Supporting Pollinators Through the Winter

As summer nears its end and flowers go to seed, it is important to keep in mind that one of the most important factors influencing populations of native pollinators and other beneficial insects is the availability of nesting and overwintering habitat. Pollinators require stems and branches of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, as well as leaf litter, bare ground, and undisturbed ground. However, traditional landscaping practices fail to leave enough of these resources to ensure the survival of pollinators. It is critical that we support native pollinators by maintaining these features in our yards starting now and for the duration of winter.

Save the stems In your wildflower garden, leave flower stalks and seed heads intact throughout the winter. Birds including the American goldfinch will eat the seeds and feed them to their young. In addition, many of our favorite pollinator’s nest in the hollow stems of wildflowers like bee balm. Several other beneficial insects insert eggs into hollow stems to keep them safe over the winter.

Leave the leaves Leave a thin layer of leaves on lawn areas. This will not smother the turf; rather, it will benefit the lawn and other plants by providing organic matter and nutrients as decomposition occurs. Alternatively, you can rake leaves into garden beds or consolidate them under the canopy of trees similar to mulch. This leaf litter provides critical overwintering protection for many of our native butterflies, moths, and bumble bee queens. Additional benefits of leaving leaf litter include improved drainage and better flood and erosion control.

Embrace the “imperfect” lawn Fall is the perfect time to renovate lawns. Where possible, replace your turf with native flowering plants, trees, and bunchgrasses. These plants will help to support a diversity of native beneficial insects in the coming year. Where you still have turf grass, maintain some patches of bare ground. This provides soil access to harmless ground nesting bees, as well as to our beloved, beneficial fireflies (or lightning bugs), which overwinter in the soil. To limit ground disturbance, mow as infrequently as possible. Finally, avoid using synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Even though these have been approved for commercial and household use, many have unknown and sublethal negative effects on pollinators, fireflies, and other beneficial insects.

From the City's Bee City Committee