Flower choice to attract pollinators

[john gault]

What are the best attractors of pollinators? Or maybe I should ask, what flowers are not good at attracting pollinators (probably be a much smaller list).

I think the only reason I ask this is because I've notice that my hibiscus doesn't get much activity from pollinators; so little, in fact, that I can't remember the last time I saw one in the flower and I go out there everyday to look at all the pollinators.

I found this very curious since the hibiscus flower is so large and I would think that the larger bees, such as the carpenter/bumble bees would be attracted to it since it's easy to work on. Instead I see them a lot on the Blue Fortune (they absolutely love that plant), Mexican Petunia (even though they can't fit in that flower, they resort to nectar robbing) and they also love the Cosmos.

But I also see them on other flowers, such as sunflowers, watermelon, strawberry, marigolds, and so on.... But never the Hibiscus and the Mexican Petunia is right next to it, but they fly right by those big red flowers and rob from the petunia flowers....WTF

BTW, just to emphasis, I'm not just talking about the big bees, it's all pollinators, I just never seem to see them in the flower of the Hibiscus.

[lorax]

John, Hibiscus are set up to be pollinated by birds, not insects - they're a huge hit with hummies, sunbirds, and honeycreepers. However, if you don't have large populations of these small avians in your area, you likely won't see pollination action on your Hibiscus.

Other flowers that are built for birds and bats (rather than insect pollinators) include Capers (Capparis spp), Solandra maxima, some Passifloras, Cobaea scandens, and a number of other members of the mallow family (Lavatera and Abutilon come to mind immediately).

Many Aroids are set up for specific beetles, and if you're outside of their native range you absolutely won't see pollinators on them (Philodendron, Caladium, Calla, Zantedeschia, etc.)

On the other hand, if you want to attract a plenitude of bees and other insect pollinators, you can't go wrong with Monarda. They're called bee balms for a reason....

[john gault]

Thanks all, and especially about the Hibiscus being an attractor for non-insect pollinators, I've never heard that, I'm going to look into that more.

As far as my flowers attracting pollinators, they do very, very well. I was just wondering why they all ignore them big red flowers. But I will look into getting some of the other bee-attracting plants -- I just love to see them buzzing around, and I'll put some water out for them.


P.S. Lorax, now that you mention it, I do remember reading that my Magnolia is pollinated by beetles. From what I remember it said that Magnolia is a very ancient tree and it was around before the bee, so it evolved along with beetles, which pollinate the flower. I should have thought of that when I was pondering why the bees bypassed the biggest flowers in my garden.

[rainbowgardener]

Native wildflowers are best for attracting beneficial insects, because they evolved together.

Here's an article about plants for attracting beneficial insects:


https://www.farmerfred.com/plants_that_attract_benefi.html

this includes not just pollinators, but predator insects like ladybugs, lacewings, etc that will help keep the ones you don't want in check.

[jal_ut]

Bachelors Buttons. Also any of the mints.

[jal_ut]

I could mention that the mints is a big family. Labiatae.

Here are some mints we hear about often: Catnip, basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and salvia.

[jal_ut]

I am with Marlingardener in that I also keep bees. The only thing I plant for the bees is clover. I have it growing all over the place. Since I have so many bees right locally, I do get to see what flowers on my lot they like to work. They sure like fruit bloom in the spring, and dandelions. I never have to worry about getting the squash, cukes and melons pollinated.

I do have some of the mint family growing here too and I notice that these flowers attract a large variety of wild bees besides the honey bees. That is why I suggest the mints. If you have no one within a mile keeping honey bees, they may be really scarce. The wild bees are a better option.

You can encourage some wild bees if you will take a 2x4 and drill a whole bunch of 1/4 inch holes in it, then hang it up near the eves of a shed. [url=https://gardening.wsu.edu/library/inse006/inse006.htm]Look Here[/url]

[jal_ut]

In some areas leaf cutter bees are used to pollinate alfalfa. I don't know if you would have any leaf cutters there, but they are quite common in the West where alfalfa is grown. They will nest in the same type of Bee Board.