Selecting Plants for Pollinators A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners In the Ozark Broadleaf Forest Meadow Province Including Parts of Arkansas and and Oklahoma NAPPC Table of CONTENTS Why Support Pollinators? 4 Getting Started 5 Ozark Broadleaf Forest 6 Meet the Pollinators 8 Plant Traits 10 Developing Plantings 12 Far ms 13 Public Lands 14 Home Landscapes 15 Bloom Periods 16 Plants That Attract Pollinators 18 Habitat Hints 20 Check list 22 Resources and Feedback 23 This is one of several guides for different regions in the United States. We welcome your feedback to assist us in making the future guides useful. Please contact us at [email protected] 2 Selecting Plants for Pollinators Selecting Plants for Pollinators A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners In the Ecological Region of the Ozark Broadleaf Forest Meadow Province Including Parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma a nappc and Pollinator Partnership™ Publication This guide was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the C.S. Fund, the Plant Conservation Alliance, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management with oversight by the Pollinator Partnership™ (www.pollinator.org), in support of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC–www.nappc.org). Ozark Broadleaf Forest – Meadow Province 3 Why support pollinators? In theIr 1996 book, the Forgotten PollInators, Buchmann and Nabhan estimated that animal pollinators are needed for the reproduction “ Farming feeds of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. Each of us depends on these industrious pollinators in a practical way to provide us with the wide range of foods we eat. In addition, pollinators are part of the the world, and intricate web that supports the biological diversity in natural ecosystems that helps sustain our quality of life. Abundant and healthy populations of pollinators can improve fruit set we must remember and quality, and increase fruit size. In farming situations this increases production per acre. In the wild, biodiversity increases and wildlife food sources increase. that pollinators Strawberries, cucumbers, blueberries, and melons are some of the crops raised in the Ozark Broadleaf Forest that rely on honey bees and native bees for pollination. Domestic honey bees pollinate approximately $10 are a critical billion worth of crops in the U.S. each year. Unfortunately, the numbers of both native pollinators and domesticated link in our food bee populations are declining. They are threatened by habitat loss, disease, and the excessive and inappropriate use of pesticides. The loss of commercial bees to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has highlighted how severe the issues of proper hive management are to reduce stresses caused systems.” by disease, pesticide use, insufficient nutrition, and transportation practices. -- Paul Growald, Currently, the pollination services that the commercial beekeeping industry provides are receiving much needed research and conservation resources. Co-Founder, The efforts to understand the threats to commercial bees should help us Pollinator partnership understand other pollinators and their roles in the environment as well. It is imperative that we take immediate steps to help pollinator populations thrive. The beauty of the situation is that by supporting pollinators’ need for habitat, we support our own needs for food and support diversity in the natural world. Thank you for taking time to consult this guide. By adding plants to your landscape that provide food and shelter for pollinators throughout their active seasons and by adopting pollinator friendly landscape practices, you can make a difference to both the pollinators and the people that rely on them. Val Dolcini President & CEO Pollinator Partnership 4 Selecting Plants for Pollinators Getting Started thIs regIonal guIde Is just one States, developed by the United and submontane zone vegetation in a series of plant selection tools States Forest Service, is a system is primarily broad-leaved, cold- designed to provide information created as a management tool and deciduous forest that includes oak on how individuals can influence is used to predict responses to land and hickory. There are lesser areas pollinator populations through management practices throughout that include evergreen needle-leaved choices they make when they farm a large areas. This guide addresses trees. Short-leaf pine and oak occur plot of ground, manage large tracts pollinator-friendly land management on the shallow soils of disturbed of public land, or plant a garden. practices in what is known as the drier areas on the south- and west- Each of us can have a positive Ozark Broadleaf Forest, Meadow facing slopes. Province. impact by providing the essential Long before there were homes habitat requirements for pollinators This 6,400 square mile province and farms in this area, the original, including food, water, shelter, and in northern Arkansas and eastern natural vegetation provided enough space to allow pollinators to Oklahoma includes low mountains continuous cover and adjacent raise their young. dissected with narrow, steep valleys feeding opportunities for wildlife, Pollinators travel through the of plains with hills and open hills. including pollinators. In choosing landscape without regard to Elevations range from 650 to 2,600 plants, aim to create habitat for property ownership or state feet with local relief ranging from pollinators that allow adequate food boundaries. We’ve chosen to use 100 to 1500 feet. The climate is shelter, and water sources. Most R.G. Bailey’s classification system hot continental with hot summers pollinators have very small home to identify the geographic focus and cold winters. Average annual ranges. You can make a difference of this guide and to underscore temperature ranges from 58° to by understanding the vegetation the connections between climate 64°F. Annual rainfall ranges from 41 patterns of the farm, forest, or and vegetation types that affect to 52 inches. neighbor’s yard adjacent to you and by making planting choices the diversity of pollinators in the This province is characterized as that support the pollinators’ need environment. oak-hickory forest and oak-hickory- for food and shelter as they move Bailey’s Ecoregions of the United pine forest. The low elevation through the landscape. Ozark Broadleaf Forest – Meadow Province 5 Understanding the Ozark Broadleaf Forest n This region is designated number M222 in the Baileys’ Ecosystem Provinces. To see a map of the provinces go to: www.fs.fed.us/colorimagemap/ecoreg1_provinces.html n Not sure about which bioregion you live or work in? Go to www.pollinator.org and click on Ecoregion Locator for help. n 6,400 square miles in northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. n Primarily low mountains and valleys. n Elevations ranging from 650 to 2,600 feet. n Average annual temperatures from 58°F to 64°F. n Average year-round precipitation between 41-52 inches. n USDA Hardiness Zones 6b-7a. Characteristics n Dominated by oak-hickory and oak-chickory-pine forest. n Common tree species include northern red oak, white oak, pignut hickory, mockernut hickory, shortleaf pine, and eastern red cedar. n Significant blocks of intact habitat remain at upper elevations, but ecosystem dynamics are largely fragmented outside those blocks. 6 Selecting Plants for Pollinators The Ozark Broadleaf Forest “ Adding native plantings in riparian areas Meadow Province includes parts of: to improve pollinator habitat makes Arkansas sense in advancing our family farm’s and Oklahoma conservation and economic objectives, enhancing beneficial wildlife and improving pollination in our orchard and garden.” --Lee McDaniel, Farmer and President, National Association of Conservation Districts Ozark Broadleaf Forest – Meadow Province 7 Meet the Pollinators Who are the Solitary bees include carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.), which nest in wood; pollinators? digger, or polyester bees (Colletes spp.), which nest underground; Photo Lew Scharpf Lew Photo Bees leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.), Bees are well documented which prefer dead trees or branches pollinators in the natural and for their nest sites; and mason bees agricultural systems of the Ozark (Osmia spp.), which utilize cavities Broadleaf Forest. A wide range that they find in stems and dead of crops including strawberries, wood. Cactus bees (Diadasia spp.) cucumbers, blueberries, and melons are also solitary ground nesters. are just a few plants that benefit from bee pollinators. Butter fl ies Most of us are familiar with the Gardeners have been attracting Viceroy butterfly. colonies of honey bees that have butterflies to their gardens for some been the workhorses of agricultural time. These insects tend to be eye- pollination for years in the United catching, as are the flowers that States. They were imported from attract them. Position flowering Europe almost 400 years ago. plants where they have full sun and are protected from the wind. Also, There are nearly 4000 species of you will need to provide open areas native ground and twig nesting bees (e.g. bare earth, large stones) where in the U.S. Some form colonies butterflies may bask, and moist soil while others live and work a solitary from which they may get needed life. Native bees currently pollinate minerals. By providing a safe place many crops and can be encouraged to eat and nest, gardeners can also to do more to support agricultural support the pollination role that endeavors if their needs for nesting butterflies play in the landscape. It habitat are met and if suitable might mean accepting slight damage sources of nectar, pollen, and water to the plants, known as host plants, Ruby-throated hummingbird. are provided. Bees have tongues of that provide food for the larval stage varying lengths that help determine of the butterfly. which flowers they can obtain nectar and pollen from. A diverse group of butterflies are present in garden areas and The bumble bee (Bombus spp.) forms woodland edges that provide bright small colonies, usually underground.