Promoting Pollinators - Notes

1/6/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden

Promoting Pollinators

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Madrona Marsh Preserve
Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants July 3 & 6, 2010
Project SOUND - 2010
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Did you ever wonder why there are so many types of flowers?
Sex and the single flower

 Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from the
male anther of a flower to the female stigma.

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1/6/2013

Sometimes physical So usually the pollinators are living organisms who
agents transfer the carry the pollen from flower to flower
pollen

Only about 20% of plants are wind pollinated
And <1% are water pollinated

http://www.annerondepierre.com/wisdomarchive8.htm

Why worry about living pollinators?  Pollinators are at risk:
 Non-native pollinators are
vulnerable to environmental factors
 They play a key role in the normal - limited genetic variability
functioning of our local ecosystems [Example: Honeybee Colony Collapse
 > 200,000 plant species worldwide Disorder]
depend on pollination
 Imagine life without these plants  Native pollinators are at risk due to
habitat loss, climate change and use
 They are required for production of pesticides
of many of our food, medicinal and Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder
 Crop production world-wide is
other crops
decreasing due to decreasing
 ~80% of the world’s crop plants numbers of pollinators
depend on pollination – 150 crops in
the U.S. alone  So we all should be worried – and
 A combined annual $20+ billion taking action
industry in the U.S
 The third week of June is
 Without them, our gardens would designated National Pollinators
not sustain themselves Week (The fourth annual National
Pollinator Week was June 21-27,
2010)!

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1/6/2013

What can we do to promote our native
Who are the living (biotic) pollinators? pollinators?
 Plant the plants they need
for food – at all stages of
Most common  Bees – of all sizes their lives.
 Butterflies  Provide places where they
 Moths can reproduce and provide
 Flies & other fly-like insects for their young
 Protect them by
 Beetles practicing Integrated Pest
 Hummingbirds Management – limited use
 Ants of pesticides
 Teach others – by word
 Bats and example – about the
 Even small reptiles & mammals importance of native
Least common
pollinators

Why are some plants pollinator magnets?

Native Plants can be likened to theatrical settings. In its native
home each plant species is the backdrop and producer of an age-old
drama -- one with a well-rehearsed cast of actors, mostly insects.
When an exotic plant or even a native but not locally indigenous
species is moved to a new land or locale, the cast of actors is left
behind, and there is no plot, no play, for an interested audience to
witness and enjoy.
Edward S. Ross
from Butterfly Gardening, The Xerces Society and The Smithsonian

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1/6/2013

Plant families & genera that provide nectar & pollen Annual Phacelias are
among our best general
for a wide range of native pollinators nectar sources in spring
 Many flowers per stalk

 Polygonaceae – Buckwheat Family  Produce lots of high-quality
nectar
 Asteraceae – Sunflower family  Nectar is easy for many types
Large-flowered Phacelia - Phacelia grandiflora
of pollinators to get to
 Lamiaceae – Mint family
Eriogonum - Buckwheat  Open over a long period of time
 Clematis – Virgin’s Bowers – open ‘up the stalk’
 High flower to foliage ratio –
 Phacelia - Fiddlenecks lots of energy put into floral
production
 Easy to grow – under many
conditions - dependable

Grindelia - Gumplant © Project SOUND
Tansey-leaf Phacelia – Phacelia tanecetifolia © Project SOUND

* Desert Bluebells – Phacelia campanularia * Desert Bluebells – Phacelia campanularia
 Mojave Desert & N. and W.
Sonoran Desert of California
 Open dry, sandy or gravelly places
below 4000 ft.

http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4518,4587,4601

Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

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1/6/2013

Desert Bluebells – an annual desert wildflower Flowers are a bright,
 Size:
pure blue
 1-2 ft tall
 Blooms: in spring - usually Feb-Apr. in our
 1-2+ ft wide area, but may be later
 Growth form:  Flowers:
 Annual wildflower  Small-medium size (to 1 inch)
 Mounded to somewhat  Bell-shaped – typical for Phacelia
sprawling shape - attractive http://www.hortmag.com/article/desertbluebells/
 Bright, intense true blue – iridescent
 Stems often red-purple in – difficult to photograph
color
 Seeds:
 Foliage:
 In dry capsules
 Rounded, coarsely-toothed
 Relatively easy – no pre-treatment;
leaves – somewhat like
just plant in place in fall/winter –
Heuchera
germinate in spring
 Whole plant hairy/sticky – may
 Serial sow for longer bloom season
cause mild skin allergies, so
wear gloves to handle  Will reseed – but not extensively –
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1886/phacelia-campanularia-desertbells/
© Project SOUND http://www.delange.org/BlueBells/BlueBells.htm
usually must re-seed © Project SOUND

 Soils: Annual ‘Pollenator Plants’
Plant Requirements  Texture: any well-drained; sandy
& gravelly soils great can be tucked in anywhere
 pH: any local
 Spilling out of pots & planters
 Light:
 Full sun (best) to light shade  Along garden paths – often
short
 Water:
 Winter/spring: need plenty of  Massed for spring color – pair
water during active growth http://back40feet.blogspot.com/2008/06/friday-night-botanical-garden.html
with Tidy-tips or CA Poppy for a
 Summer: occasional deep water real zing!
extends blooming; taper off as
flowering ends  Between native shrubs & sub-
shrubs
 Fertilizer: fine in poor soils, OK
with light fertilizer (like any of our  Mixed with native desert
annual wildflowers) grasses

 Other: seeds need bare soil/light  In a rock or gravel garden
gravel mulch to germinate; require
light as germination cue.  Fine in hot places
http://www.theodorepayne.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Phacelia_campanularia_var._campanulari
a&printable=yes&printable=yes © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Advantages of ‘Pollinator Plants’ for the Plants in the Mint family are among our
best summer perennial ‘Pollinator Plants’
home garden
 Many small flowers – and usually
 They are often showy & pretty; usually long bloom period
lots of blooms and attractive scents  High-quality nectar
(remember, they have to attract their
pollinators)  Due to shape, available to long-
tongued pollinators (butterflies,
 They will increase pollination of food moths, some bees, hummingbirds)
plants, leading to better production Salvia species

 They will attract wonderful insects to
your garden – hours of entertainment for
the whole family (or neighborhood)
 They are ecologically sound – an important
part of local ecosystems
Stachys species

* Nettle-leaf Giant Hyssop – Agastache urticifolia * Nettle-leaf Giant Hyssop – Agastache urticifolia
 Foothills & lower mountain slopes of the
west – British Columbia to CA – and east
to CO (Rocky Mtns)
 Locally in San Bernardino & Santa
Barbara Mtns.
 Common. Generally woodlands, but many
habitats, including open slopes

http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4745,4753,4755

Another common name is
‘Horsemint’, although several
species are known by this
name
© 2004, Ben Legler

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6r6fAoZCPVw/R8gH16PwAnI/AAAAAAAAAKk/AkQPvdqlLzE/HPIM2277.JPG

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1/6/2013

The genus Agastache – you’re going to Giant Hyssop: a herbaceous perennial
see it more often….  Size:
 ~ 30 species of aromatic perennials in  2-5 ft tall; shorter in full sun
the Lamiaceae family.  2-5 ft wide, slightly spreading
 Predominately found in dry hilly areas  Growth form:
of the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and China.
 Herbaceous perennial; mounded
 Many have fragrant foliage, their with square stems
scents ranging from anise to mint and  Dies back to ground in winter in
citrus. The leaves are used to make most climates – you may need to
herbal tea, for flavoring, and in J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

cut back (like other Mints)
medicines
 The ornamental flower spikes make a  Foliage:
pretty addition to salads.  Large, toothed leaves – like a
large Mint
 Very suitable for herb gardens or  Scented – can be used for teas
mixed borders.
 Medium green – nice color
 Are highly attractive to beneficial
insects, including native pollinators.  Roots: fibrous; woody in mature
http://www.glenleagreenhouses.com/agastache.JPG

© Project SOUND
plants © Project SOUND

Giant Hyssop has a long history as a Pretty, old-fashioned
medicinal plant flowers aplenty
 As a soothing tea (leaves and  Blooms:
dried flowers), especially for  In summer, usually June-July
upset stomach or colds in western L.A. Co.
 Leaves are also used as a  Flowers:
flavoring or in salads  On stalks above the foliage –
http://www.darcyfromtheforest.com/se  Mashed leaves were applied typical of the Mints; open up
along the stem over several
rvlet/Categories?category=Herbal+Pr
oducts%3AHydrosols
to swollen areas
weeks
 Even sold today as an herbal:  Many tiny flowers – like
therapeutic properties said to miniature snapdragons
include immune system  Color usually lavender-pink;
stimulation, fluid level may be white to a darker
balancing, respiratory system violet
aid, and aiding skin problems. © 2004, Ben Legler

 Delicately scented - sweet

http://www.calflora.net/recentfieldtrips/easternsierras09.html

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1/6/2013

Giant Hyssop is  Soils:
Propagation via  Texture: just about any well-
easy to grow drained soil
seed  pH: any local

 Light:
 Let capsules dry to papery
brown on the plant  Full sun to part-shade
 Will attract more pollinators in
 Crush capsules – sift out sunny spot
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agastache_urticifolia_seeds.jpg small seeds
 Sow in place in fall/winter –  Water:
or give 1 month cold-moist  Winter: needs water; winter
treatment before planting flooding is fine
in spring
 Summer: likes a bit of summer
 Can also propagate from tip water Zone 2 or 2-3 – good
cuttings (summer) or under a birdbath
division of young shoots
(when about 4-6 inches  Fertilizer: not picky – fine with
tall) in spring – fairly easy organic mulch
to root
 Other: spread slowly via rhizomes
http://nativeplants.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/growing-in-the-green-house/

Giant Hyssop adds a pastel
Providing homes for native pollinators
element to the summer garden
 Native bees don’t build the wax or
 In mixed perennial beds – even paper structures we associate with
mixed with non-natives honey bees or wasps, but they do need
places to nest, which vary depending
 In areas with overspray from lawns, on the species.
near fountains
 Wood-nesting bees are solitary, often
 In the vegetable garden or home making individual nests in beetle tunnels in
orchard – fine with morning sun standing dead trees.
 Ground-nesting bees include solitary
 Nice addition to a woodland garden species that construct nest tunnels under
Learn about how you
– plant in sunny patches the ground.
can construct or
 Great bee plant – produces a light, promote native  Cavity-nesting social species—bumble
minty-flavored honey pollinator homes in bees—make use of small spaces, such as
your garden abandoned rodent burrows, wherever they
can find them.
 One of the best additions to the
butterfly garden
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qxNbk1BRhPMJ:forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/salvia/msg021927179459.htm l+Agastache+urticifolia+propag
ation&cd=29&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

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1/6/2013

The Sunflower family * CA Broomsage – Lepidospartum squamatum
(Asteraceae) provides
important food in fall

 Bloom in late summer/ fall
Goldenbushes – Hazardia & Isocoma  Long bloom season
 Nectar and pollen
available to many types of
pollinators (even ants,
beetles)
 Lots of small flowers

© 2003 BonTerra Consulting

Baccharis species

* CA Broomsage – Lepidospartum squamatum Broomsages aren’t
 Sierra Nevada Foothills, South Coast
sages at all…
Ranges and Deserts to Baja
 Lepidospartum - a small genus
 Sandy or gravelly washes, stream ledges, of three species of flowering
coastal sage scrub, chaparral, joshua tree plant in the Sunflower family
woodland In SM mtns  Known commonly as broomsages
or scalebrooms.
 Common on alluvial fans draining the San
http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Lepidospartum_squamatum.htm

Gabriel Mtns.  Native to the southwestern
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-
bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Lepidospartum+squamatum

United States and far northern
Mexico.
 Tall, woody shrubs with stiff
twiggy branches that resemble
brooms.
 Have thin, narrow, needlelike or
scalelike leaves and bear yellow
daisy flowers.
http://www.insectnet.com/photos/flora1/fl_scalebroom.htm

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1/6/2013

California Broomsage can be a bit homely in the wild Flowers are like
Goldenbush or Goldenrod
 Size:
 3-5 ft tall
 Blooms: in fall, Aug-Oct.
 3-5 ft wide

 Growth form:  Flowers:
 Small, in sunflower heads
 Woody sub-shrub;
– no true ray flowers
herbaceous stems from a
woody base  Very similar to
Goldenbush or Mock
 Branches look like brooms (or
Heather (Ericameria)
like Ephedra, if you know that
plant)  Plants just covered with
flowering heads – very
 Foliage: showy in bloom
 Tiny, scale-like leaves are
 Seeds:
well adapted to hot dry
climate  Small, with fluffy ‘hairs’
 Eaten by seed-eating
 Roots: deep; branched birds
© 2004 Dr. Daniel L. Geiger
© 2001 Thomas M. Elder, M.D.
© 2009 Stanley Spencer

Broomsage takes a  Soils:
Important fall habitat plant
lot of abuse…  Texture: well-drained
 pH: any local including alkali
 Attracts a wide
 Light: full sun; takes heat
variety of
Lepidoptera,  Water:
Hymenoptera,  Winter: tolerates seasonal
flooding
Diptera, Coleoptera,
 Summer: very drought
and Orthoptera tolerant; best Zone 1-2 or 2
 Bees
 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
 Flies & beeflies
 Butterflies & moths  Other:
 Beetles  Remember, this is a rather
http://www.fotolog.com/treebeard/archive?v=da
 And many, many plain plant most of the year –
plant accordingly
y&month=8&year=2004&day=29

more
 Best if pruned back after
flowering when looks scraggly
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/scalebroom.html

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1/6/2013

Broomsage is right at
home in the desert garden Three simple things you can do to increase
pollinators in your garden
 Usually used in
desert-themed  provide a range of
gardens; but fine also locally native flowering
for dry streambeds,
plants that bloom
rock gardens
throughout the
http://www.timetotrack.com/jay/scalebr4.htm

 Excellent choice for growing season
fall color in hot, dry
gardens (better than  create nest sites for
Goldenbushes) native pollinators
 Fine habitat plant –
 avoid using pesticides
nectar, seeds, and
cover

http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Lepidospartum_squamatum.htm

Butterfly flowers have certain characteristics due to
Most of us know that butterflies can be
their relationship with their butterfly pollinators
important pollinators
 Butterflies are very active
during the day and visit a
variety of wildflowers.
Butterflies are less efficient
than bees at moving pollen
between plants. Highly perched
on their long thin legs, they do
not pick up much pollen on their
bodies and lack specialized
structures for collecting it.
Butterflies have good
vision but a weak  Butterflies probe for nectar,
sense of smell. Unlike their flight fuel, and typically
favor the flat, clustered
bees, butterflies can flowers that provide a landing
see red. pad and abundant rewards.

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1/6/2013

Butterfly flowers have certain characteristics due to Pollination syndromes: a partial answer to the
their relationship with their butterfly pollinators question ‘why all those types of flowers?’
 Butterfly Flowers often are:
 Pollination syndromes are suites of flower
 In clusters and provide landing traits that have evolved in response to
natural selection imposed by different
platforms pollen vectors, which can be abiotic (wind
and water) or biotic, such as birds, bees,
 Brightly colored (red, yellow, flies, and so forth.
orange)
 These traits include flower shape, size,
 Open during the day colour, odor, reward type and amount,
nectar composition, timing of flowering,
 Ample nectar producers, with etc.
nectar deeply hidden  For example, tubular red flowers with
copious nectar often attract hummingbirds;
 Nectar guides present foul smelling flowers attract carrion flies
or beetles, etc.
 May be clusters of small flowers
 Pollination syndromes are excellent
(goldenrods, Buckwheats) examples of convergent evolution.

*Our Lord’s Candle – Hesperoyucca (Yucca) whipplei *Our Lord’s Candle – Hesperoyucca (Yucca) whipplei
 Coastal S. California across portions
of the Mohave Desert southward
into Mexico and northeast to
Arizona.

 Locally, ssp. intermedia occurs in the
Santa Monica Mtns & ssp. parishii
occurs along the coastal slopes of
the San Gabriel & San Bernardino
Mtns.

 Ssp. intermedia - coastal sage scrub
and chaparral, 0-2000 ft. Usually in
areas transitional between maritime
and continental influences. Ssp.
parishii on foothill slopes
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/draw_jmap.pl?38c0235501
© Project SOUND http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101658 © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

*Our Lord’s Candle – Hesperoyucca (Yucca) whipplei Yuccas are interesting succulents
 Size:
 2-3 ft tall; flower stalk to 10-12
ft
 2-3 ft wide

 Growth form:
 Perennial succulent – evergreen
to almost so
 Spp. intermedia forms clonal
clumps

 Foliage:
 Foliage in basal rosette
 Leaves green to blue-green,
bayonet-like with strong, sharp
spine on tips

 Very decorative – long used in
Ssp. intermedia – coastal Ssp. parishii – transverse ranges
Glenn and Martha Vargas © California Academy of Sciences
gardens
© Project SOUND http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Yucca_whipplei.htm © Project SOUND

Sub-species are adapted Yucca are useful
to local conditions
 Leaves:
 Subspecies are distinguished  Fibers used for rope, mats,
by growth form (caespitose or sandals, baskets, nets
solitary) and color, size, and
shape of leaves and flowers.  Roots:
 Source of saponins for soap
 The five subspecies also © 2009 Stanley Spencer

differ in phenological
 Flowers/Flowering stalk:
development (timing), fruit
set, and growth habit. The  Young blossoms were eaten
life history of each subspecies raw, roasted, or cooked with
is distinct wild onions
 Flowering stem - raw or
 Local coastal ssp. intermedia
cooked. Very young stalks
(from Santa Monica mtns.)
sends out pups before it dies, used to make syrup
so it forms clonal clumps  Seeds were ground & eaten
http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Yucca_whipplei.htm

© Project SOUND http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Yucca_whipplei.htm © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Flowers are spectacular – Yucca seeds are
but rare also distinctive
 Each plant blooms only once,
usually at 8-12 years age,  Form inside a hard, leathery
before dying capsule – ripe when capsule
becomes dry & starts to open
 Blooms: in spring, usually Apr-May
in coastal areas, a bit later J. E.(Jed) and Bonnie McClellan © California Academy of Sciences  Flat black seeds in densely-
further inland; 2-7 week bloom packed columns
period (shortest on dry sites)
 Variable germination rates. To
 Flowers: enhance:
 On a stout flowering stem, 8-
12 ft tall  Store in moist sand or
 Color ranges from white (ssp. perlite in refrigerator for
intermedia) to cream-colored several months
(ssp. parishii)
 Flowers bell-shaped, large (1+  Pre-soak seeds for 24 hrs in
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/chaparralyucca.html inch) unlike any others warm water
G.A. Cooper @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database © Project SOUND Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database © Project SOUND

Yuccas make unique
Plant Requirements  Soils:
 Texture: not particular, but specimen plants
usually well-drained in nature
 pH: any local  In community-themed gardens:
Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral,
 Light: Desert
 Full sun to light shade
 In rock gardens and other
 Can take heat, reflected heat
water-wise gardens
 Water:
http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Yucca-whipplei/

 On dry hillsides, slopes
 Winter: adequate
 Summer: looks best with  As a habitat plant:
occasional summer water  The flowers, fruits used by a
(Zone 1-2 to 2) number of small birds and
mammals; provides cover for
 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils small animals like lizards
 Other: older leaves may die;  Larval food for the California
these can be removed to improve yucca moth (Tegeticula
appearance. maculata)
G.A. Cooper @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
© Project SOUND http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/images/others_pictures/Alexander_Heim/Yucca_whipplei_GR_Herbst_2008_383.jpg © Project SOUND

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Promoting Pollinators - Notes

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