(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Backyard Gardener)

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley Farmers and Gardeners! It is hard to believe but August is here. Next thing the kids will be back to school. It has been a hot and wet July, but hopefully things will dry up some this month.

This month will see a lot of sweet corn harvested in addition to tomatoes and peppers. I’m sure there will be a lot of canning and freezing going on with many backyard gardeners, so call the Extension Office with any questions.

This week I want to discuss planting a pollinator garden, or at least providing some pollinator habitat around the home landscape. More than 35% of the food crops we eat and 75% of the world’s flowering plants require animal pollination to reproduce.

Our landscape and our diets would be far less diverse without pollinators. Insect pollination accounts for $18 billion to $27 billion in crop production value in the United States annually.

West Virginia’s insect pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, flies, beetles and ants. Although the non-native European honeybee is the most important crop pollinator in the United States, native bees, such as bumble bees, mining bees, carpenter bees, squash bees and sweat bees are paramount.

Native bees are often specialized for foraging on the flowers of native plant species and specific crops. The nearly 4,000 species of wild native bees in North America make significant contributions to crop pollination on our farms. For example, in a case study of squash production in New Jersey, native bees provided 100% of the necessary pollination.

One of the most effective ways to increase pollinator populations on your property is to nurture a variety of flowering plants. A landscape of diverse native plants is optimal and should range in height, flower shape and flower color with successive blooms that provide forage throughout the growing season.

What can we plant in or near the vegetable garden to attract pollinators? Flowers help bring pollinators and other beneficial insects into the garden.

Consider planting sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds and cosmos in or near the vegetable garden. Herbs such as lavender, basil, borage, dill, fennel, oregano and catnip will also attract many pollinators.

What specific plants are considered key pollinators? Hundreds of plants provide significant sources of nectar and pollen. Trees such as maple, crabapple, linden and serviceberry are great for pollinators. Ninebark, pussy willow, sumac, and viburnum are good choices for shrubs.

Select perennials flowers including aster, hyssop, milkweed, purple coneflower and annual flowers such as cosmos, marigold, sunflower, and zinnia. Finally, basil, borage, catmint, lavender and oregano are suitable choices for herbs.

When you develop pollinator areas, consider your space, existing plants and potential flowering plants in your seed bank. Keep in mind a pollinator habitat can be a small, well-planned butterfly garden, a large meadow filled with native wildflowers, a fencerow with various layers of flowering trees, shrubs and forbs, or even pollinator-friendly field borders and cover-crops.

A simple change, such as your mowing habits, may allow marginal lands, fencerows and ditches to revert to native vegetation. Native plants including asters, goldenrods and milkweeds will dramatically improve the nectar resources on your property and promote pollinators as well as supporting other beneficial insects.

Select plants with flower blooms that vary in color, shape and height to attract a variety of pollinators. Plant flowers in clumps rather than single plants to better attract pollinators and allow for better foraging efficiency. Choose plants that bloom throughout the growing season, providing stable nectar and pollen sources.

The color, shape, odor and amount of nectar and pollen produced by flowers dictate the type of pollinators the flower attracts. Pollinators depend on plants’ nectar (sugar and water) and pollen (protein) as their primary food source.

Colors are very important to pollinators. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds share the ability to either see ultraviolet or nearly UV ranges, which allows them to see the center of a flower more clearly. They also have their own specialty color sight, which guides them to their favorite dining blooms.

Pollinators also have preferred landing or hovering space. Bees prefer a broad range of shapes and sizes. They grip the flower with their feet, sometimes even upside down, as they feed on the nectar with their proboscis (similar to a tongue) to collect the pollen.

Bumblebees like shapes similar to that preferred by the hummingbirds (tubular) and have no problem extracting pollen from hard to reach places, such as that of the tomato flower.

Butterflies like a broad landing surface, such as one that a sunflower or daisy can provide. They like to perch and dine through their long proboscis for longer periods than other pollinators.

Hummingbirds relish flowers shaped like trumpets, which is in accordance with the structure of their beaks. They need space to hover under or above the bloom while they drink the sweet nectar.

Are specific pollinators attracted to certain plants? Yes. Green sweat bees and leaf-cutter bees like composites and open-faced sunflowers such as erigeron, gaillardia, sunflowers and asters. Hummingbirds are attracted to honeysuckle flowers.

Most bees are attracted to buttercups and black-eyed Susans. Bumblebees and mason bees prefer willows, golden currant, hawthorn, serviceberry, chokecherry. Platform-shaped sunflowers, asters, violets, and serviceberry shrubs will bring in butterflies.

Blue butterflies like red-osier dogwood, chokecherry, and lupine and Sphinx moths (Hummingbird moths) enjoy pale or white flowers, columbine, honeysuckle, and evening primrose. Soldier and flower beetles are attracted to yarrow and sunflowers.

Contact me with questions at the WVU Extension Office at 304 424 1960 or at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu. Until next time, Good Luck and Happy Gardening!