Pollinators & Perennials: A Perfect Pairing

Asclepias-ButterflyWhat’s in the Garden:

June is Perennial Gardening Month™ according to the esteemed Perennial Plant Association. At Rohsler’s, we are taking this opportunity to promote native plants, particularly those that support and sustain pollinators like hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, bees, beetles, bats, and hoverflies. This effort coincides with National Pollinator Week (June 20-26), an event launched to raise awareness of the direct connection between pollinators and the foods humans eat.

Can you imagine a morning without coffee? Pollinators make this beverage possible. Pollinators are also responsible for the successful production of melons, pumpkins, almonds, apples, blueberries, strawberries, soybeans, alfalfa, peaches, potatoes, and many other agricultural products.

In recent years, there have been significant declines in the populations of various pollinators. The Pollinator Partnership (www.pollinator.org) attributes this phenomenon to habitat loss, chemical misuse, diseases, parasites, and the introduction of invasive plants and animals.

BeeIn the United States alone, $40 billion worth of products are produced by pollinators each year! Those products include approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, spices, medicines, and fibers. (Source: The Pollinator Partnership.)

The Pollinator Partnership urges everyone to join in the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a national effort designed to spur interest in creating and preserving gardens and plantings (including window boxes) that help sustain pollinators.

Lend a hand by planting Asclepias (Milkweed), Yarrow, Black-eyed Susan, Lambs’ Ears, Penstemon, Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, Sage/Salvia, Mountain Mint, Golden Zizia, Hyssop (Agastache), Switchgrass, Common Spicebush, Viburnum, Tulip Trees, American Hackberry Trees, Wild Black Cherry Trees, Joe-Pye Weed, Boneset, Wild Ageratum, Snakeroot, New York Ironweed, and other native species. Pollinators also need fresh water and places to roost and raise their young.

HummingbirdFuchsiaWant to attract hummingbirds? Their favorite native plants include Trumpet Creeper, Monarda, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Cardinal Flower, Spotted Jewelweed, Red Columbine, Canada Lily, Indian Pink, Red Buckeye, and Catawba Rhododendron.

Using groups of plants will make your garden easier for pollinators to find. Timing your plantings to bloom in succession ensures that your garden will remain a pollinator magnet for many months.

Learn more about native plants on June 25 when Lindsay Gafford from the New Jersey Audubon Society will visit Rohsler’s to discuss “Building Your Backyard Habitat with Native Plants.” Lindsay will be on hand from 9:30 to 4. She will demo the tool the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team uses to identify and track invasive plants and animals. Visit www.njaudubon.org to learn more.

Special savings on native plants will be offered to all attendees on June 25. In addition, there will be a drawing for a free NJ Audubon membership and native Milkweed plants with the purchase of any native plant.

Next week, on Tuesday, June 28 at 7 p.m., Jerry Amoroso from Weeks Roses will be speaking about Rose care, the different types of Roses, and some tips on how to make growing Roses easier, fun, successful, and rewarding.

Bergen County Audubon Society’s Don Torino will return to Rohsler’s at 7 p.m. on July 7 to discuss the importance of creating a healthy habitat in your garden. He will also reveal how area residents can have their gardens certified as wildlife habitat by Bergen County Audubon. Visit bergencountyaudubon.org to learn more.

Rohsler’s embraces environmentally friendly plant care and production techniques.

  • We use beneficial insects in our greenhouses, so insecticide is rarely needed.
  • We rely on compost teas and biological fungicides, and fewer synthetic products.
  • Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is practiced so we always deal with plant care responsibly and safely.
  • We have accepted the Jersey Plant Pledge by agreeing to curtail the sales of several invasive plants.

Please join us for one or all of these informative and Entertaining Events mentioned above!

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