European honeybee-managed bees are often cited as pollinators by gardeners. However, the Ohio Valley and Central Midwest area is home to hundreds of native species of bees, butterflies, moths, or other insects that support the pollination of our flowerbeds and vegetable gardens. One approach to save these priceless species is by planting native pollinator plants in the Midwest and Missouri.
Why Plant a Pollinator Garden in the Ohio Valley?
Pollinator protection cannot be emphasised enough. One of every three food bites is thought to be the consequence of pollinator cross-pollination. If you like tomatoes, you may be interested to know that native bumble bees are better at pollinating tomato blossoms than European honeybees are.
While most gardeners are aware of the falling honeybee population, they may not know the several native pollinator species at risk. Tennessee, Kentucky, & Central Midwest gardeners may assist in preserving these and many more threatened species by cultivating a pollinator garden:
- Bumble bees – Bumble bees are distinguished by their large size and distinctive yellow and black colouring. They also dwell in subterranean hives. Contrary to honeybees, bumble bees will fertilise flowers when it rains.
- Carpenter bees – Thought of as a bothersome species because they like to eat holes in wooden buildings, carpenter bees pollinate a wide range of fruit crops. They can shake flowers and move pollen, unlike honeybees.
- Leaf Cutter Bees – So called because they collect leaf fragments to line their nests, leafcutter bees are crucial pollinators for alfalfa seed development.
- Masked bees – Since they are primarily black, these little bees are sometimes misidentified as wasps. Elderberries, goldenrod, and Queen Anne’s lace are all pollinated by masked bees.
- Mining bees – Mining bees are small to medium-sized, soil-dwelling insects that pollinate spring-blooming kinds of crops such as apples, blueberries, and cherries.
- Mason bees – This species, sometimes referred to as orchard bees, enjoys pollinating bushes and trees that provide fruit. They are cavity nesters. However, they sometimes use other insects’ holes as their own.
- Polyester bees – These bees prefer woody plants and pollinate trees like sugar maples and plums. They are solitary, ground-nesting species and are so-called for the plastic-like material they produce.
- Squash bees – Squash bees resemble honeybees in colour and are crucial pollinators of cucurbit crops. The males sometimes may be observed dozing off in squash blooms.
How to Make a Pollinator Garden
A pollinator-friendly garden is simple to make. It entails giving the pollinator everything to survive, including food, drink, and shelter. Here are some pointers to get you going:
- A variety of indigenous plants with year-round blooms should be planted.
- Keep hollow stemmed plants whole during the winter to provide nesting bees with a place to stay.
- To provide ground-nesting bees access to the soil, use weed barriers sparingly.
- Be more organised. Pollinators are given resting places and shelter by not altogether mowing the lawn or leaving a few logs, a brush pile, or a stump in the yard.
- Give pollinators access to water by placing a shallow bowl, birdbath, or fountain nearby.
- Eliminate the use of herbicides and insecticides. These have the potential to damage plants or pollinators that are essential to their existence.
Ohio and Midwest Pollinator Plants
These native plants from the Midwest and Indiana are good choices for the garden.
Spring Blooming
- Cream Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata)
- Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
- Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Smooth Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
- Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Summer Blooming
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor)
- Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Yellow Giant Hyssop (Agastache nepetoides)
Fall Blooming
- Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp)
- Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
- Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliana)
- New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
- Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
- Tall Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea)
- Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)
