Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia

Promoting environmentally sound gardening practices for over 35 years!

Rudbeckia Fulgida Banner July 2022
Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower). Photo by Mary Free
You are here: Home / Master Gardener Virtual Classroom / Sustainable Landscaping / Partnering with Pollinators

Partnering with Pollinators

Monarch butterfly on swamp milkweed

National Pollinator Week is the perfect occasion to discuss the small animals that perform such an important role in our home landscapes. Join Extension Master Gardener Elaine Mills to learn about the characteristics of pollinators and the plants native to the Mid-Atlantic region that will attract them and fill their needs, whether your garden space is large or limited to a patio or balcony. Best gardening practices for pollinators and special considerations for designing containers of native plants are also explained. Elaine is a co-coordinator at the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden and a creative force behind the resource Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic on mgnv.org.

Zoom session, recorded June 24, 2022

Chapter Breaks

Partnering With Pollinators Resources

Pollinators | Native Plants That Support Pollinators | Best Gardening Practices For Pollinators | Resources

Note: Unless noted, the links in the first two sections go to MGNV Tried & True Fact Sheets for the Mid-Atlantic.
Many Tried & True Fact Sheets have accompanying videos of pollinators

MGNV - Sustainable Landscaping Logo

Pollinators

Beetles

Prefer open white, cream, or green-colored flowers with fruity or fetid fragrance

Bees

Prefer white, yellow, blue, or purple shallow or tubular flowers

Flies

Prefer dark brown, purple, or pale flowers

Wasps

Prefer white or yellow flowers with shallow corollas

Butterflies

Prefer flat, composite flowers in bright colors

Butterfly host plants

Skipper host plants

Fritillary host plants

Moths

Prefer pale or white, night-scented tubular flowers

Moth host plants

Hummingbirds

Prefer bright-colored tubular flowers

Native Plants That Support Pollinators

Early Spring Ephemerals

Early Spring Trees

Later Spring Trees

Mid-Spring Wildflowers

Later Spring Blooms

Spring-blooming Shrubs

Summer-blooming Shrubs & Vine

Mid-Summer Blooms

Late Summer Blooms

Fall Blooms
(Keystone Species – Larval Host Support)

Best Gardening Practices For Pollinators

Plant Selection

  • Select plants native to the region
  • Use a diversity of native plants with different flower forms and resources
  • Include butterfly and moth larval host plants
  • Provide a continuous succession of flowering plants from spring through fall
  • Be careful of cultivars, especially change in color, shape, or double-flower forms
  • Remove/do not buy invasive plants

Garden Design

  • Reduce lawns as appropriate and replace them with forage plants
  • Plant in an open, sunny location
  • Plant in masses and drifts to create better visual attracts and efficient foraging
  • Prevent soil disturbance and compaction
  • Work to connect existing native plants community fragments and corridors

Habitat

  • Leave puddling areas for Lepidoptera access to minerals and salts
  • Provide containers with landing spots and water for Lepidoptera
  • Leave areas of care soil for ground-nesting bees who use slopes or banks
  • Leave standing dead trees (snags) and downed logs as nesting sites
  • Retain leaf litter for overwintering insects in all stages of development
  • Delay spring clean-up to allow overwintering insects to emerge
  • Retain 12-24 inches of cut perennial stems standing for cavity-nesters
  • Broken stems may be bundles and placed in a protected area for nesting

Avoid the use of pesticides & herbicides

  • Beneficial insects are affected as well as targeted species
  • Buy from a reputable nursery that does not use systemic insecticides
  • Strive for non-chemical methods to control pests (including mosquito spray)
  • Employ good cultural practices to maintain the health of plants
  • Restrict rare but necessary use to times when forage plants are not flowering

Resources

Pollinators

Bees

Butterflies & Moths

Wasps

Plants

Native Plants

Invasive Plants

Best Practices for Pollinators

Garden Plans & Container Gardening with Native Plants

Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens