Does anyone keep bees in their greenhouse? Or ever tried to keep bees in the GH? Year-around?

If you mean keep hives in the greenhouse, no, I don't know anyone who has done that. I do have bees coming inside almost daily but then they leave. They do help with pollination.

When I was in my 20s I worked at the local university in the sciences. One lab room had a bee hive attached to an outdoor window with a clear side against the window so the students could observe the hive. Something like that might work for you, although I assume you'd want to also include an ingress/egress if you want to use them for pollination.

For honey or plant pollination in the greenhouse? What growing zone do you live in?

When I am working in my greenhouse in Spring-Summer-Fall its too hot and humid to close the doors so I leave them open. I get all sorts of stuff flying in....butterflies, birds, bees...once I had a hummingbird. When that happens, and they don't leave before I do, I always leave both doors open but block the bottoms with big plywood pieces to keep armadillos and pigs out and leave them open overnight so they can be sure to get out. I have never heard of anyone actively keeping bees in a greenhouse though

You would have to have a really huge greenhouse to keep a hive of bees happy. And there's a lot of upkeep and expense. You would be better off leaving windows open to let them in and out.

But it would be pretty cool wouldn't it?

Thanks for the tips everyone! MoonShadows, I am in zone 5. Pollination AND honey would be great. I am thinking more along the lines of inside the greenhouse, maybe by a window to keep cool in the winter. My main objective though would be for winter time pollination. I have also read that a strong breeze can do the same, and that there are electronic pollinators one can purchase. (seems easier than struggling with bees) There are three people w/in a mile of me that do/have done bees outside and all have had horrible luck with them dying. I am curious as to how big of a greenhouse one would have to have to support bees and if there is anyway to contain the size of the hive to make it more feasible to keep in a greenhouse. Also interested in any additional methods of pollination for winter months. I have these lima beans that are pole limas and absolutely the best bean on the planet. By the time frost comes they are still putting on blooms. If I had a greenhouse I think these plants would grow indefinitely and continue to produce more beans. (I can never get enough and have to ration them out over the rest of the year.)

Have you thought about mason bees? Or are you interested in getting honey?

The problem with bees is they pollinate one type of plant at a time. If you have an almond orchard and a hive of bees, you will manage to feed them for 2 weeks and then you would have to move them to the next orchard.

As I said before, bees are a lot of work. You would be better off enticing your neighbors' bees to your house, but that will only work if you are all growing lima beans.

I was planning on getting the butterfly kit off of Amazon and keeping it in the corner of my greenhouse so I can have some beautiful bugs in there to help my plants without the fear of getting stung!

If you have any largish or big Box Exhaust fans don't put butterflies in there, they will be drawn out through the fans if they get too close and killed

Gina1960 said:If you have any largish or big Box Exhaust fans don't put butterflies in there, they will be drawn out through the fans if they get too close and killed

No fans! It's just going to be the green house with the vents and doorway, magnetic screens over any open entry. Thanks for the tip though, I'll make sure to free them if I do need fans!!!

ShadeGardener, I wouldn't mind mason bees but I thought they did a winter over thing. Bees laid eggs that hatched in the spring? I was looking for a way to pollinate through the winter when bees are normally dormant. I did watch a youtube about the walpini built by a retired postal worker. He had citrus fruit trees but no bees. Said they pollinated on their own and without the bees didn't set so much fruit that ended up dropping. I know I could do things by hand. Also heard that a strong fan would do the same thing. I don't necessarily need or want the honey, or the extra work with all the disease troubles they are having nowadays. Just want my lima beans! They are an heirloom seed, King Limas, or something like that. Had so long I can't remember, but they are THE BEST and only lima beans worth eating! I do grow them outside but they set tons of pods and are still blooming when the frost comes. Hoping they would produce longer in a greenhouse.