Honey bee forage in Rutledge, Tennessee

When is the honey flow in Rutledge?

• First forage: Feb 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Rutledge, 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 Apr 7.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs; 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

• Pumpkins: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul (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 Rutledge

Mostly: Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Northern & Central Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi NW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.16 mi E.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Rutledge ranks

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

About 82% 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

Jefferson City 11 mi · New Tazewell 12 mi · New Market 12 mi · Blaine 13 mi · Luttrell 13 mi · Tazewell 13 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 Rutledge (36.2744, -83.5327); 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.