city in Utah
Honey bee forage in Blanding, Utah
Estimated forage here is better than about 33% of sites in Utah. Against other Utah sites it stands out most in spring (64th percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Blanding?
- First forage: Mar 16 (native wildflowers, dandelion, spring-flowering shrubs)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15, peaking early May (spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 (rabbitbrush, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Blanding, 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 May 1.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
- Summer honey (July and August): rabbitbrush, native wildflowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, dandelion; dark amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, rabbitbrush, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Alfalfa: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug (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 Blanding
Mostly: Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Woodland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Shrubland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.28 mi S.
How Blanding ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 6th | 21st | 17th | 51st |
| Utah | 33rd | 64th | 31st | 35th |
| Colorado Plateaus | 55th | 71st | 53rd | 54th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 80% 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.
The national forage map around Blanding: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
White Mesa 12 mi · Monticello 20 mi · Bluff 23 mi · Montezuma Creek 28 mi · Tselakai Dezza 29 mi · Aneth 35 mi
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 Blanding (37.6231, -109.513); 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.