In the next two Tips from the Yard let’s cover all the late fall tasks involved in putting the yard to bed. Let’s look at the pollinators we want to protect first.
Many gardeners love to see pollinators in the yards during the summer, the butterflies, the specialty bees, and even the hummingbirds fluttering about. We make our yards attractive to the living. But in the fall, we have thought it important to clearcut all the plants to the ground in flower beds. Remove every single fallen leaf and dried stem, making the garden beds resemble a tundra. We even thought to spread a 3” coating of mulch all over the planting area. All in preparation for the spring and getting a good jump on all the work related to garden prep. Applause and a hearty slap on the back; good job, or is it? After a couple of years of this practice, where are all the butterflies and specialty bees? Remember, hummingbirds migrate south. They don’t need our yards in the winter.
Many other pollinators residing year-round needing our yards in the winter as well. They need places to over winter; to hibernate, to lay eggs, and burrow deep into the ground. If we clearcut and remove all the flower vegetation it’s hard for them to survive the winter.
Some butterflies have the ability to create their own form of antifreeze to keep their cells from freezing. Some form a special winter chrysalis and some even remain in caterpillar form. All look for leaf litter, dried hollow stems or loose bark to nest in and under.
In the case of solitary bees, the last seasonal generation spends the winter month in a suspended animation ready to emerge the following spring. They can be found burrowing into the hollow stems of dead plants, some burrow into the ground, some like the store- bought bee tubes.
Beetles like lady bugs, burrow into leaf litter, under rocks and in hollow logs.
Remember finches and other small birds will feed on seed heads available during the winter. Just think of the winter interest of snow-capped stems poking up in the garden.
If all these reasons still are not enough to convince you, then let’s compromise and try a portion of the flower garden left alone. Then some of the insects will survive the winter in your flower garden.
Hope this was a good case for protecting pollinators during the winter. Next time lets focus on the vegetable garden winter prep including cover crops to improve the garden.
-M. Massey, Lorain County MGV
Resources:
Cutting Down Perennials in the Fall: Penn State University Extension
Fall Garden Care for Pollinators: Penn State University Extension
Attracting Pollinators to the Garden: Ohio State University Extension