[PCA] ARTICLE: New York TImes - How (and Why) to Use Native Plants

[Peter Bernhardt]

Dear Patricia:


Thanks for sharing.  Supporting pollinator diversity (especially native bees) in urban areas is a big part of the research of the Billikin Bee Lab in the Department of Biology at Saint Louis University.  The person spearheading this research is Dr. Gerardo Camilo if anyone is interested in contacting him.  We are coming to the end of a 3-year study comparing the diversity of urban bees v. rural bees on redbud (Cercis canadensis) and dogwood (Cornus florida).  The work of Dr. Camilo and his students tends to confirm that bee diversity must be maintained by consistent flowering throughout the season.  It's not enough to have a couple of native plants in bloom for a couple of weeks in April or May.  Some bees are specialists and only forage for a brief time on a few plant species but others have multiple generations throughout the growth season.


For example, working at the Shaw Reserve my  Masters student, Danny, found that a little green bee that foraged on false garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve) for two weeks in April had descendants that were still active on pink autumn onion (Allium stellatum) in August and September.  These two species flower in the same limestone glade at Shaw each year, in the same cracks in the rocks but are never accessible to long-term, resident bees at the same time.  The paper is in press with the Journal of Pollination Ecology and I will send it along once we have e-reprints.


Peter

________________________________
From: native-plants <native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org> on behalf of De Angelis, Patricia <patricia_deangelis at fws.gov>
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2020 8:42 AM
To: PCA Listserve <native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
Subject: [External] [PCA] ARTICLE: New York TImes - How (and Why) to Use Native Plants

This article mentions Plant Conservation Alliance Cooperator, Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora!

By Margaret Roach
May 15, 2020

In recent years, the demand for pollinator plants has surged. But most of us don’t have room for a meadow.

So where do these native plants fit in your garden, which may not be that big and is probably not very wild-looking? And how do you find plants that are native to your particular location, with the highest value to beneficial insects and, in turn, birds and other native wildlife?

...Although a nursery tag may say “native,” the species could hail from a completely different sort of area. That’s because plants don’t observe state boundaries, but rather habitats within regional zones, like coastal plains or forests with particular soils, light and moisture conditions...

See more: https://nyti.ms/2yRvwvM<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nyti.ms/2yRvwvM__;!!K543PA!d-zdqP8Hd2GaD0QEFPzi5g2kbWaafFJfAYbJ1BZh-LD9Cg40Fk2r_elxe7vavMh11uLR$>

More about PCA Cooperators and how to become one at: http://www.plantconservationalliance.org/cooperators<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.plantconservationalliance.org/cooperators__;!!K543PA!d-zdqP8Hd2GaD0QEFPzi5g2kbWaafFJfAYbJ1BZh-LD9Cg40Fk2r_elxe7vavLUqOZ12$>
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