Yellow Bee Plant Seeds (Peritoma lutea)

An extraordinary long-blooming honey plant, regularly producing nectar of more than 20% sugar concentrations (sometimes concentrations of more than 30%!).

Found across the inland West from Eastern Washington and Northern Great Plains, south into Mexico, yellow bee plant is typically a plant of arid spaces – of sagebrush and Ponderosa pine landscapes. Withing those lands, it is most common in recently disturbed locations where it can quickly establish before any other vegetation. That said, it is somewhat more adaptable and can grow in non-arid landscapes but in such places it will need assistance to keep competing plants at a distance (it does not thrive when crowded).

Often growing to more than 36-inches in height, yellow bee plant produces showy yellow compound flowers, with ridiculously beautiful long slender stamens, and palm-shaped leaves. This is an annual plant, but one with a long bloom period lasting from mid-summer through heavy autumn frosts.

As the name implies, this is prolific pollinator-attractor. In field surveys by USDA bee researchers, more than 140 bee species in more than 30 genera were observed visiting this plant – honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees, and many other generalist bees are common visitors, and yellow bee plant is a host to the mining bee, Perdita zebrata, a possible specialist of the plant. Moreover and quite interestingly, yellow bee plant may be a host for some Pieris butterfly caterpillars, which normally are dependent on mustards (a closely related plant family).

The is a plant that germinates best with cold, wet, winter stratification, but once established is very hardy on dry, moonscapes soils where few other plants can so quickly add new life and brilliant color.

Co-planting with its sibling species, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, makes for a dazzling wildflower show. And for even more color, this plant can be established in drifts with wild blue flax and plains coreopsis.

2 grams (Approximately 150-200 seeds).