A really beautiful and simple way to help pollinators is to establish a Soft Landing underneath your trees. 🌷🦋
This involves leaving the leaf litter in fall and adding native wildflowers around your trees. Please note that while hostas and other exotic plants may look nice underneath trees, they do not provide food or habitat for our local pollinators.
Native Plants Featured:
- Virginia Bluebells (𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢)
- Zigzag Goldenrod (𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘴)
- Wild Ginger (𝘈𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦)
- Wild Geranium (𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘮)
- Wild Blue Phlox (𝘗𝘩𝘭𝘰𝘹 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢)
- Jacob's Ladder (𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘴)
- Foamflower (𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘢)
- Common Blue Violet (𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢)
- Lady Fern (𝘈𝘵𝘩𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘹-𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢)
- Christmas Fern (𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴)
#softlanding #pollinatorsoftlanding #TreeLandscaping #nativeplants #nativeflowers #wildflowers #ohionativeplants #growforwildlife #pollinatorgarden #nativegarden #nativepollinators
In Ohio, several pollinators need a "soft landing" to complete their life cycles. A "soft landing" refers to an undisturbed area of natural habitat, typically made up of leaf litter, dead plant material, or undisturbed soil, where these pollinators can overwinter, pupate, or lay eggs. Here are some examples:
1. Butterflies and Moths
Monarch Butterflies: Need milkweed plants to lay their eggs. Their larvae depend on undisturbed areas with leaf litter or tall grasses to pupate and emerge as butterflies.
Tiger Swallowtail and other Swallowtails: These butterflies often pupate in leaf litter or on plant stems in naturalized or less-manicured areas.
Luna Moths and other Silk Moths: These large moths overwinter as cocoons, often among leaf litter or attached to plant stems.
2. Bees
Bumblebees: Bumblebee queens hibernate in the soil during the winter, often in undisturbed areas rich in leaf litter. They emerge in the spring to establish new colonies.
Mason Bees and Leafcutter Bees: These solitary bees nest in hollow stems or natural cavities. They need access to undisturbed vegetation to complete their nesting cycles.
Ground-Nesting Bees: Many solitary bees nest directly in the ground, requiring soft, undisturbed soil to create their burrows.
3. Other Pollinators
Fireflies: These insects rely on leaf litter and natural areas to complete their life cycle, particularly during their larval stage.
Beetles: Various beetle species, which are also important pollinators, depend on undisturbed habitats like leaf litter for larval development.
Creating or preserving these soft landing areas in gardens, parks, and natural areas can help sustain the populations of these important pollinators in Ohio.
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