Backyard Gardening For Pollinators

What Do Pollinators Need? Food Shelter Protection From Pesticides

Food

Providing Pollen and Nectar Nectar – energy and amino acids Pollen – protein

Providing Pollen and Nectar Goals: Use a wide variety of plants Provide diversity in flower size, shape, structure Provide continuous bloom early spring through late fall Provide butterfly host plants

Variety in Flower Structure

Flower Variety in Size, Shape, Color

Flower Types Attractive to Pollinators

Our Concept of ‘Weeds’

Noxious Weeds Shatter cane (Sorghum bicolor). Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia). Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.)). Wild parsnip ( Pastinaca sativa). Wild carrot (Queen Annes lace) (Daucus carota L.). Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthermum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum). Wild mustard (Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida). Grapevines: when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed, cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.)). Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum). Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus). Musk thistle (Carduus nutans). Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum). Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes). Marestail (Conyza canadensis) Kochia (Bassia scoparia). Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri). Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Invasives

Variety in Bloom Time

What About Wintertime? Leave plants with fruits and seeds standing

Butterfly Host Plants Black Swallowtail Spice Bush Swallowtail Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Parsley, carrot, celery, dill Spicebush, sassafras Black cherry, ash, tulip tree, spicebush American Painted Lady Viceroy Monarch Pearly everlasting Willow, poplars, black cherry Milkweed

Butterfly Host Plants Flowers: Aster (Aster spp.) Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) False Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja spp.) Mallow (Malva spp.) Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) Pussy-toe (Antennaria plantaginifolia) Rue (Ruta graveolens) Ruellia (Ruellia spp.) Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum spp.) Silver Brocade (Artemisia stellariana) Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Spider flower (Cleome hasslerana) Sunflower (Helianthus spp.) Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Swamp Verbena (Verbena hastata) Tall Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) Violet (Viola spp. ) Water Dock (Rumex verticillatus) Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa) Woodland Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) Vines: Passion Flowers (Passiflora spp.) Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla Herbs: Dill (Antheum graveolens) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Grasses: Little Bluestem Grass (Schizachyrium scoparium) Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata ) Panic Grass (Panicum spp.) Shrubs: Coontie (Zamia pumila) False Indigo (Baptisia australis) Spicebush (Lindera benzoin ) Trees: Aspen Tree (Populus spp.) Common HopTree (Ptelea trifoliata) Elm Tree (Ulmus spp. ) Flowering Dogwood (Cornus) Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana) Willow (Salix)

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Natives Adapted to our climate Tolerate poor conditions Low maintenance Beneficial for native pollinators

Other Considerations Spread elements throughout yard Plant in groups Avoid modern hybrid flowers, especially those with "doubled" flowers. Night-blooming flowers will support moths and bats.

Getting Started

Where to Get Plants Native plant nurseries Native seed companies Local native plant sales Cox Arboretum Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm Marianist Environmental Education Center

Shelter

Shelter Protection from severe weather and predators Sites for nesting Solitary bees make small tunnels in the ground or use beetle tunnels in trees Social bumble bees use small cavities, like rodent burrows

Nest Sites

Water

Water Features Pools, ponds, small containers Should be shallow or have sloping sides

Protection From Pesticides

Protection From Pesticides Insecticides are dangerous to bee and butterfly species Herbicides kill potential food sources

Integrated Pest Management

Attracting Beneficial Insects Beneficial insects, many of which are also pollinators, help destroy harmful insects Attract them by: Planting flowering plants surrounding your garden (nectar and pollen will attract beneficials) Plant ‘insectary plants’ which attract and sustain beneficial insects

Insectary Plants Sweet alyssum (white variety) Buckwheat Fennel It belongs to the mustard family. Flowering period is long (several months). Natural enemies attracted include minute pirate bug, lacewings and ladybugs (predators) as well as small parasitic wasps that can attack aphids and other small insects. Buckwheat It is very attractive to honeybees, hover flies, soldier beetles, parasitic wasps and parasitic flies. Plus, predatory insects including assassin bugs, shield bugs, and predatory stink bugs. Fennel This plant attracts many ladybeetles, wasps, and hover flies. Fennel is also a host plant for the caterpillars of the anise swallowtail butterfly. Sunflower This plant can attract predatory insects such as big-eyed bugs, wasps, lady beetles and predatory bugs.  Mustard It is very attractive to lacewings, ladybeetles, and parasitic wasps that attack aphids and other small-sized insects.

When Using Insecticides Choose selective insecticides when possible Read labels carefully Apply according to label instructions Apply at night when pollinators are less active

Other Considerations

Other Considerations ‘Salt lick’ – Sea salt on the ground or mixed with water A place to rest, such as rocks Windbreaks

Questions?