The last few days my bees have been all over a patch of Obedient Plant(physostygia virgensis (sp?)) in the lavender shade. As thick as they get on anise hyssop and russian sage as a comparison. This plant is easy to grow, naturtalizes(invades) easily. Also comes in a white variety but dont know if the bees like it. Also cheap to buy off ebay.
Is this it
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/23/
Family: Lamiaceae (lay-mee-AY-see-ay) (Info)
Genus: Physostegia (fy-so-STEEJ-ee-uh) (Info)
Species: virginiana (vir-jin-ee-AN-uh) (Info)
Synonym:Dracocephalum denticulatum
Synonym:Dracocephalum virginianum
Synonym:Physostegia virginiana subsp. virginiana
Synonym:Physostegia denticulata
Synonym:Physostegia speciosa
absolutely! Nice showy plant w/ ease of care.
Konasdad. That is cool. I have often thought about sowing this plant because of the name (and how it looks), so I will be ordering that seed for sure to add to my bees' gardens. It is good to hear about plants that the bees love. I see the bees thick on the white Nicotianna, so I don't see why the bees wouldn't enjoy the white Obedient Plant too. Enjoy this beautiful life we live. Cindi (and a great day too)
This particular cultivar of Nicotianna is very nice. The flowers are open during the daytime, as well as nighttime. Most Nicotianna species' flowers are closed during the day, opening at night. So this variety is attractive to bees all day long. It is a very large and robust growing variety and it is amazing how much the bees love the pretty flowers.
(http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8738/nicotiannasensationmix6vd5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/2782/nicotiannapollen640x480sn8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)