>
>
Manuka is Leptospermum scoparium.
Described variously as a bush, shrub or more often, a shrubby tree.
New Zealanders will give you better information on this one, but we do
sell the honey (imported from NZ) here in the UK.
Unless you are prepared to gear your extracting plant to deal with a gel
honey like Calluna, and one with a highly distinctive and dominant
taste, it is probably better to avoid this one.
Phacelia tancetifolia mentioned in your other post is a cracker of a
honey plant. We help a few local farmers fund the seed (its a little
more expensive for them to use it than other cover crops) and in the
right conditions get an excellent crop of mild white honey off it. We
have noted a tendency for it to perform poorly in drought conditions
though, so in the Mediterranean climate you are talking about you may
need to find a cultivar of it adapted to your conditions. It seems to be
mainly a cover crop on set aside land in northern Europe, particularly
Germany and the Baltic lands.
From another perspective on the warning given by Charlie Kroeger, it is
quite possible that you will find that outside their natural range these
plants will be poor nectar yielders. Sometimes they do work well, but
more often they do not. An example of this is Canadian and New Zealand
strains of Trifloium repens (white clover). These are great yielders in
their own countries, and for at least the last 40 years have been the
basis of the 'undersow' in pasture around here (Scotland). They
(especially the NZ) are much more vigourous than the short and small
local strain and thus contribute more to the pasture. However, in this
country they yield close to ZERO nectar, even on fields which are white
enough with flower to almost look as if there had been a snow fall. Set
aside fields, where the NATIVE strain is allowed to come through on its
own, are a magnet to the bees in season and much nectar is available.
Unfortunately such fields are rare and usually small, and the number of
colonies they can sustain is few. Forty years ago clover was one of the
main nectar sources in our area and large yields were possible, but
today as a honey crop it is absent, despite good acreages of flower.
Also you will need to see these things over a long period to establish
their value in your area. Compared to us you have a consistent climate
but will still have periods of drought and wetter spells. Some of the
plants you mention, such as manuka, will take several years to come to
proper maturity, so your study is going to take many years.
It might be better to migrate your bees to the best of your local
forage, than to try to migrate in plants from alien environments.
Good luck anyway
Murray
--
Murray McGregor