Habitat to Attract
Create a Habitat to Attract Pollinators
By Barbara Fix, Researcher & Writer for Lipscomb Enterprises Inc.
There are fewer things more frustrating to a gardener than to grow seed to seedlings and care for them and water them, while protecting them from pests, only to have the disappointment of their not having been pollinated. You can hand pollinate if you are having problems with your gardens pollination—see our article Hand Pollination For The Home Garden, or you can give mother nature a leg up by planting a simple pollinating garden.
The requirements aren’t that great. What you’ll need is a garden site or a containerized garden in a location that receives six hours of sunlight each day. If you want to attract a variety of pollinators, be sure to plant a variety of plant types such as trees, shrubs, perennials, annual flowers and herbs. Different pollinators have different needs during their life cycle stages, so by maintaining a well-rounded garden, it’s likely to be a popular destination point.
Because the pollinators in a specific region will naturally be drawn to native plants, research what grows in your area. Consider heirloom varieties that are more likely to keep your pollinators happy, as heirloom haven’t strayed from nature to accommodate popular demand. For pollinators, heirloom plants provide easy access to nectar and pollen where adaptations to hybrids may not be as user-friendly.
What flowers to plant for a pollinator garden depends upon what you are trying to entice to your garden.
Bats that pollinate are found primarily in the Southwest. Their preferences are large, light-colored, night-blooming flowers with a strong fruity odor like that found in cacti.
Bees like yellow, blue and purple flowers. Even though bees can’t see the color red, they are still attracted to Bee balm because of its ultraviolet properties. Smaller bees tend to be attracted to daisy, butterfly weed, and aromatic herbs.
Beetles are happiest with open flowers like aster, sunflower, rose, and butterfly weed.
Butterflies are attracted to red, orange, yellow, pink and blue flowers. They prefer flat-topped clusters found in zinnia, calendula, butterfly weed, yarrow and daisy planted in a sunny location. The food sources they need for developing larvae are milkweed, aster, lupine, thistle, fennel, violets, hollyhock, and black-eyed Susan.
Flies are drawn to green, white, or cream colored flowers with simple bowl shapes.
Hummingbirds are attracted to red, orange, purple and red tubular flowers that provide plenty of nectar. The best candidates are honeysuckle, sage, fuchsia, jewelweed, fireweed, cardinal flower, bee balm, nasturtium and the century plant.
Moths prefer light-colored flowers that open at night like the evening primrose.
Other considerations:
It is important to plan for flowers to bloom throughout the year, so a constant food source is available. Planting trees and shrubs such as dogwood, blueberry, cherry, plum and willow will provide nectar or pollen in early spring when other food is scarce.
Provide plants with leafy vegetation to accommodate larval stages of the butterfly and other pollinators. Wild grasses, Milkweed and Queen Anne’s Lace work well.
Just as with every living thing, pollinators need water. Butterflies enjoy “puddling”. where they congregate to drink and pull nutrients in. A muddy puddle makes them happy, or you can fill a pan with damp sand and set it in the garden. A birdbath can provide water for birds and other pollinators. Bees need water to build hives while other pollinators require the minerals found in ground water and mud.
As your pollinator garden takes shape, you can add creative touches that serve a dual purpose by providing nesting materials for pollinators like upside down flowerpots with holes in the bottom, twigs, straw, and possibly a bird house or two. The point is to encourage pollinators to stay and make themselves at home.
