Which blooms make the best honey flavour(s)?

Sumi

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I've heard of different plants and tree blooms imparting different flavours on honey. What plants/trees do you experiences beekeepers find makes for the best flavoured honey? And which should be avoided?
 

babsbag

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My bees collect whatever they can find but a large portion is star thistle. They love it, the honey is very dark and very strong. I like it that way. Blackberry honey is another very dark, full bodied honey. Haven't found any that I don't like. But I hear that Borage can be iffy.
 

Happy Chooks

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Mine forage everything, but the major blooms around here are Blackberry and Manzanita. My honey is dark, and very tasty. The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.
 

babsbag

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OK, do you live in California? Manzanita is a major plant where I live and blackberry is one for another hive that is where there is irrigated land. I forgot about the manzanita when I mentioned star thistle. My bees were on the poison oak too even though I didn't really see flowers on it they liked it.
 

babsbag

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Welcome to my neck of the woods. I am in Anderson, near Redding. Love our weather, hate our drought.
 

Buzz'n Billy

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Orange blossom honey is pretty good. Many of the flowering trees seem to impart more flavor than crops. Looking for trees like linden (basswood), black locust, sourwood, holly and eucalyptus is a good way to go. Many people planting with bees in mind often forget the larger trees that can provide for the bees. Wildflower honey usually has a stronger honey flavor than "varietal" honey. Biggest one to avoid as far as honey for consumption, almond. Never had it, but from what I've heard from commercial beeks doing Cali pollination it's pretty nasty stuff.
 

Bossroo

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My bees collect whatever they can find but a large portion is star thistle. They love it, the honey is very dark and very strong. I like it that way. Blackberry honey is another very dark, full bodied honey. Haven't found any that I don't like. But I hear that Borage can be iffy.
Star thistle may be just fine for bees, but is not only one of the worst plant invaders to this country, but also they are a death sentence to horses. You see, when a horse starts to eat this plant, it's toxins destroy a certain area of the horse's brain ( the size of a pencil eraser ) causing it to loose control of it's lower jaw and eventually it starves to death. There is NO CURE. :th
 

BrownSheep

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I don't raise bees ( it's on the list) but a big one around here is clover and alfalfa fields. There is a professional apiary in area that places boxes all over for alfalfa producers.
 

D1

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Privet and china berry(pop corn trees) are out biggest nectar producers here, however my bees work on blackberry, blueberry and seem to offer some great tasting honey
 

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