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5 Ways to Winterize Your Pollinator Garden

10/25/2020

6 Comments

 

Autumn is here and your fall garden clean-up project may be looming. If you think it is daunting to clean up all of those leaves and standing dead plant material then I have some great news for you! You don't have to clean up all of those leaves! In fact, the butterflies, bees, songbirds and plants would prefer it if you didn't.

According to the Xerces society, "​One of the most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need." In additional to not using pesticides and installing host and nectar plant sources, providing winter cover is one of the best things you can do to support pollinators!

It can be very tempting to tidy up the garden by raking, shredding and bagging the leaves but  at what cost to our pollinator populations? Did you know that there are many butterflies that overwinter as a chrysalis on standing dead plants? These include but are not limited to Swallowtails, Checkered White, Mustard White, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Elfins, and some Skippers.
​
Follow these simple tips and your yard will be providing a winter-long sanctuary for our beloved butterflies, bees, moths and other beneficial insects!

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Leave the Leaves

There are SEVERAL reasons to leave the leaves. They add nutrients to your soil, acting as a natural fertilizer as they decompose over the winter and resulting in healthier plants in the spring. Leaf litter is a vital food source for decomposers, like millipedes, snails, and worms.  In turn, these beneficial decomposes are creating beautiful soil AND providing food for our songbirds. 15 percent of bee species nest in cavities, such as hollow plant stems or holes in wood so you are also supporting bees! Still not convinced? The layer of leaves act as a natural mulch and will provide an extra layer of insulation for your perennial plants  
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Replace Some of Your Lawn with Native Plants

Growing plants like coneflowers, milkweed, bee balm and other native pollinator-friendly plants in your yard is a great start! Remember, you can always start small. Pick a corner, border, or patch of your yard that you would like to designate as a native plant patch. These patches are vital for our pollinator's survival and more land is developed or converted to agriculture. 

There are somewhere around 40 million acres of lawn in the lower 48, according to a 2005 NASA estimate derived from satellite imaging making it the largest irrigated crop in the United States! 
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Leave Perennials and Annuals

I know it can be very tempting to pull up the dead annuals and cut back your perennials (this includes milkweed). However, these plants are providing essential cover for over-wintering butterflies and bees. Standing dead plants will catch leaves as they blow over them which creates even more habitat for bugs! 

Spread Awareness

Put a sign up in your yard that designates your yard as a native plant sanctuary for pollinators and other invertebrates! Signs like this one by the Missouri Prairie Foundation will help to educate and encourage others to do the same!

You can also share graphics and articles like this one that will help educate others on the importance of winter habitat!
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Wait Until Late Season

It is best to leave the leaves indefinitely but you may decide that you want to clean them up at some point. If you an can hold off until late Spring, you have done the pollinators and other invertebrates a great service and gotten them through the most vital part of their lifecycle! The first warm weather of spring may bring you out into the garden but before you start cleaning up leaves, consider looking for chrysalides that may still be clinging to standing plants.
6 Comments
Joy link
11/2/2020 03:14:49 am

Much obliged to you for sharing have stunning substance,
creative express gratitude toward you.Thank you for sharing your article. It is truly stunning for me. Keep keeping sharing your blog entry. Much thanks.

Reply
Jay Bird
2/5/2021 02:29:01 pm

This is our first year raising Monarch Butterflies. We started by planting 3 milkweed plants in August, and have successfully released over 50 adults. We now have 24 plants in the ground. Living in Central-eastern Florida, the adults continue to lay eggs, even in December. We bring the cats inside to a small 12" habitat, and move the chrysalis to the 24" habitat where they emerge as adults.

The problem is that by January there are no blooming plants for them to feed on. Although we don't see the adults released in mid December, we keep finding young cats. So, in January we have 18 more just beginning to emerge as adults.

Any thoughts on flowering plants that will survive Winter in 40 to 70 degrees in Central coastal Florida?

Reply
brass kitchen faucet link
4/9/2021 04:23:28 am

I found good posts here. I adore the way you write. Nice!

Reply
landscapinghamiltonnz.kiwi/ link
6/3/2021 06:44:35 pm

I agree about the leaves being fertilizer and should not be seen as garbage or litter. But sometimes it is not pleasing to just leave it be on your garden. You can then remove some of them that you think should not be in place but always note that they are natural fertilizers.

Reply
sản xuất mỹ phẩm IFREE link
1/3/2022 10:41:33 pm

I've always wanted to have a pretty garden with butterflies and flowers, and also... some bunnies, you know :))

Reply
Eileen
12/11/2022 12:03:12 pm

Is their someone who can rescue my catapillars?
All my milkweed is gone
I have many catapillars

Reply



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    Author

    Rebecca Chandler
    Garden Educator, Naturalist and Ethnobotanist

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  • Monarch Story
    • Why Milkweed?
    • Monarch Migration
    • Help Us Expand
    • How To Raise Monarch Butterflies At Home
    • How You Can Help
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Get Seeds
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    • School Pollinator Garden Program
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    • Pollinator Garden Program
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    • Testimonials
    • Irvin & Gladys
    • Contact Us
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