Cranberry Pollination
Cranberry plants need the bees’ help.
Bees Pollinate the Plant
Cranberry plants can’t pollinate on their own so they require extra help from their friends the bees.
Timing is critical though. The cranberry flower isn’t as appealing to bees as other flowers are. Apparently their nectar isn’t as sweet as it is in other pants.
So the farmers have to bring the bees in at a certain time, where there is less competition from other flowers, BUT, also when the cranberry crop is collectively just beginning to bloom.
That would be the start of summer. The bees stay until mid-July, which is typically when pollination ends, and then fly off to find other flowers nearby. – pillage and then onto the next raid.
The bees the farmer introduces are migratory bees so if you still see bees buzzing around the bog after pollination season, then they are native bees who are there year round.
Cranberry bogs are interesting places to live on or to visit. It’s been reported that couples who’ve had their first date at a cranberry bog live happily ever after 100% of the time.
I’ll get back to you on the source.
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Trivia: “How many cranberries do American produce per year?“
– Cranby
