Pollinator Gardens Are On The Rise, Provide Opportunities For Growers And Retailers

Bayer’s Bee Care Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., has planted a lush landscape to show visiting consumers how they can make an impact on pollinator health with even a small piece of land

Bayer’s Bee Care Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., has planted a lush landscape to show visiting consumers how they can make an impact on pollinator health with even a small piece of land.

Thanks to the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, enacted in June 2015 by the National Pollinator Garden Network, scores of new pollinator gardens to be planted over the next year and beyond will provide growers with ample opportunities to produce, promote and sell plants that are ideal for pollinator forage and health. And with research underway within the industry, we’ll soon have more knowledge about which plants are the most beneficial and attractive to pollinators.

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At Bayer’s Bee Care Center, the level of consumer engagement and interest in planting pollinator gardens is very high, Bayer’s Sarah Myers says. Bayer now has 73 local and industry partners and counting in its “Feed A Bee Campaign,” launched in March.

Educating consumers about what they can plant to attract bees, and the impact they can have with even the smallest amount of space, is highly important, Myers says. It’s worth explaining to them that they can plant a variety of plants in their landscapes, from the bee-attractive plants they find at their local garden center or box store, to food crops like herbs, veggies and fruit.

Research presented at the first National Conference on Protecting Pollinators in Ornamental Landscapes, held in October in Hendersonville, N.C., showed that urban gardens are just as important — if not more so — in improving pollinator health, by offering habitats and forage in areas that were previously sparse.

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The new Grow Wise, Bee Smart website was recently launched as a key component of the Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative, which was created to provide leadership and guidance to the industry on pollinator health.

Grow Wise, Bee Smart currently features information on the importance of bees and pollinators, threats to their health and steps everyone can take to improve habitat and forage. Links to the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and Pollinator Partnership further guide retail and landscape firms and their customers on how to plant and register new gardens and habitats for pollinators.

As the Grow Wise, Bee Smart stewardship program for plant production is launched, and as funded and directed research yields results and guidance, the site will feature timely new information and insights.

“Horticulture, the health of pollinators and the success of our industry are intertwined,” says Harvey Cotten, past president of the Horticultural Research Institute and a leader in the Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative. “We are the original green industry, and our plants and expertise can make a difference for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.”

Efforts To Protect Pollinators And Build Beneficial Insect Populations Help Each Other

Planting pollinator gardens presents additional opportunities for growers in that they also improve beneficial insect populations, says Suzanne Wainwright-Evans of Buglady Consulting. Because most beneficials are also pollinators and vice versa, planting diverse landscaping, focusing mostly on perennials, to provide habitat and forage for pollinators is also inviting for beneficals, including some that are not commercially available like syrphid flies.

“The adult syrphid fly is a pollinator because it flies around getting pollen and nectar from flowers and then the larval stage are predatory, especially on aphids,” Wainwright-Evans says. “In greenhouses where we’re using biocontrols, and a lot of times where we’re using aphid banker-plant systems, the syrphids get in there on their own, and then feed and lay their eggs, and with more plants in the landscape, they’ll provide double duty.”

Green lacewings also, which are readily used and commercially available, are pollen nectar feeders, but the larval stage is predatory so they’ll pollinate and control pests, also providing a two-for-one benefit, she says.

There is a tremendous business opportunity for the industry to grow plants for pollinator gardens, Wainwright-Evans says, but the industry needs to be careful not to promote plants as pollinator-friendly if they’re not attractive to pollinators.

“Just because there is a flower on it, does not mean it’s viable nutirition for pollinators,” she says. “We need to watch the research and find out what we can from it.”

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Avatar for ward johnosn ward johnosn says:

Two years ago, my wife, Ann and I launched SaveOurMonarchs Foundation, solely dedicated to saving the Monarch Butterfly by distributing  milkweed seeds for their survival.

Anyone can get Free Milkweed Seed Packets at SaveOurMonarchs.org. For Christmas you can get 50 Seed Packets for each $19 donation.

Ward Johnson
SaveOurMonarchs.org
Facebook.com/SaveOurMonarchs

Avatar for Robert westbrook Robert westbrook says:

Great program..
I do landscaping and maintenance at a restaurant that emphasizes healthy eating…
We landscape with veggies,and herbs…this,would be a wonderful op. To raise funds for the butterfly program…
Do u have posters and collection containers,in exchange for seed packets…
I would like tone purchase seed packets as well..
Thanks so much for ur efforts..
Robert Westbrook Landscaping Co.

Avatar for beehabitat beehabitat says:

are you planting seeds and plants treated with your bee killing pesticides, neonicotinoids? if you do not buy certified organic plants and seeds, chances are you are killing the very pollinators you claim to want to protect.