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
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
Pollinators
Beetles
Prefer open white, cream, or green-colored flowers with fruity or fetid fragrance
- Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
- Sweet-shrub (Calycanthus floridus)
- Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
[NC State Extension]
Bees
Prefer white, yellow, blue, or purple shallow or tubular flowers
- Native Onions (Allium species)
[NC State Extension] - Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
- Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
[NC State Extension, T&T Fact Sheet 8/12/22]
Flies
Prefer dark brown, purple, or pale flowers
- Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)
[NC State Extension] - Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
- Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
Wasps
Prefer white or yellow flowers with shallow corollas
- Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum
[NC State Extension] - Virgin’s-bower (Clematis virginiana)
- Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium
[NC State Extension]
Butterflies
Prefer flat, composite flowers in bright colors
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
[NC State Extension] - Purple Joe-pye-weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
[NC State Extension]
Butterfly host plants
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
[NC State Extension] - Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) }
all for Monarchs - Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Plantain-leaved Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia) for Painted Lady
[NC State Extension] - White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) for Baltimore Checkerspot
- Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) for Spicebush Swallowtail
- Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) for Black Swallowtail
[NC State Extension]
Skipper host plants
- Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
- Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
- Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
Fritillary host plants
- Violets (Viola spp.)
[NC State Extension]
Moths
Prefer pale or white, night-scented tubular flowers
- Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
- Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
[NC State Extension] - Common Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)
[NC State Extension]
Moth host plants
- River Birch (Betula nigra)
- Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum
[NC State Extension] - Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Hummingbirds
Prefer bright-colored tubular flowers
Native Plants That Support Pollinators
Early Spring Ephemerals
- Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
[NC State Extension] - Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
- Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
Early Spring Trees
Later Spring Trees
Mid-Spring Wildflowers
- Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
- Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)
[NC State Extension]
Later Spring Blooms
- Violets (Viola spp.)
[NC State Extension] - Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
[NC State Extension]
Spring-blooming Shrubs
- Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
- Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
- Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
Summer-blooming Shrubs & Vine
- Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
- Shrubby St. John’s-wort (Hypericum prolificum) [NC State Extension]
- Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Mid-Summer Blooms
- Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Coastal Plain Joe-pye-weed (Eutrochium dubium)
- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
- Oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides)
- Turk’s Cap Lily (Lilium superbum)
- Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Late Summer Blooms
- Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)
- Short-toothed Mountain-Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
- New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
Fall Blooms
(Keystone Species – Larval Host Support)
- Goldenrods #1
- Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
- Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
- Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
- Asters #2
- Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
[NC State, T&T fact sheet 11/11/22] - New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
- Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
- Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
- Sunflowers #3:
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
- Attracting Native Pollinators, Xerxes Society
- Pollinator Victory Garden, Kim Eierman
MGNV Book Review - Pollinators of Native Plants, Heather Holm
- Pollinators (Playlist on MGNV YouTube Channel)
Bees
- Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide, Heather Holm
- Pollen Specialist Bees of the Eastern United States
- U.S. Geological Survey Bee Inventory (Incredible macro bee photos)
Butterflies & Moths
- About Butterflies & Moths – Part 1 (Life Cycle), MGNV
- About Butterflies & Moths – Part 2 (Morphology), MGNV
- Butterflies of Northern Virginia Index, Prince William Conservation Alliance
- Butterflies, Moths, & Skippers (State by state listings and photos)
- Butterfly Gardening, Jane Hurwitz
Wasps
- Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants, Heather Holm
Plants
Native Plants
- Best Bets to Attract Pollinators (MGNV.ORG/Plants)
- Keystone Species of Native Plants (MGNV Virtual Class)
- Mid-Atlantic Planting and Wasp Observation Guide, Resources from Heather Holm
- Mid-Atlantic Pollinator Plant List, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (photos)
- Pollinator Plants, Mid-Atlantic Region, Xerces Society
Invasive Plants
- Are Butterfly Bush Cultivars Labeled as “Sterile” Environmentally Safer? MGNV
- Fact Sheet on Invasive Butterfly Bush & Native Alternatives MGNV
- Tropical Milkweed – A No-Grow, Xerces Society
Best Practices for Pollinators
- “Creating Inviting Habitats” (Virginia Tech Online Publications)
- “Small Space Gardening for Pollinators” (MGNV Virtual Class)
- “The Hospitable Gardener: Welcoming Beautiful Butterflies, Moths, and Other Critters” (MGNV Virtual Class)
Garden Plans & Container Gardening with Native Plants
- Pollinator Garden Plan (MGNV)
- Small Space Garden Plan (MGNV)
- Container Gardening for Earth Renewal (Plant NoVA Natives)
- Container Gardening with Native Plants (Missouri Botanical Garden)
- Nine Native Perennials to Brighten Your Balcony (MGNV)
- Wildlife Waystations: Captivating Containers with Native Plants (Audubon at Home)
Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens