Protecting Our Pollinators

The following article was written for the Ruston Daily Leader.

Spring, our favorite time of year! Gardeners all over town are working compost into flower beds, caring for seedlings, and patrolling local garden centers for new plants arriving daily. Oh happy days!!

Before we get too involved in our spring frenzy, I want to challenge you to take your gardening to another level this year – a level of stewardship. We have been gifted the wondrous circle of life called nature. As true gardeners, nature’s well being should be as important to us as its beauty.

An important component in a healthy garden is its pollinators. Pollinators are primarily the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees that keep working in our garden long after we have gotten tired and gone inside. They tirelessly transfer pollen from bloom to bloom, plant to plant, making every vegetable we eat and every flower we adore possible. 

I asked one of our local Master Gardeners, Jean McWeeney, to recommend a few simple commitments that every gardener could incorporate into their gardening to become more pollinator friendly. Jean writes articles for garden publications, speaks at gardening events, owns The Natural Garden Coach, and blogs at Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog.  Here are the basic commitments she suggested:

1. Plant more pollinator friendly plants.

2. Plant more trees.

3. Become less reliant on pesticides and consider going organic.

4. Do your research before you buy a plant.

Now that’s not overwhelming! Most of us have pollinator friendly plants in our garden anyway, but we need to know the difference between host plants and nectar plants. Host plants are the plants that butterfly larvae feed on. Because these plants are going to become unsightly, plant them in an inconspicuous place, yet close to nectar plants. Jean uses this example, “Did you know that the gulf fritillary butterfly lays its eggs on the passion vine and its larvae subsequently eat the vine? The larvae look somewhat intimidating with their bright orange color and black spikes. And the damage they can do to a passion vine is extensive. But because both the plant and the butterfly coevolved, the passion vine will bounce back once the larvae metamorphose into butterflies."

 Host plants for butterflies include dill, parsley, fennel, hollyhock, rose mallow, snapdragons, broccoli, and cabbage. Of course milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Nectar plants include lantana, zinnia, cosmos, coneflower, mist flower, tithonia, and globe amaranth. The Master Gardener’s Spring Plant Sale on April 23^rd will feature many pollinator friendly plants, including several types of milkweed.

Although we often concentrate our gardening efforts on flowers and shrubs, multilevel canopies (from tall shrubs, to small trees, to large trees) are beneficial to the garden environment. Jean says, “Birds rely on native trees to host caterpillars for their young and the mighty oak is a haven for caterpillars. Oak trees house over 500 different species of caterpillars, the Bradford pear almost zero. Chickadees will feed just one clutch of young some 6,000-9,000 caterpillars, so when selecting your next tree, keep our bird friends in mind.”

The toughest commitment is becoming less reliant on pesticides, but think of yourself as a link in the environmental chain, and don’t be the weak link!! Follow these simple guidelines:

1. Remove pests by hand if possible.

2. Use native predators such as ladybugs and praying mantis.

3. Try non-toxic homemade remedies.

4. Use the lowest effective application of pesticide and one that does not persist on vegetation.

5. Do not use pesticides when plants are in bloom, on a windy day, or in the morning when pollinators are active.

And finally, be informed about where you are purchasing your plants. Jean reminds us that “Neonicotinoids are systemic pesticides that are taken up by the plant to guard against pests. Current evidence suggests solitary bees and bumblebees, some of our native pollinators, are more severely affected by neonicotinoids than honeybees. Many nurseries in the U.S. use this pesticide, even on plants that are attractive to bees. So… do your research before you buy and speak to the nursery manager.” That’s another great benefit of buying plants at the Master Gardener Spring Plant Sale; you can trust that our plants have been treated responsibly.

Derry McBride of the Garden Club of America states, “A garden is only as rich and beautiful as the integral health of the system; pollinators are essential to the system – make your home their home.”