Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are popular garden annuals, celebrated for their vibrant, velvety blooms and ability to provide color during cooler months. Their broad, face-like flowers come in an expansive spectrum of colors, making them a common choice for flower beds and containers. As interest in supporting pollinator health grows, many gardeners are asking a specific question: are pansies effective at attracting and supporting bee populations?
The Pollinator Verdict
Modern garden pansies are generally considered poor food sources for bees, especially when compared to native wildflowers. While a bee might occasionally land on one, the extensive hybridization that created the large, showy blooms has inadvertently diminished the plant’s value, making them an unreliable source of nectar and pollen for foraging insects.
What Bees Seek in a Flower
Bees have evolved complex sensory systems to efficiently locate flowers that offer nutritional rewards. Their vision is tuned to the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, allowing them to see nectar guides—patterns on the petals invisible to the human eye that point directly to the pollen and nectar sources. Flower morphology is equally important, as bees favor open, single-petal structures that provide an easy landing platform. This structure allows them to quickly collect nutrient-dense pollen (their primary protein source) and high-sugar nectar that provides energy.
Why Pansies Fall Short
The primary reason modern pansies are ineffective for bees is the result of intensive breeding focused purely on ornamental appeal. Breeders selected for larger flowers, complex color patterns, and ruffled petals, often at the expense of reproductive structures and nectar production. Many pansy cultivars have significantly reduced or non-existent nectar supplies, offering little reward for a foraging bee. This lack of caloric incentive causes insects to quickly abandon the flower for more productive sources.
The flower’s physical structure also presents a major obstacle to bee access. Pansies possess a long, narrow nectar spur, a tube-like extension at the back of the flower. For many smaller, short-tongued bees, this spur is too deep to reach the nectar at its base. Even for larger insects like bumblebees, the delicate petals often fail to provide a stable landing or gripping surface. Furthermore, the large, block colors popular in modern pansies can obscure or eliminate the UV nectar guides bees use for navigation.
Better Bee-Friendly Plant Choices
Gardeners committed to supporting pollinators should select alternatives that provide accessible and nutritious food, especially during the cool seasons when pansies are often planted. Choosing single-petal varieties is better than double-flowered cultivars because they keep the pollen and nectar exposed.
Excellent cool-weather alternatives include:
- The wild ancestors of the pansy, such as Viola tricolor or common blue violet (Viola sororia), which offer a reliable food source for specialized local bees.
- Cool-weather herbs like borage and thyme, which produce masses of small, open flowers rich in nectar.
- Other spring-blooming options, including native primrose (Primula vulgaris) and early-flowering bulbs like snowdrops.
Incorporating these plants ensures that active bees, particularly queen bumblebees emerging from hibernation, have the fuel they need to begin their colonies.