Native Plants for Southern California Pollinators - FineGardening (2024)

FAQs

Native Plants for Southern California Pollinators - FineGardening? ›

Butterflies require plenty of bright sunlight as well as damp cool areas in order to thrive. Choose a large area that's bright and sunny for butterfly-attracting plants, but is also not too far from a shaded wooded area, pond or other water source where butterflies can drink from the moist soil.

Butterflies require plenty of bright sunlight as well as damp cool areas in order to thrive. Choose a large area that's bright and sunny for butterfly-attracting plants, but is also not too far from a shaded wooded area, pond or other water source where butterflies can drink from the moist soil.

All you have to do is give them what they want – water, flowers, and nesting sites – and avoid what they don't want – pesticides (it's best for bees and other beneficial insects to avoid all use of pesticides).

In established pollinator plantings during the growing season, the best strategy for coping with weeds is to hand-pull them as soon as you see them. This prevents weeds from becoming well-established, producing seeds or spreading by vegetative tissues.

During spring and summer, monarchs leave hundreds of overwintering sites along the California coast and fan out across the western landscape to breed and lay eggs on milkweed (Asclepias spp.), the monarch's host plant.

Buddleja davidii (butterfly bush) is a shrub (family Buddlejaceae) with a cluster of pink to purple flowers and narrow leaves found in the San Francisco Bay area and coastal ranges of California, and is invasive in the Pacific Northwest.

Choosing native plants can help local pollinators such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, and more! Pollinators are responsible for 1 out of 3 bites of food we take each day. They are essential for the health of our ecosystems and the health of many of our food crops.

Bees are the most important pollinator. Honeybees, for example, are responsible for pollinating over 110 crops that we eat and use every day, like tasty apples and delicious strawberries.

California poppies are like magnets for bees, and their radiant orange blossoms are hard for these creatures to resist. Packed with rich nectar and pollen, these blooms offer bees an irresistible feast.

How to support native pollinators? ›

Rotate garden crops from year to year. Water the garden as needed, not on a schedule. Choose plants that have not been treated with pesticides. Grow organically to encourage native pest predators such as lacewings and lady beetles to keep the pests in check.

Using Plants that Repel Bees

Another great way to get rid of bees naturally is to keep bee-repelling plants. Plants, like citronella, mint, and eucalyptus are all good options. If you don't want to add new plants to your yard, you can also try using citronella candles to ward off bees.

Creeping thyme is a non-native plant that blooms from July to September, a somewhat shorter period than white clover. It does best in full sun and in sandy or loamy soil. It has small pink flowers that provide pollinators with mostly nectar and some pollen.

1981) found that bees foraging on creeping Charlie for 5.9 minutes obtained enough nectar from the flowers to make foraging on creeping Charlie energetically profitable. While Creeping Charlie could be a good nectar source for bees, we are not recommending that you let it take over your lawn.

While not good for ground-nesting pollinators, mulch does help retain soil moisture, stave off weeds, and prevent soil erosion, so no need to forgo it entirely. Instead, utilize pollinator-friendly mulching practices! Wait to mulch until the start of summer to give ground-nesting pollinators time to emerge.

Fall is a great time of year to plant things to attract butterflies; fall is the best season for planting in general, and in October the monarchs will migrate through and will be in need of nectar plants to feed on.

You can use an old lantern or a box for your habitat. Cut windows in the box to ensure airflow. Using a piece of thin breathable mesh or fabric, secure screens to the side with hot glue so your caterpillars have fresh air. Be sure to have a solid surface at the top of the enclosure for the chrysalis to hang from.

Butterfly adults generally feed only in the sun. If sun is limited in your landscape, try adding butterfly nectar sources to the vegetable garden. Plant for continuous bloom - Butterflies need nectar throughout the adult phase of their life span. Try to plant so that when one plant stops blooming, another begins.