And again RainbowG I thank you! I consider your input on this matter quite valuable and will take your comments in consideration.What I gave you was pretty much my personal experiences with them...
Thanks!
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Jardin du Fort
- Senior Member
- Posts: 243
- Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:59 pm
- Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Some more candidates for wild flowers are cone flowers, orange butterfly milkweed, columbines, lanceleaf coreopsis, and prairie blazing star.
I agree that spider wort isn't very showy and it has become a weed in my yard.
Pawpaws are nice trees for fruit and landscaping and they have few insect pests so they don't need to be sprayed. Two trees in close proximity are needed for pollination.
Most species of bees are solitary and don't live in hives. Bee houses for ground nesting bees are popular in Europe and they are easy to construct but they should not be used year after year to avoid the accumulation of disease and mites.
https://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-f ... House.aspx
https://foxleas.com/bee_house.htm
I agree that spider wort isn't very showy and it has become a weed in my yard.
Pawpaws are nice trees for fruit and landscaping and they have few insect pests so they don't need to be sprayed. Two trees in close proximity are needed for pollination.
Most species of bees are solitary and don't live in hives. Bee houses for ground nesting bees are popular in Europe and they are easy to construct but they should not be used year after year to avoid the accumulation of disease and mites.
https://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-f ... House.aspx
https://foxleas.com/bee_house.htm
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RiverviewNatives
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:38 am
Great information. Everyone should try to incorporate natives in their yard whenever possible. If you have an arbor day tree giveaway in your location, it is a good place to pick up a native shrub or tree. It is usually held in the Spring, but in Hawaii it is held on the first Saturday in November. I have an endemic gardenia(nanu) from the give away.
You have a great plant list. I cannot grow most of those things because they either require a colder zone or would be invasive here.
One man's native could be another's weed. That is why my state discourages anyone from planting wildflower mixes from the mainland. Wildflowers, by their very nature, reseed and can overtake the slow growing natives. Over the last 250 years, many alien plants have been introduced and naturalized, some of them are threatening the natives that evolved without much competition from other plants and in an environment with few pests.
Managed beehives can still be infested with varoa mites and hive beetles, but can be managed with insecticides.
According to our local bee specialist, the managed hives are the best chance for the survival of the bees, at least until mother nature comes up with a better strategy. The bees will herd and corner the hive beetle and put them in beetle jail or drive them into oil traps. Managing the hive means keeping them healthy and reducing environmental stressors, like pesticides and having reliable pesticide free nectar sources.
Managed hives are inspected regularly and treated with chemicals only when necessary. The hive at the garden is healthy now and expanding, but is treated once every three months or so to control the varoa mites. The bees are slowly making a comeback, but for a while, bees were rare. We also put out artificial hives to attract leaf cutter and carpenter bees. The solitary bees are good pollinators but do not make honey. Since they do not congregate in large numbers, the mites and hive beetles aren't a big problem for them.
https://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/h ... bee-h.html
https://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publica ... A-7075.pdf
You have a great plant list. I cannot grow most of those things because they either require a colder zone or would be invasive here.
One man's native could be another's weed. That is why my state discourages anyone from planting wildflower mixes from the mainland. Wildflowers, by their very nature, reseed and can overtake the slow growing natives. Over the last 250 years, many alien plants have been introduced and naturalized, some of them are threatening the natives that evolved without much competition from other plants and in an environment with few pests.
Managed beehives can still be infested with varoa mites and hive beetles, but can be managed with insecticides.
According to our local bee specialist, the managed hives are the best chance for the survival of the bees, at least until mother nature comes up with a better strategy. The bees will herd and corner the hive beetle and put them in beetle jail or drive them into oil traps. Managing the hive means keeping them healthy and reducing environmental stressors, like pesticides and having reliable pesticide free nectar sources.
Managed hives are inspected regularly and treated with chemicals only when necessary. The hive at the garden is healthy now and expanding, but is treated once every three months or so to control the varoa mites. The bees are slowly making a comeback, but for a while, bees were rare. We also put out artificial hives to attract leaf cutter and carpenter bees. The solitary bees are good pollinators but do not make honey. Since they do not congregate in large numbers, the mites and hive beetles aren't a big problem for them.
https://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/h ... bee-h.html
https://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publica ... A-7075.pdf