As you may or may not know, bees are facing a crisis in our world, and they need us to assist them in doing what they need to do to thrive. We rely on bees in so many ways that benefit the health and prosperity of our natural environment. One of the ways that we can help the bees is to be smart in our landscaping choices and choose plants that will benefit bees in their processes. Here is a list of tips!

Tips to Save Pollinators!

1. Plant native plants- Native plants are what our bees have been using for thousands of years! Butterflies and moths will also lay eggs on specific plants that are native to your area. Butterfly bush is a great invasive nectar plant, but it doesn’t provide the space for butterflies to lay their eggs on.

2. Remove invasive species- Invasive species that are planted in your gardens can spread to natural areas and crowd out populations of native plants that pollinators in your community rely on.

3. Plant host plants- Host plants for butterflies will support butterfly populations in your community and will help feed worm-eating birds. It may be difficult to see your plant with holes in it but nature will thank you!

4.  Plant for specialist bees- Specialist bees rely on a very select few plants to one plant to collect pollen to feed their young. Without specialist pollinator plants, 27% of pollinator species will get rarer and rarer.

5. Avoid any cultivars-Cultivars attract less pollinators than the straight species, according to the Xerces Society. Just like non-native plants, bees here aren’t used to most cultivars, and prefer the native species. Cultivars also are less attractive to specialist pollinators, for example, the summer cellophane bee. This very rare specialist bee only collects pollen from Heuchera americana, or american alumroot, and does not use the cultivars, which is mainly why it has become so rare.

6. Avoid using pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers- Any of these chemicals, even if not directly used on these plants and in other parts of your property, can harm your bees and other pollinators. Especially systemic pesticides, which can persist for a while in a plant's vascular system. When chemicals are sprayed on plants or on the soil near them, the chemicals enter the plant and can infect the nectar and pollen bees use to eat, making it chemical food for your pollinators. This can possibly poison or kill the bees and their offspring.

7. Plant a diversity of species- When you only plant one species, you only get the few bees that visit that one flower. If you have a bunch of flower species, you get a huge diversity of bees and other pollinators. This especially applies to specialists, only one or a few specialists are usually specializing on one species, so plant diversity is important to sustain them.

8. Provide habitat for pollinators- Providing spots for bees to get cozy in is very important to sustain them! 70% of bees nest in the ground, so bare patches in the lawn, and just open dirt, like garden beds, or under tall grasses are great. The other 30% nest above ground, mainly in holes in wood and pithy stems. Great plants with pithy stems are Wild Bergamot, Joe Pye Weed, Swamp milkweed, Swamp mallow, and mountain mint. Bees will excavate the pith and raise their young in these stems. Cut back dead perennial stems to 1.5 - 2 feet in February - early March right before the bees emerge in spring.

9. Plant sufficiency- Summer rayne oakes says that you need five flowers (depending on size) for one baby bee. It’s a point of quantitative data to really see how many flowers you need for a bee. One plant can produce 30 flowers or so, so plant sufficiency is very important for saving bees. 

10.  Love what you do- Loving gardening with natives is great for the bees! When you are watering it correctly, and really caring about your plants, your bees will thank you! Improper care may lead to lack of flower resources.