Honey bee forage in Florence, Alabama

When is the honey flow in Florence?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Florence, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Mar 23.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, lindens / basswood; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, lindens / basswood; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Florence

Mostly: Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns).

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.37 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 1.05 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 99% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Florence ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

Nearby

St. Florian 4 mi · Underwood-Petersville 4 mi · Sheffield 5 mi · Muscle Shoals 6 mi · Killen 8 mi · Tuscumbia 8 mi

All towns in Alabama · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Florence (34.8298, -87.6622); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.