My observation is that local conditions have to favor tulip poplar blooms before the bees make much honey from them.  I have hundreds of huge mature tulip poplars in flying distance of my hives and they literally rain nectar every year.  However, my observation is that the bees generally prefer other blooms over tulip poplar and will work them  vs. the tulip poplar bloom in most years.  Perhaps has to do with sugar content, flower odor, or bloom fidelity if the other blooms precede tulip poplar bloom.  I have never seen any literature that mentions temperature in relation to tulip poplar nectar flow, nor have I observed that it makes any difference here.  Last year I had the most tulip poplar honey ever as the spring rains washed out all the other spring nectar flows.  I received a suggestion from a county extension agent that it would probably be helpful to move my bees to a new yard at the beginning of the tulip poplar flow if I want the bees to make more tulip poplar honey.  The thinking is that the bees will reorient to the tulip poplar bloom.

Jerry Wallace
Atlanta, GA

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