We Can Do Better Than Dandelions

3/24/2018

A growing voice in garden circles dotes on dandelions for pollinators, particularly as they are claimed as some of the first flowers to bloom in spring. This refers to the exotic dandelion Taraxacum officinale, not one of the native species we have like Nothocolais cuspidata. While early-spring insect species will use dandelion -- especially generalist species and European honey bees who evolved with the flower -- in some cases it is not the most nutritious option when it comes to pollen. For example, the earlier-blooming and native pussy willow’s pollen protein count is 40%, whereas dandelion is only at 14%. Nutritious pollen is what leads to healthier bees, which in turn leads to healthier environments (without pollen bee larvae would starve). In addition, many specialist bees have evolved relationships with specific native plants, timing their life cycles for when pollen is available from those plants. Specialists are incredibly crucial to keeping the pollinator system in balance, and when we lose even one such species pollination rates for plants suffer.

What can we do? As we alter landscapes we lose ecological function. Consider that 99% of the tallgrass prairie has been eradicated, yet so much of the wildlife that depend on the plants found within that ecosystem still exist in the same geographical area -- even in cities. Let's revive wildness and use native plants.

According to bee expert Heather Holm, there are a plethora of native plants that either bloom at the same time as dandelion or weeks earlier. These plants have ranges in the Midwest and northeast, and the list includes the following:

Trees & Shrubs

Native willows, Salix spp.
Red maple, Acer rubrum
Red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa
Native currants or gooseberries, Ribies spp.
American plum, Prunus americana
Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana
Native viburnum, Viburnum spp.
Native dogwood, Cornus spp.
Serviceberry, Amelanchier spp.

Perennials

Prairie smoke, Geum triflorum
Pussytoes, Antennaria neglecta
Golden Alexanders, Zizia spp.
Wild lupine, Lupinus perennis
Pasque flower, Anemone patens
Marsh marigold, Caltha palustris

Woodland Perennials / Ephemerals

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis
Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria
Native violets, Viola spp.
Jacob's Ladder, Polemonium reptans
Large-flowered bellwort, Uvularia grandiflora
Wild geranium, Geranium maculatum
Bishop's cap, Mitella diphylla
Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica

To learn more about sustainable wildlife gardening, check out some 200 articles or try one of these 5 online classes.

5 Comments

Amy Woodrum

3/26/2018 06:41:01 pm

Thank you. Please share future posts

Daniel L Carter link

3/27/2018 09:31:15 am

Exactly! My lawn (actual mowed lawn area consisting of a matrix of bouteloua species and sedges) has early buttercup (R. fascularis), several species of native violet, two species of native ragworts, two species pussytoes, kittentails, purple poppy mallow, and prairie smoke. I get rid of dandelions and white clover, because there is no need.

Benjamin Vogt link

3/27/2018 09:33:31 am

I'd like to see images of that space in bloom and throughout the growing season. ;)

Steve

3/31/2018 04:21:40 pm

The bees don't care where the pollen come from as long as they can access it. Here's a concept. Value plants based on the contributions they make to the ecosystems in which they grow, not based on their place of origin.

Benjamin Vogt

3/31/2018 05:44:14 pm

Oligolectic and other specialist bees that evolved with specific native plants most certainly care, and would not exist without those plants. And when we lose specialist bees the entire ecosystem changes, especially the pollination effectiveness for plants. I'd encourage you to read books on native bees, such as those by Heather Holm among others, and follow the research I cited in chapter 2 of my book.

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