Seasonal Solutions
IN THIS ISSUE
Support Pollinators
Color for Pollinators
Native Plants
Creating Habitat
Support Pollinators this Season

A national strategy to support pollinators was issued by the President last month.

 

Over the next 5 years, 7 million acres of land will be restored for pollinators by government or private owners. Our national goal is to increase the population of Monarch butterflies to 225 million by 2020. By 2025, we will also reduce Colony Collapse Disease among honeybees to no more than 15 percent.

 


 

Why is this important? Monarch butterflies have declined in numbers by over 90% in the last 40 years. Honeybees have been devastated by Colony Collapse Disease, with annual hive losses still running at about 30%, say scientists at Purdue University.

 

 

Without these and other pollinators, no life can survive on Earth.Of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, about 80% require pollination by animals. Visits from bees and other pollinators are vital to crop health. In the United States alone, pollination of agricultural crops is valued at 10 billion dollars annually.

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Lurvey Landscape Supply

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Des Plaines, IL
847-299-8333

  

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Special Issue for Pollinator Week

Last week was Pollinator Week! In this special issue of Seasonal Solutions, we will focus on how you can Embrace your Space with Color for Pollinators - and integrate other habitat elements that will bring bees, butterflies and other pollinators to your garden.


 
Read on for information and seasonal solutions for your garden during this important national initiative.

Providing Color for Pollinators

Did you know that pollinating insects prefer different colors and types of blossoms? It's true, and the relationship between pollinators and flowers has influenced both the evolution of insects and the evolution of flowers. Here are some tips on "who likes what color" from the non-profit Pollinator Partnership:

 

Butterflies like bright colors including red and purple, and they prefer tubular flowers with a long spur. A good example is annual Salvia, which is bright blue with small tubular flowers on each stalk.  Of course, they also love Butterfly Bush, pictured.

 

Bees like bright white, yellow or blue flowers with shallow tubular flowers that are highly scented and  offer easy landing. They are attracted to daisies, coneflowers, and other similar flower heads that are actually clusters of hundreds of tiny flowers in the center of the blossom head.  New Jersey Tea, a small native shrub with white flower heads offering many tiny flowers in each cluster, is also a favorite of the bees.

 

Birds prefer flowers that are white, orange, scarlet or red. Most birds except hummingbirds will need a strong perch on the plant, but they can reach deep into larger tubular or cup shaped flowers to find nectar. In so doing they come away with a face full of pollen that gets transferred to other plants. Great flowers for bird pollinators include Hibiscus, Bellflowers, and Lilies. Hummingbirds of course can also pollinate smaller tubular flowers like Fuscia or Cardinal Flower.

 

Don't forget that moths, bats, flies and beetles are also pollinators! They tend to like the darker or duller colors. Some, like beetles, will crawl right inside blossoms like Magnolia or Rose to reach the pollen.

Don't Forget Native Plants

Native plants play a special role for pollinators in providing habitat for their own life cycle. We are all most familiar with the necessity of having milkweed available to support the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly.  

 

Monarchs cannot survive without Milkweed to support the caterpillar that eventually becomes a Monarch butterfly. Other insects, including the all-important pollinating bees, also require specific native plants for their life cycle. We can help them by including some native plants in our gardens.

 

Here's a list to get you started: Milkweed, including Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, and Common Milkweed;  Coneflower, particularly the native Purple Coneflower, Monarda, Coreopsis, Penstemon digitalis, Black-eyed Susan, and several grasses including  Little Bluestem, Panicum, Prairie Dropseed, and June grass.

Creating Habitat for Pollinators

Besides the right flowering plants, your garden should include some other things to support pollinators. Here's a checklist:

 

Use little or no pesticides - Pesticides are suspect as one of three major causes of honeybee Colony Collapse Disease.

 

Plant flowers in drifts - Pollinators are attracted to masses of color.

 

Provide sources of water --  Pizzo Native Plant Nursery suggests putting out a dish of moist sand or gravel for butterflies and bees that like a drink but don't like to land on water. If you want to provide standing water, make sure the container has sloping sides for the smaller birds, bees, and butterflies to catch a drink from the safety of the water's edge.

 

Provide food variety - in addition to the flowers we've suggested, the Pollinator Project suggests old fashioned Zinnias, Cosmos, and single Sunflowers for both bees and birds. 

 

Create shelter - pollinators need  habitat and shelter, especially from stormy weather we've had this year. Plant both short and tall flowers, small and large shrubs, and trees to provide a variety of options for shelter. Leaf litter and small piles of twigs or cuttings also provide shelter and nesting spots.


Thank you for considering Lurvey!