Attracting Pollinators for Better Fruit and Vegetable Production

A Swallowtail Butterfly
visiting a butterfly bush

Do you want to get a bigger harvest of fruit, or "fruit-bearing" vegetables such as squash or cucumbers? One way to do this is to make sure there are plenty of pollinators around to transfer the pollen from flower to flower. There are many different pollinators, which include bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bats, beetles and others.

A Hummingbird hovering
at a trumpet vine flower cluster

There are a huge number of plants that can attract more pollinators to your garden, helping to ensure that your food-producing plants get the pollination they need. According to the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of animal pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insects." They also claim, "The honey bee is single handedly responsible for billions of dollars' worth of American crops each year.

A Honey Bee on a peach blossom

Pollinators like bees visit flowers in search for food (nectar or pollen). During the visit, a pollinator may brush against a flower's reproductive parts, depositing pollen from a different flower. The plant uses the pollen to produce a fruit or seed."

Pollinators in general are in decline due to many challenges such as habitat loss, parasites, and environmental contaminants. Home gardeners can help pollinators rebound from these challenges by providing food and habitat in their backyards - or windowsills, or balconies. By providing food for the pollinators, they in turn pollinate our food crops, which create food for us - a win-win situation for all involved.

A Painted Lady Butterfly
perched on an almond blossom

The USDA-CRCS offers seven ways to make your garden a haven for native pollinators (some plants suggested do not apply to the High Desert climate so I have replaced some of their suggestions with desert-friendly alternatives):

·          Use pollinator-friendly plants in your landscape. Shrubs and trees such as germander, rosemary, blueberry (in containers), peach, and almond provide pollen or nectar, or both, early in spring when food is scarce.

·         Choose a mixture of plants for spring, summer, and fall. Different flower colors, shapes, and scents will attract a wide variety of pollinators. If you have limited space, you can plant flowers in containers on a patio, balcony, and even window boxes. A few examples for the High Desert include mimosa, Monarda, Agastache, trumpet vine, honeysuckle, Salvia, desert willow, rosemary, cactus, coneflowers, lavender, Palo Verde, evening primrose, coral bells, Verbena, daisies, germander, red yucca, butterfly weed, buckwheat, California fuchsia, and many more.

·         Reduce or eliminate pesticide use in your landscape, or incorporate plants that attract beneficial insects for pest control. If you use pesticides, use them sparingly and responsibly.

·         Accept some plant damage on plants meant to provide habitat for butterfly and moth larvae.

·         Provide clean water for pollinators with a shallow dish, bowl, or birdbath with half-submerged stones for perches.

·         Leave dead tree trunks, also called "snags," in your landscape for wood-nesting bees and beetles.

·         Support land conservation in your community by helping to create and maintain community gardens and green spaces to ensure that pollinators have appropriate habitat.

My Tuscan Blue Rosemary bushes
are buzzing with honey bees.

To learn more, visit the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service office at www.nrcs.usda.gov for information about selecting plants for particular pollinators in your area.