Sam Hoadley, manager of horticultural research at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, leads a team of researchers who conduct plant trials on native plant species and their cultivars and hybrids. Each 3- to 5-year trial evaluates the performance and ornamental value of a plant and measures its attractiveness to pollinators. Based on these tests, he has shared some of the best plants you can grow to help birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.
START WITH THE SPECIES
It's true that native plants often attract lots of pollinators. But two cultivars, 'Jeana' garden phlox and 'Jacob Cline' bee balm, were head and shoulders above the other plants in their respective trials. Sam explains that these are wild selections, which means they were found to have occurred naturally without typical human intervention, so the blooms are very similar to the species.
Even if we can't immediately tell the difference between different species and varieties, the insects often can. For example, Mt. Cuba's coreopsis study had 25 different species and cultivars in a field full of mostly yellow flowers, and different bee species had definite favorites.
Bumble bees were often found visiting 'Flower Tower' or 'Redshift'; dark sweat bees preferred C. delphiniifolia or Moonbeam', and honey bees really liked 'Golden Gain' and 'Route 66.
この記事は Garden Gate の Issue 173 - October 2023 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は Garden Gate の Issue 173 - October 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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