YOUR GARDEN — Plant Information

Gardening Tips: March

Small pollinators, essential work

PHOTO: apples The old saying "Good things come in small packages" is definitely true when it comes to pollinators. These small but hard-working creatures are as important in home gardens and community farms as they are in commercial agriculture fields throughout the United States.

Nearly one-third of what we eat depends on pollination. From almonds in California to cranberries in Maine, and apples in Washington to oranges in Florida, flowers of these and other essential crops must be adequately pollinated for plants to produce at maximum yields, helping to keep food supplies up and prices down.

Pollination is a demanding 24/7 job. During the day, hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, beetles, and even flies help to move pollen grains from the male parts to the female parts of flowers. At night, bats are incredibly effective at using their long tongues to get nature’s pollinating work done.

One of the largest group of pollinators is bees, including the 4,000 species of native bees and 52 species of native bumblebees. Nature has specially equipped them to dislodge and temporarily store pollen. Bees then spread pollen while flying from flower to flower in search of nectar and more pollen to eat.

PHOTO: Bee on meadowbrite

Echinacea, a native plant attractive to bees, comes in a wide variety of colorful cultivars.

Growing concern

There is growing concern worldwide about a disease with deadly consequences for honeybees. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first observed in the United States in 2006. That’s when worker bees began disappearing from hives in devastating numbers, never to return and leaving no clues to explain why they left.

There are many plausible explanations for CCD but no definitive conclusions. The list of possibilities includes parasitic mites, fungal disease, pesticide poisoning, malnutrition caused by habitat destruction, and malnutrition related to genetically modified plants that have no pollen or modified pollen. Some scientists believe the worker bees' short, six-week lifespan leaves them unable to adapt to these and other environmental challenges.

PHOTO: Naturally spreading native monarda.

Monarda like this 'Jacob Cline' cultivar naturalizes quickly and attracts many pollinators.

Ongoing research includes studies of pesticides that are banned in Europe because they are believed to be a direct cause of CCD. One category being studied is neonicotinoids.

CCD has not been officially recorded in Illinois, but its absence here might be a reporting problem, as many beekeepers say they have experienced the sudden collapse of honeybee colonies. Even if Illinois has not yet been affected, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan have been heavily affected, meaning it might only be a matter of time.

Pollinator support

While scientists study the possible causes of CCD, there are steps we gardeners can do to help honeybees and the other essential pollinators:

Make our gardens attractive to native pollinators by growing native plants that provide a variety of flower colors, shapes, and blooming times.
Create landscapes with biological and genetic diversity. Consider replacing a portion of our turfgrass and nonnative foundation plantings with native trees and shrubs, and increasing the variety of plants we grow.
Reduce or eliminate our use of pesticides, which not only helps to protect pollinators, but makes our gardens more hospitable for all beneficial insects and wildlife. When pesticides are used, use the least toxic product available, and spray at night or in early morning — times when bees and other pollinators are inactive.
Provide "bee condos" and bat houses for our pollinator friends.
View pollinators as important members of the ecosystem, and support restoration that provides habitat and food for them.
Support businesses that have bee-friendly practices and sell locally produced products such as honey. For a list of Illinois suppliers, see www.honeylocator.com.
Make state and federal representatives aware that we support research into the cause or causes of CCD.

Our futures are linked to the future of honeybees and other pollinators. As the gardening season approaches, let’s us all look for ways to make the essential work of pollinators a little easier.

PHOTO: hummingbird

Denise Corkery is a horticultural writer at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Photography @2008 Robin Carlson, Bill Biderbost Chicago Botanic Garden