenches to a depth of 0,4-0,5 meters. The distance between the bushes is 50-60 cm (approximately two plants for each running meter of the hedge).

In order for the barberry shoots to be useful, it can be placed on the slope of a ravine or on the banks of an irrigation system – the bushes fix moving soils well. But the main area of ​​use is the formation of hedges or field protection belts.

Honey productivity

productivity of barberry

As noted above, the listed varieties are good nectar plants. At the same time, other types of barberry are also readily visited by honey bees.

Thunberg barberry provides 200 to 230 kilograms of honey from one hectare of dense thickets. For the Amur variety, it is known that during the flowering period one bush gives an average of 0,151 grams of nectar.

The honey pumped out of the honeycomb has a characteristic yellow color and a very pleasant aroma. It tastes richly sweet.

Useful Properties

Barberry honey, like the plant itself, has a number of characteristics useful for the human body. It:

  • effective antimicrobial and antipyretic agent for colds;
  • a storehouse of vitamins and minerals for vitamin deficiencies;
  • a product that helps to cleanse the body of toxins (this is similar to Rapeseed honey, which is highly valued in Europe precisely for the same medicinal qualities).

In folk medicine, there is a contraindication of barberry during pregnancy due to its ability to stimulate muscle activity (there is a threat of miscarriage). It is not known for certain whether such a restriction applies to honey obtained from barberry bushes. In any case, pregnant and lactating women should not abuse sweet treats from apiaries, and of any kind!

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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