NETWORK-GREEN

Pollinators are animals which transport pollen from one plant to another aiding in the plant’s reproduction – creating seeds & fruits. Common pollinators include insects (especially bees), butterflies, moths, birds, bats and small mammals.

Pollinators are important for a healthy ecosystem & critical to many food crops, but are often lacking in urban gardens & landscapes. If plants are not pollinated, seeds & fruits are not produced. If these plants cannot reproduce, native pollinators will not have the necessary food & shelter to survive, thus creating a vicious cycle.

By planting native flowering plants & grasses in the garden and/or landscape you will likely improve native pollinator populations by providing this needed food and forage.

Because native plants have evolved to adapt to their native environment, they are generally disease & pest resistant. This keeps them low maintenance & without the need for pesticides that can be detrimental to native pollinators, other wildlife, pets and humans.

Listed below are some native flowering plants that play well in the urban garden/landscape along with some interesting facts about the pollinators that love these plants.

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia grandiflora)

• Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)

Flies

Although flies are not as hairy as bees, making them less effective at carrying pollen, research indicates that flies may contribute significantly to the pollination of North American flowers and many food plants.

Blanket Flower is native to the Southwest, so it may not be a first choice for Midwest pollinators, but it makes up for this with its warm colors, compact behavior, long bloom period (June-October) & easy maintenance.

• Also observed on Blanket Flower: Long-horned bees, Bumble bees, Sulphur butterflies

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)

• Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Skippers

Skippers are not true butterflies, but are more closely related to butterflies than moths. Both butterflies and skippers are extremely sensitive to pesticides and toxins, so their presence alone, is indicative of a healthy environment. Providing nectar plants like Blazing Star and planting host plants, which include many native grasses & plants of the Legume family (Fabaceae), can help increase skipper populations.

Blazing Star is also a preferred nectar plant for the Tiger Swallowtail & Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies. It is a beautiful addition to the landscape for early summer color.

• Also observed on Blazing Star: Bumble bees, Syrphid flies

Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)

• Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis)

Moths

Many moths, like butterflies, feed on nectar. Most moths are crepuscular (active during twilight hours) or are nocturnal (active during nighttime hours), making them important pollinators for early morning & night blooming plants such as Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) & Yucca species.

Brown-eyed Susan is very pest resistant and a great nectar source for pollinators & a good seed source for birds.

• Also observed on Brown-eyed Susan: Syrphid flies, Sweat bees, Tachinid flies, Bee flies, Skippers and a Monarch chrysalis.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

• Leaf-cutting Bee (Megachile)

Leaf-cutting Bees

Leaf-cutting & Mason bees are important pollinators of wildflowers, fruits, vegetables and other crops. The Alfalfa Leaf-cutting bee (Megachile rotundata) is not native to North America but is cultivated here for the sole purpose of pollination, mostly for alfalfa & carrots. Mason Bees (Osmia) are used as commercial pollinators in crops such as alfalfa and blueberries.

• Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterflies

Butterfly Weed is a member of the Milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae). Milkweeds are the sole Monarch caterpillar food source. Milkweeds have a unique pollination mechanism making them reliant on insects for pollination.

• Also observed on Butterfly Weed: Sweat bees, Small Carpenter bees, Wasps

Coneflower (Echinacea)

• Metallic Green Bee (Agapostemon virescens)

Metallic Green Bees

Metallic Green Bees are in the Sweat Bee family (Halictidae). They are small but an awesome sight nonetheless. They are considered to be generalist pollinators because they visit a wide variety of flowers and do not discriminate among specific plant species. These bees use a technique called buzz pollination. The bee places the anther (the pollen bearing structure of the flower) in its jaw and vibrates each flower with its flight muscles, releasing the pollen.

Coneflowers are also excellent food sources for many other pollinators, beneficial insects & particularly birds. For this reason it is recommended to allow some flowers to seed. Also be sure to plant naturally occurring cultivars. Many tissue cultivated Coneflowers are sterile and therefore do not produce seeds. E. purpurea, E. pallida, E. tennesseensis, and E. paradoxa are all natural species.

• Also observed on Coneflower: Long-horned bees, Bumble bees, Leaf-cutting Bees, Gold finches, Chickadees

Coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora)

• Small Carpenter Bee (Ceratina)

Small Carpenter Bees

Small Carpenter Bees are often confused with Metallic Green Bees because of their greenish-blue color, but they are much darker & duller. Like Metallic Green Bees, they are generalists and will visit a great variety of flowers.

Coreopsis is a great addition to any garden because of its long bloom period (June-October). It also attracts many beneficial insects & pollinators and birds like to feed on the seeds

• Also observed on Coreopsis: Syrphid flies, Bee flies, Bumble bees, Leaf-cutting bees, Skippers, Sweat bees, Chickadees

Come back for more native plants and the pollinators that love them – coming soon in Pollinators ♥ Native Plants Pt.2

additional resources:

• Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
• Pollinator Conservation Resources
• Pollinators and Native Plants

TAGS : agriculture gardening horticulture insects

These natives won’t stop blooming!

• Late Monarch Butterfly feeding on October blooming Spiderwort.

With little care, native plants can add a rainbow of color to the garden all season long. With occasional deadheading & cutting back, the following native perennials all have bloomed for over 15 weeks. Most are still blooming as of today (mid October).

• Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
• Bloom time: June – October
• Care: Cut stems with spent clusters to side shoot to encourage new blooms.

• Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘Purple Flame’)
• Bloom time: July – September
• Care: Cutback spent flower clusters to encourage side branching.

• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia Cardinalis ‘Queen Victoria’)
• Bloom time: July – October
• Care: Cut down spent spikes 2 to 3 in. from the ground to encourage new blooms. Short-lived, leave a few flowers to self-seed.

• Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata)
• Bloom time: June – October
• Care: Snip spent flowers & stems to encourage new blooms. Will self-seed, but is not invasive.

• Prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
• Bloom time: June – October
• Care: Snip faded flowers to encourage new blooms. Leave a few flowers to self-seed.

• Variegated Tickseed (Coreopsis ‘Tequila Sunrise’)
• Bloom time: June – September
• Care: Snip faded flowers to encourage new blooms.

• New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Alma Potschke’)
• Bloom time: *June – October *This is not supposed to bloom until late summer, but began blooming in June & continued through October!
• Care: Cut plants back in July to keep them compact & encourage new blooms.

• Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’)
• Bloom time: July – October
• Care: Deadhead spent flowers & cutback to side shoots to encourage new blooms. Cut stems to the ground when they have finished blooming.

• Blanket Flower (Gaillardia grandiflora ‘Arizona Sun’)
• Bloom time: June – October
• Care: Deadhead spent flowers to encourage new blooms. Short-lived, leave a few flowers to self-seed.

• Pink Tickseed (Coreopsis rosea ‘Heaven’s Gate’)
• Bloom time: June – October
• Care: Deadhead spent flowers & cutback to side shoots to encourage new blooms. Cut stems to the ground when they have finished blooming. Can be short lived in the Midwest, mulch heavily in the fall after a couple of hard frosts for winter protection.

Update: This Dianthus (not native, but is non-invasive nor cumbersome) blooms prolifically May – June. Once it has finished blooming, it can be sheared leaving a nice attractive mound of blue-grey foliage that will occasionally send up new blooms throughout the summer into late fall. This plant is still blooming as of today. (This photo was taken Oct. 17th)

• Cheddar Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Firewitch’)
• Bloom time: May – October
• Care: Cut back spent flowers to side shoots or shear entire plant to encourage new blooms.

TAGS : gardening horticulture

Fall is Blooming!

• Sedum (Sedum telephium ‘Autumn Joy’)

• Toad Lily (Tricyrtis formosana ‘Samurai’)
• non-native, but plays well with others.

• Bugbane (Cimicifuga ‘Chocoholic’)

• Smooth Aster (Aster laevis ‘Bluebird’)

• Dwarf Goldenrod (Solidago ‘Little Lemon’)

• Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii ‘Henry III’)

TAGS : gardening horticulture

The Native Flowers are in full bloom!

• Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)

• New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae ‘Alma Poetschke’)

• Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

• False Sunflower (Heliopsis)

• Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)

• Grey-Head Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

• Western Sunflower (Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’)

• Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis)

TAGS : gardening horticulture