Native plants are so important to all our pollinators, but the most important are the early spring ones-plants that flower in late winter into spring- that will keep the pollinators fed when there is a dearth of nectar. I keep honeybees and observe that when I have a warm sunny day over 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the bees have broken their cluster in the hive and are emerging from the hive – hungry! Zooming around the property, they are looking for flowers to fuel up on the nectar and pollen that keeps them going.
In the beekeeping world, March is known as ‘starvation month’ – the critical period when they have exhausted their winter stores of stored honey and they start looking further afield for blooming plants. And it is tough! Not many plants flower early enough to satisfy their hunger, so I am sure to plant especially early blooming species on my property. And even though I highlight native species in this post, I also rely greatly on non-native ones as well. Go to Winter Aconites to check out my favorite non-native choice for the pollinators.
Timing is Everything
Both pollen and nectar provide important food sources for pollinators and you should think about what the native plants are providing when you make your plant selections and when they bloom. Blooming times are critical when selecting, as you want to provide a succession of food sources all year long-even in winter. The following are my top 10 native choices for early spring.
1. American Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
For early winter, one of the best native choices is Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, with its curious spider-like fragrant yellow flowers. An understory small tree or large shrub, it flowers when most other shrubs and trees aren’t blooming in shady or sunny locations. An often-overlooked shrub in the summer, with medium green crinkled leaves, the pollinator for this is not bees, unless we get a warm spell, but a winter moth that is active on very cold nights. Amazingly, the moths have the unique ability to raise their body temperature by the simple method of shivering to find their food on freezing nights.
Witch Hazel can be grown in containers for a few years for a great pot plant, but as it gets older, it will need to be transplanted into the landscape. The supple branches are still used as divining rods to search for water sources. Wild turkeys and squirrels feed on the seeds and it is the larval host for several butterfly species. An astringent made from the leaves and bark is still sold worldwide for a variety of uses. But it does attract all kinds of pollinators, including honeybees and native bees, and that is why I love it!
2. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Another great early spring choice for pollinators would be Spicebush shrub/tree, Lindera benzoin, which has highly aromatic spicy leaves, bark, and flowers. Often found in groups in the woodlands and along streams, Spicebush is also an understory graceful tree in shade or partial shade. The yellow green flowers appear in March or early April before the foliage and you can spot them in the woods because it is about the only thing in bloom.
A variety of sawflies, flies, wasps, and bees pollinate these early blooming trees and a fruit develops that birds and small mammals relish. Not only animals have a use for this beautiful tree, but humans brew teas from the dried leaves that are said to help with pain, arthritis, and fever. The oil extracted from the berries can be used to treat bruises and first aid sab for cuts, and the dried fruit can be crushed to add spice to food. If those qualities weren’t enough, Spicebush turns a wonderful yellow color in the fall, making a great specimen tree for the landscape. It is the larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Spicebush Swallowtail and tolerates deer browsing.
3. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Bloodroot has large creamy white blossoms with yellow centers and resemble garden anemones. Spreading by underground rhizomes and Bloodroot can form large colonies. Useful under deciduous trees, or tucked in with shorter perennials that fill in after the bloodroot goes dormant, I always welcome the blooms of these beautiful woodland flowers in early April. A perennial ephemeral (blooms and them disappears), it is a hard plant to find in the trade. You would have to go to a specialty native plant nursery to find it, but it is worth it!
4. Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Another ephemeral, Spring Beauty is a small plant with loose clusters of pink or whitish flowers, striped with dark pink. A pair of smooth, grass-like leaves occurs halfway up the slender, 4-10 in stem. Easy to miss in swaths of grass, it disappears within a month or two. Amazingly at least 23 different species of native bees, bumblebees, honeybees, and syrphid flies have been observed visiting these generous nectar producing flowers.
Flowering during the day and closing up at night, the flower buds are formed in the fall under fallen leaves and emerge in the spring through the leaves.
Interestingly, the Spring Beauty corm is quite tasty and has been a food source in Indian cultures and is still eaten by wild food enthusiasts. The corms, which contain vitamins A and C, can be eaten raw or cooked like small potatoes. Squirrels and other forest wildlife will eat the corms, so it is a source of food for other wildlife. The leaves and flowers are also edible.
5. Bellwort or Merry Bells (Uvularia grandiflora)
A relatively unknown native plant that deserves more attention is Merrybells. Plants are produced in dense, vase-shaped clumps 12-20” tall. In the lily family, single stems appear out of leaf litter and put on a show of drooping yellow flowers. The habit resembles Soloman’s Seal with pendant flowers and is at home in natural areas or the wild garden, as well as in more formal plantings. Scatter clumps among low-growing ground covers, such as creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera), vinca (Vinca minor), or running foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia).
U. grandiflora does best in a lightly to moderately shaded spot in moist, fertile soil. This species rarely needs division, although it can be propagated by cutting up and moving clumps in the fall. Plants may self seed and the seedlings can be transplanted more easily than dividing established clumps.
6. Robin’s Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)
A new-to-me plant within the last couple of years, I really enjoy the beauty and toughness of this cheerful little native, aka as Lynnhaven Carpet.
Robin’s Plantain blooms earlier and is much shorter than the well-known native weed, Daisy Fleabane that looks similar. Robin’s Plantain blooms from mid-spring to early summer for 2-3 weeks. After blooming, the flowering stalks die, but the basal leaves remain green. The root system is a crown of fibrous roots that also forms rhizomes or stolons to form small colonies of the plant.
I have used this plant in difficult situations, like dry shade, and it flourishes. It is easy to divide and transplant into different areas to form a colony with little to no care.
7. Pussy Willow (Salix spp.)
Often overlooked, pussy willow’s value to hungry pollinators makes it a must- have for me in my pollinator garden. The fuzzy catkins emerge in mid-winter and as warmer temperatures arrive, the flowers emerge from the catkins and become a prime attraction for my honey bees and other pollinators. Literally the entire shrub vibrates with the buzzing sound of many bees visiting the blossoms. This valuable plant fills the need for pollinators who emerge on those first few warm days in February when they really need the sustenance. 
When my willows bloom in March and April, you can hear the buzz of bees covering the flowers
8. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
One of the most beautiful species of early spring bloomers is Virginia Bluebells, a perennial ephemeral like so many of the early spring wildflowers.
Virginia Bluebells are relatives of more familiar species -Lungworts, Comfrey, and Forget-Me-Nots – and are so easy to grow that I wonder why more people don’t plant them.
Bluebells enjoy rich, well-drained soils where they can form large colonies over time. And not that much time! I have colonies that are 5 years old and they are quite thick already. The flowers start off pink and gradually turn over to their fabulous shade of lilac light blue as they mature.
A native perennial that everyone should have, it thrives in shade, partial sun, or full sun in my garden – and in regular garden soil. They appreciate a little more moisture, but I have never watered them or babied them. Bees, especially female Bumblebees that fly in early spring, will often be seen visiting the flowers. Perching on the rim of the flower, the bees plunge into the trumpet shaped flower to gather nectar. Lasting for many weeks in early spring, April and May, Bluebells go dormant by early summer, totally disappearing – foliage and all. Because of that characteristic, you can plant annuals where the Bluebells have disappeared to get later summer color.
The clumps grow up to 2 feet tall and about a foot wide, but die back to the ground by early summer as the plant goes dormant shortly after flowering and setting seed. Beginner gardeners think that they killed the plant, only to be surprised the following year when the Bluebells emerge suddenly even more vigorously.
9. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Greenish yellow flowers appear in March or early April, right before the foliage unfolds. A deciduous tree between 35-60 feet tall, there are many uses for the bark and roots including flavoring, medicine, scents, and dyes. It can be planted in disturbed, infertile soil, and attracts fruit-eating birds and hosts various pollinator species. The foliage is notable as an mitten-shaped aromatic or three lobed leaves. The females produce a dark blue fruit in late summer and the fall foliage is bright red to orange. That is the stage when you would notice sassafras when it lights up the woods.
10. Service Berry (Amelanchier Spp.)
Service Berry provides year-round interest with white spring flowers, fantastic fall foliage, smooth gray bark, and edible blue-purple fruit. A large shrub or a multi-stemmed small tree, they can be used as a specimen, plantings in borders, backdrops, or screens. The ripe fruit can be eaten fresh or used in jams, jellies, and pies and attractive to birds, and other animals. The spring flowers are visited by numerous pollinators.
