Trees, bees, and pollinator plants
When it comes to trees that attract pollinators, Heptacodium, Amelanchier, and Tilia are some favorites of our Kenosha Nursery Manager, Jonathan Stickels. When planting a garden with pollinator plants in mind, it’s important to include varieties that flower in spring, summer, and fall, and Amelanchier is a great choice because it’s an important food source for pollinators in early spring. Heptacodium may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of pollinator plants, but it is a good source of food for bees and butterflies in late summer and early fall when a lot of other things are done blooming. Tilia americana and Tilia cordata are both good sources of nectar for pollinators right in the middle of summer, attracting bees and flies during the day and moths at night.
As for shrubs, Diervilla is a fantastic pollinator plant. The Kodiak® series Diervilla are coming to the end of their bloom period now, but their yellow, honeysuckle-like flowers were bee and butterfly magnets earlier this year. Diervilla lonicera is also a host to the hummingbird moth. The tubular flowers of Clethra attract a wide variety of pollinators as well, for which the variety ‘Hummingbird’ is so aptly named. Hamamelis are interesting pollinators since Hamamelis vernalis is one of the earliest blooming shrubs, and Hamamelis virginiana is one of the latest, and they provide food for early- or late-season bees that are active on warm days.
Some of my favorite perennials for attracting pollinators are Liatris, Agastache, Calamintha, Asclepias, and Echinacea. When the Liatris ‘Kobold’ are in bloom, I am always impressed by the range of different species of pollinators they attract: bees, moths, butterflies, hummingbird moths, and hummingbirds are often present on one crop all at the same time. Agastache and Calamintha are both excellent choices for supporting bees. When you walk by blooming Calamintha, the plants are absolutely alive with bees. Asclepias is, of course, an essential pollinator plant because of its critical role in the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly. Echinacea ‘Magnus’ is another obvious choice for attracting bees and butterflies. It’s important to remember that there are many hybrids and newer cultivars of Echinacea available, and not all of them are equally beneficial to pollinators. (For example, sterile varieties offer no benefit to pollinators, and double-flowering varieties are more difficult for pollinators to access.)
The most difficult part of my job here is managing insect pests in a responsible way, and it is something that I struggle with on a personal level every summer. The fact is that we need to strive for perfect plants; homeowners don’t want to pay $15.00 or more for a plant if it has leaf spots or insect damage. We are still searching for an effective way to use beneficial insects as a biological control method at our nurseries, because while they are commonly used in enclosed greenhouses, it can be difficult to find resources for the pests found in outdoor nurseries. So, for the time being, we are left with chemical control methods. I try to use chemicals as responsibly as possible by scouting and targeting application only to the affected plants. Paying attention to timing can be very helpful as many pests appear at predictable times of the year. For example, we start to watch for Japanese beetles in early July, and then closely monitor the plants they commonly target (namely Hibiscus, Ferns, Rodgersia, Iris versicolor, Aronia, and Roses).
The long hours that come with working in our industry can be intense, especially in the spring and summer, but I think most of us wouldn’t have it any other way. The landscapes we design and install and the plants we grow and sell help us to contribute to increasing biodiversity in our communities and supporting pollinator populations in a meaningful and rewarding way.
