Monday, January 14, 2013

Succession Planting

 

Planting Native Perennials - Striving For a Constant Food Supply



Native plants that attract bees Wingstem
Wingstem
  Nourishment for Bees & Insects

Twice in one week, the topic of succession planting was brought up. The first was a phone conversation with my brother Craig; who is concentrating on providing food for his bees and other pollinators year round. This is pretty important to someone who makes the best tasting wine in the state of Pennsylvania. No pollinators.. no fruit ... no wine.


Although he does cross pollinate some of his plants (like pumpkins) with a tiny paint brush; tackling his entire acre may not be a wise use of his time. Learning to plant flowers and plants that bloom year round is certainly advantageous to the success of his hobby.



 Nourishment For Birds
wildflowers that attract bees Joe-pye-weed
Joe-pye-weed

 The second conversation originated from Dave's comment posted on my Attracting Hummingbirds page. His goal is to plant native species that supply four seasons worth of  food for birds that he has attracted to his property.

Now I was curious. I am raising native plants that provide a constant supply of food for the bees and insects that I am attempting to attract? Are there seasons of the year that insects are forced to forge elsewhere? I needed to find out.

Since, I am taking several free computer classes at our local library; I thought I would put my new skills to work by creating a fancy Excel table.


                                                              Charts Don't Lie



It was interesting to learn that yes, Nodding Onion Gardens offers a significant supply of nourishing pollen and nectar July through September, but the choices and selections are a bit slim in early spring and late fall.  One thing that stood out from my chart was the fact that some of the more common plants had the longest work schedule. As you can see, Wingstem and Boneset which are absolute work horses; both are very common in our Metro Parks but due to their size are not popular for small backyards. Giant Hyssop is a gang buster!

I used blooming dates stated in  Prairie Moon Nurseries' catalog, Winnoa MN. This was my attempt to  keep dates consistent. In some case my plants experienced bit of a variance from Prairie Moon's  dates.


Nodding Onion Gardens - Native Plants - 2012



Scientific Name
Common Name
A
M
J
J
A
S
O









Agastache scrophulariaefolia
Purple Giant Hyssop







Allium cernuum
Nodding Onion







Aquilegia canadensis
Wild Columbine







Arisaema triphyllum
Jack in the Pulpit







Asarum canadense
Wild Ginger







Asclepias exaltata
Poke Milkweed







Asclelpias incarnata
Swamp milkweed







Asclepias purpurascens
Purple Milkweed







Asclepias sullivantii
Prairie Milkweed







Asclepias syriaca
Common Milkweed







Asclepias tuberosa
Butterflyweed







Aster laevis
Smooth Blue Aster







Baptisia australis
Wild Blue Indigo







Chelone glabra
Turtlehead







Coreopsis tinctoria
Plains Coreopsis







Dicentra cucullaria
Dutchman's Breeches







Echinacea purpurea
Purple Coneflower







Erynguim yuccifolium
Rattlesnake Master







Eupatorium altissimum
Tall Boneset







Eupatorium maculatum
Joe- Pye- Weed







Filipendula rubra
Queen-of the Prairie







Gaillardia pulchella
Indian Blanket







Geranium maculatum
Wild Geranium







Helenium flexusum
Purple - headed Sneezeweed







Helianthus mollis
Downy Sunflower







Helianthus stromosus
Pale-leaved Sunflower







Heliopsis helianthoides
Oxeye Sunflower







Hydrastis canadensis
Golden Seal







Lobelia alba
White Cardinal Flower







Lobelia cardinalis
Cardinal Flower







Lobelia siphilitica
Great Blue Lobelia







Lupinus perennis
Wild Lupine







Mertensia virginica
Virginia Bluebells







Monarda fistulosa
Wild Bergmot







Penstemon digitalis
Foxglove Beardtongue







Phlox pilosa
Prairie Phlox







Physostegia virginiana
Obedient Plant







Podophyllum peltatum
May - Apple







Poloygonatum canaliculatum
Solomon's Seal


`




Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Narrow- leaved Mnt. Mint







Ratibida- pinnata
Yellow -Coneflower







Rudbeckia laciniata
Green Headed Coneflower







Rudbeckia triloba
Thin leaved Coneflower







Silphium integrifolium
Cup Plant







Tradescantia ohiensis
Ohio Spiderwort







Verbesina alternifolia
Wingstem







Vernonia noveboracensis
New York Ironweed







Viola peditifida
Prairie Violets







10 comments:

  1. Nice post. The information you present is an interesting take on the benefits of succession planting. Keep up the planting and great blogging work.

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  2. Thank you Mario,

    I can't take credit for the idea of providing food for pollinators/wildlife year long, that came from my brother Craig's wife Moon Eagle along with comments from Dave; I just put it on paper (document) to see where my yard stood.

    Your kind comments are appreciated, not sure what to think about "blogging" as it is all new to me.

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  3. Just found your Blog. You have some great information posted. Thanks. Living here along the shores of Lake Michigan in USA, I try to learn where ever I can. Good stuff. Hope to return.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, What a motivator to keep going with all of this!

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  4. I have just discovered you - and I'm so pleased I have!

    One of the key issues in our new plantings here is trying to provide a food source for beneficial insects all year round. We so often talk about successional planting for our own food supplies (and that is tricky enough), but rarely have I seen any discussion about providing for wildlife all year round.

    I shall follow your progress with interest.

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  5. Thank you for your kind words.

    I too have so much to learn on succession planting that is part of what makes it fun! I was telling my bother Craig about the comments that I have gotten on what is really his topic. He was challenging me to go one step further and begin to think about a winter food supply. Not just feeding with bird seeds with seed but adding plants like Winter Berry and Arrowwood.

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  6. A really nice gardening blog! - Keep us up to date on what is happening on your Garden Blog
    It would be great to see you over at the Blooming Gardening Blogs Community.
    http://www.bloomingblogs.com/apply-to-join-blooming-blogs/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the kind, encouraging words. I appreciate the invitation to your Blog Community. Just finished filling our the form.

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  8. Enjoyed your post, we have been rearing bees for 10 years, love those guys!

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  9. Thank you. Ten years that is wonderful!

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