Michigan Beekeepers Association

Log in

Trees for Pollinators

Michigan Beekeepers Association announces the Spring 2026 “Trees for Pollinators” program, now in it's fifth year. We invite local bee clubs, garden clubs, pollinator groups, arborist organizations, schools and local communities to help distribute trees.

Sales are open now thru March 28, 2026.

Purchase a pollinator beneficial shrub or tree from the Michigan Beekeepers Association. One-third of funds received benefit our local bee clubs.

We will be offering the following potted one to two gallon plants for $30 each.

Buttonbush
Black Gum
Little Leaf Linden
Tulip Poplar tree
Tree Lilac
Seven Sons tree

We are also selling 2ft - 3 ft bareroot trees for $20 each. Planting bareroot trees helps them more easily adapt to existing growing conditions.

American Basswood
Sargent Crabapple
Pussy Willows

All orders will be taken through the MBA website, paid for by credit card, and distributed through a local bee club in your area. The expected delivery date is early April.

If you have tax exempt status please email Michele Armstrong at secretary@mba-bees.org for further assistance.

Place your Tree Order Here

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

A small bush that bears attractive summer foliage with creamy-white flowers appearing in mid-summer. Appears in wetlands and has high value as a honey plant.

Mature Height: 5-15 feet
Mature Spread: 5-15 feet
Hardiness Zone: 5 to 10
Soil Type: heavy clay, loamy clay, loam
Soil Condition: wet, tolerates wet, moist, well drained
Attracts Wildlife: songbirds, upland birds & game
Exposure: full sun
Usage: wetland restoration, ornamental, wildlife planting, wildlife cover
Form: small shrub
Growing Speed: fast, medium
Value to bees: A dependable July honey plant

Seven-Son (eptacodium miconioides)

A small hard-to-find tree for the landscape or front yard. Recently discovered in Asia, this non invasive plant is now extinct in its native land due to development.

Grows 20· tall and 15' wide.
Blooms in the fall! It is a pollinator magnet and is heavily visited by honeybees, native bees, bumble bees and migrating Monarch butterflies!
Fast growing and blooms after only 2 years.
The white fragrant flowers last for weeks before revealing vivid red, fan-like bracts, which make it look like the plant is blooming again in a completely different color. Peeling bark adds winter interest.
No serious pests or diseases and grows in zones 5-
9. It is adaptable to most soils but does not bloom well in shade.

Black Gum, Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica)

Beautiful native trees with excellent and the most consistent fall color of all species. Excellent landscape tree due to outstanding summer and fall foliage

Mature Height: 30-50 feet
Mature Spread: 20-30 feet
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9
Soil Type: loamy clay, loam, sandy loam
Soil Condition: tolerates wet , moist, well drained, tolerates dry
Attracts Wildlife: songbirds
Exposure: full Sun , partial shade
Usage: wetland restoration, ornamental, wildlife cover
Form: medium tree, small tree
Growing Speed: medium slow
Value to bees: undetermined. A southern cousin to this tree provides a consistent major honey crop ; some Beekeepers claim a major honey crop can be obtained in Michigan too!

Little Leaf Linden (Tilia cordata)

A dependable June bloomer, commonly used as a landscape or street tree.

Native Range: Europe, southwestern Asia
Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 50 to 70 feet
Spread: 35 to 50 feet
Bloom Time: June
Bloom Description: pale yellow
Sun: full sun to part shade
Water: medium
Maintenance: low
Suggested Use: shade tree, street tree, flowering tree
Flower: showy, fragrant
Attracts: large numbers of native bees, bumble bees, honey bees, and butterflies.
Fruit: showy
Tolerate: drought

Tulip Popular (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Large and fast-growing shade tree: 70 feet to 100 feet, give it space to grow.
A native tree, they can produce a large honey crop.
They prefer deep, moist soil but are quite adaptable. Plant in full sun.
Yellow-green-orange tulip-like flowers in early summer are carried high on the branches.

Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata)

Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 20 feet
Spread: 15
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: creamy white
Sun: full sun to part shade
Water: medium
Maintenance: low
Suggested Use: street tree, flowering tree
Flower: showy, fragrant
Attracts: hummingbirds, butterflies
Other: winter interest
Tolerate: deer, clay soil
Bees: native and honey bees

American Basswood (Tilia americana)

Basswoods provide the most nectar of any plant or tree known in the U.S.

Height of mature tree: GO' to 80'
Best for planting at the edge of your yard or in a park where it will have space to grow.
Growth: Medium to fast depending on soil conditions. Prefers deep, moist, rich soil, but also grows in dry, heavy soil. Likes sun or part shade.
Flowers: Very fragrant flowers around July 4. Starts to flower at 10-12 years old; will live 100 years or more. Does not flower every year.
Other info: Native from Maine to Florida, west to the Dakotas.

Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)

A native small tree or shrub, it is one of the most significant early-spring sources of pollen and nectar for Honey and Native bees. Together with red maples, they produce the majority of

the early-spring resources our bees need to build up after winter.
They prefer wet soil and are often found along the margins of wetlands. They will grow well on upland sites, too.
Zones 2-9, plant in full sun, but this is not a good landscape plant, it is a rain-garden or marginal area plant.
Willows are male or female. Male willows, the ones with the attractive pussy-toes, produce pollen and nectar, while females produce only nectar. Both are valuable to bees! We cannot say which you'll receive, so buy several!

Sargent Crabapple (Malus Sargentii)

A mid to late-May blooming crabapple. Excellent as a landscape plant or accent piece, or planted as a wildlife hedge. Blooms within a year or two of planting.

Size of mature tree: A dwarf tree, 10’ tall x 10’ wide. Easily pruned to shape.
Growth: Medium to fast. Tolerant of most soils.
Flowers: Red buds open to a fragrant white flower. Will remain in bloom for at least two weeks.
Very attractive to native bees and honey bees. Flowers set bright red fruit 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter that remain on the tree throughout the winter or until devoured by hungry robins and cedar waxwings.
Other info: No known serious pests or diseases. Not attractive to Japanese beetles. Our Sargent Crabapples are propagated from seed and are not grafted so they remain true to name. Na1ve to Japan but not considered invasive.

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software