Honey bee forage in Henderson, Tennessee

When is the honey flow in Henderson?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jul 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 (cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Henderson, 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 29.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, cotton, 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), cotton; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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 759 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 137 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 2 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 Henderson

Mostly: East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Eastern Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi W; pond, lake or river 0.24 mi S.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 55% 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 Henderson ranks

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

About 53% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Pinson 5 mi · Finger 6 mi · Jacks Creek 8 mi · Silerton 11 mi · Beech Bluff 11 mi · Medon 12 mi

All towns in Tennessee · 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 Henderson (35.4431, -88.6566); 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.