Colorful perennials attract garden pollinators
The 2023 Flower and Food Fest will feature a wide selection of perennials for sale from the Penn State Master Gardeners of Butler County and other vendors.
When purchasing perennials to support pollinators in your garden, look for species that will allow you to support a wide variety of pollinators from spring to fall.
Pollinators include a large diversity of species, from insects to birds and even bats, so shop to purchase plants with staggered bloom times. Growing perennials with staggered bloom times also ensures that you enjoy color in your garden throughout the growing season.
Many pollinator species have flower preferences partly based on the color and shape of the blooms.
For example, honey bees are more attracted to blue, violet, yellow and white flowers. Butterflies are attracted to blooms that are purple, red, yellow, orange and pink. They also desire flat-topped or clustered flowers and short flower tubes. Hummingbirds prefer tubular red, orange and pink flowers, but they will take nectar from most colors.
Examples of a few of the native plants offered at the Flower and Food Fest include butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta).
Butterfly weed is a member of the milkweed family and, like other members of this family, serves as a host plant and nectar source for the caterpillar and adult stages of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Butterfly weed blooms in the late spring and midsummer, requiring warm soil conditions to grow. Best of all, this perennial is deer resistant.
Planted in full sun, butterfly weed can grow 2- to 3-feet tall, with its large, flat-topped clusters of bright orange flowers measuring 2- to 5-inches across.
A popular yellow flowering perennial is the black-eyed Susan or gloriosa daisy. At the Flower and Food Fest, look for a bright yellow cultivar, ‘Indian Summer.’ The blossoms are single as well as semidouble, growing up to 6- to 9-inches in diameter. Black-eyed Susans like full sun, self-seed easily, and are deer resistant. They will bloom from July to September, providing nectar and color for months.
Two non-native perennials will also be offered for sale during the Flower and Food Fest: false goat’s beard (Astilbe spp.) and English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).
Astilbes have a soft, plume-like appearance and spike high above the deep green, attractive foliage. Flowers range in color from white to pink and deep red and are long-lasting. The spent plumes can be cut back or retained for winter interest. Astilbes bloom in late spring and early summer. Most varieties are 20- to 36-inches tall.
Plant them in light to moderate shade, with improved flowering in gentle morning or dappled sunlight. They prefer moist soil. Astilbes also are deer resistant.
English lavender is an excellent pollinator plant whose blooms are purple in color and especially attractive to bees. This perennial is a compact, bushy evergreen shrub 12- to 14-inches tall, with linear, aromatic gray-green leaves.
Lavender blooms are found on slender, upright stems with dense, terminal spikes of tiny fragrant flowers. Lavender requires full sun and well-drained soil. It does exceptionally well in a sheltered position or on banks and slopes.
Plant your chosen perennials in clumps or elongated drifts of three to five plants of the same species to offer nectar and pollen that is easy to find for pollinators to feed.
Keep in mind the spatial requirements of the species when planting to ensure that the plants are given adequate space to flourish.
These perennials represent a few of the wide selection of pollinator-friendly perennials for sale at the Flower and Food Fest. Adding colorful perennials to your landscape to attract pollinators supports our natural habitat.
For more information about gardening with perennials, contact the Master Gardeners of Butler County Garden Hotline at 724-287-4761, ext. 7, or email the Master Gardeners at butlermg@psu.edu.
Mary Shannon is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener of Butler County.
