These plants bring all the birds to your yard

Like songbirds? Right, many people do. It's a different story when it comes to insects. Mention caterpillars, for instance, to most gardeners, and you'll have them squirming with horror. But backyard species like caterpillars and spiders actually play a crucial role in supporting our most beloved bird species. As a new study from University of Delaware postgraduate student Desirée Narango and coauthors demonstrates, native plant gardens are quite literally for the birds.

It's the largest comprehensive study to date of the effect of native plant species on a specific species of bird—the Carolina chickadee. It's also the biggest single piece of research to come out of years of fieldwork during Narango's PhD, she says, and it offers a tangible goal for conservation-minded individuals to work for in their own yard. That goal is a number: 70 percent.

By studying more than 160 yards, Narango found that suburban lawns with at least 70% native trees and shrubs were able to sustain breeding chickadees. Yards with less could sustain adults, but those adults weren't reproducing at replacement rate, meaning the population was falling.

Why are native plants important? When it comes to birds, it's because those plants have coevolved with local insect species—creepy crawlers that the birds themselves evolved to thrive on, says University of Maryland ecologist Karin Burghardt. Burghardt previously worked with Narango's coauthor, University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy, but she was not involved with the current study.

"We think about birds [in human landscapes] as mostly needing birdseed," Burghardt says. But work over the past decade paints a different picture, one that points to the importance of insects for many. However, the vast majority of plant-eating insects are evolved to only eat a small number of native plants, which means that in gardens without the foliage of choice, they're not around.

For human gardeners, as well, introducing native plants and seeing the wildlife—from caterpillars and other insects to birds—they attract can be "a pretty rewarding process," Burghardt says. She recently bought a house, where she's in the process of redoing the garden with native species. Gardeners who do the same will quickly see results, she says, and know that they are providing homes for wildlife, from the crawly to the flappy.

Narango says that the 70 percent number that works for the chickadee is a baseline. "Almost all terrestrial songbirds require insects to raise their young," she says. The more insectivorous a bird, the higher percentage of native plants it seems to need for those insects to live on. The Washington, DC backyards she monitored were part of an existing citizen science project called Neighborhood Nestwatch.

Doing fieldwork is often no simple task, particularly in urban areas, says Tallamy. He's been working on the problem of backyards for more than a decade—Burghardt was his coauthor on some of the work that originally demonstrated the relationship between native plants and insects. Tracking hundreds of yards and birds "is not easy stuff," he says.

In this case, each participating yard got a nestbox, and homeowners monitored the box from the first week of April through June to see if chickadees moved in for their breeding season. Narango and her field technicians also visited the yards of neighboring houses to see if chickadees that were feeding in the backyards they studied were actually nesting close by but not in the yard itself.

Their results show something that hasn't been seen before: a comprehensive study of the effect of non-native species of plants, higher up the food chain, Tallamy says. It takes a story he's been working on for a long time and stretches it "to the next trophic level," he says, by looking at the birds who eat the insects.

"These simple choices on what people are planting can really have profound consequences on the birds that are living in these yards," Narango says. Those consequences stretch beyond nesting birds and to the migratory birds that pass through on their long journey from the tropics to Canada's boreal forests each year. They might only stop in a yard for a week, but they're looking for high-calorie, high-protein food to sustain their next great hop—just like the nesting birds that need extra to raise young. If they can't find food on their stop, that week "could be the most important week of their life."

The new study does a "meticulous" job of defining what insects can do for birds, says Burghardt, but it's important to remember they're more than just food. "I think that they have value in and of themselves," she says. They're part of a web of life evolved long before we started bringing non-native plants to our gardens. They also have the potential to enrich gardens, says Nancy Vehrs, president of the Virginia Native Plant Society. "There's more to a garden than just the plants," she says.

Successfully transplanting landscape plants takes forethought, preparation

McDONOUGH — If you want to rearrange your landscaping, the best time to do so is quickly approaching, though it's not easy lifting.

Nurseries use tree spades to dig large trees from a field-grown nursery. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of equipment a home landscaper can rent for a weekend project.

The roots of trees and shrubs normally grow beyond the amount of soil a home gardener can move. To keep most of the roots within a small area, plants should be root-pruned in the spring or fall before transplanting. Root pruning is the process of severing the roots of an established plant that is going to be transplanted to encourage growth of new feeder roots along the root ball.

Plants moved in the fall (October or November) should be root-pruned in March. Those moved in spring (March) should be root-pruned in October. Root-prune after the leaves have fallen from deciduous plants in the fall or before buds break in the spring.

To root-prune, mark a circle the size of the desired ball around the tree or shrub. Next, dig a trench just outside the circle. Cleanly cut larger roots and backfill the trench with the available soil. Water the area to settle disturbed soil and provide adequate moisture.

Roots within the pruned area grow many new fibrous roots, and form a strong root system within a confined area. If not root-pruned, larger plants may die from transplant shock because of root loss.

Shrubs less than 3 feet tall and deciduous trees less than an inch in trunk diameter (measured 6 inches above the ground) may be moved bare root. "Bare root" means most or all of the soil is removed from the roots.

Bare-root plants are easier to handle than those with a ball of soil around the roots. Bare-root plants should be planted while dormant. It is best to immediately replant. If not, keep the roots moist in peat moss or wrapped in plastic or wet papers until you are ready to plant.

To move trees with soil attached to the roots, trim the root ball to the proper size and shape with a spade. Keep the back side of the spade toward the plant, round off the trimmed ball at the top and taper it inward toward the base.

Avoid loosening the soil around the roots by cutting the large roots with hand or lopping shears and the small roots with a sharp spade. Next, undercut at an angle of about 45 degrees to loosen the root ball from the soil and sever remaining roots.

Prepare the new site before transplanting a tree or shrub. Have the soil tested and follow recommendations. Don't use fertilizer that contains nitrogen for the first year after transplanting.

Dig the new hole 50 percent wider than the soil ball to loosen the surrounding soil and ensure good root establishment. The root system should be at the same depth it was before it was moved.

Research has shown that adding soil amendments to the planting hole will not provide any benefits to newly planted trees or shrubs. Most studies show amendments can create drainage issues and cause poor root establishment.

When moving the plant to its new home, lift trees and shrubs by the root ball. Never carry a tree by the stem. This can damage underlying bark tissues. Place the plant in the hole and backfill with existing native soil.

Maintain constant moisture, not saturation, of the root ball. Add 2 to 3 inches of mulch to help conserve moisture, moderate temperature extremes and reduce weeds. Keep mulch away from the trunk of the plant.

Allan Armitage: Let's Tell Our Story About Pollinator-Friendly Plants

In the last 10 years, we have become more aware of the role pollinators and pollinator plants play in the world's ecosystem. We have come to understand that bees, butterflies, ants, and beetles contribute significantly to the global economy and food supply. We also know bees and butterflies are attracted to some plants more than other ones and that pollinator-friendly plants are important.

Of the great issues facing the ecosystems of our planet, there are not many that horticulturists and our industry can directly affect in a big way. The Amazon rainforest, the warming of planet Earth, and other issues all affect us, but there is little a gardener/horticulturist can do. However, let it not be said that we should not be involved in trying to maintain ecological balances at the local level. We brought out the marketing gloves, and we are now in the middle of the fight to reduce invasive plants, increase native flora, and promote pollinators. Profit motive aside, I sometimes feel we should all be wearing halos.

How Real is Real?

Of course, the profit motive doesn't hurt any. We have been told that the native plant and the pollinator movements are real. We have responded by breeding more native plants, whose very definition (rightly or not) is that they attract pollinators better than non-natives do.

However, I am not sure what real means. For me, the realness test is if my neighbors and daughters are behind it. As I wander through the gardens of America, I wonder if the gardeners are thinking about natives/pollinators when they walk through the box store or garden center? Do they ask if the plants in their carts are good for pollinators? If they are not, why not? Or, are they aware of anything other than that the plants are pretty?

Are consumers catching up to our marketing messages, or do we have a ton more to do to be sure they are listening? Gardening concepts are always evolving, this being one of them. The issue of pollinators and pollinator-friendly plants was not even on the radar 10 years ago, but it surely is now.

Eight Consumer Purchasing Insights About Pollinator Plants

I read an interesting paper in the June 2017 issue of HortTechnology by researchers from the University of Georgia and the University of Florida. They surveyed the buying habits of consumers in relation to their interest in pollinators and pollinator-friendly plants. The survey was conducted in Connecticut, and approximately 850 people responded. Many esoteric points were uncovered.

Here are a few that interested me.

1. People are paying attention. About 46% of them have purchased pollinator-friendly plants and about 23% have moved to organic production practices. That is not high enough, but a significant number nevertheless.

2. While attracting pollinators was a reason to plant pollinator-friendly plants, nearly every respondent cited ornamental value and diversity (i.e., a pretty garden) as the main reasons they bought the plants. Pollinator-friendly was secondary.

3. If I had to guess why people are not bringing home pollinator-friendly plants, I would have guessed a lack of grab-you labeling. In the paper, the reason most cited for not purchasing pollinator-friendly plants was labeling, or the lack thereof.

We have been talking about labels, point-of-purchase materials, and solution-based benches set aside for issues like deer resistance and pollinators for years. Here is yet another survey that tells us there is still a lot to do.

4. Other reasons for not buying pollinator-friendly plants included higher prices and lack of diversity. It strikes me that if being a nickel more expensive (because of better labeling, packaging, etc) is the reason not to buy a pollinator-friendly plant, then the consumer was not interested anyway. Diversity (i.e., choice) is always an issue in the retail environment, from clothing to automobiles. We do the best we can.

5. A whopping 7% of the respondents thought all this hype about pollinators was just a marketing gimmick. Oh well, some people still don't wear seat belts — not much we can do. However, that still means that 93% do believe in the importance of pollinators and pollinator-friendly plants.

6. There were some interesting differences between garden centers and mass merchandisers, mainly that fewer people bought pollinator-friendly plants in the box stores and that labeling (or lack thereof) was more of a perceived problem at box stores than at garden centers. Perhaps not surprising either.

7. Older consumers buy fewer pollinator-friendly plants than do younger consumers. This is to be expected, as eco-issues such as organic practices, pollinators, etc. resonate more in younger generations. And of course, what with better digital information and the use of good garden apps, it would be expected that younger people are more aware.

8. Consumers trust information that universities and industry associations provide about pollinator-friendly plants more than from other sources, and perhaps such information in stores may carry additional weight.

The authors share some potential remedies to enhance sales of pollinator-friendly plants. Ornamental value, diversity of product, and better labeling stand out as no-brainers. What we need to do is tell pollinator plant stories in a way that motivates consumers to purchase them. Garden spending is still below 2008 levels. People spend less, and they are still intimidated about what we sell.

Pollinators and pollinator-friendly plants are a feel-good theme that we all should be touting, nay shouting. Every retail outlet and catalog, and anywhere people purchase plants should be screaming: "We are good for the environment and the world."

Bring in the green: Add plants to your reading corner, small pots by the kitchen window

NEW DELHI: Decorating with plants is one of the easiest ways to make a home feel more relaxed. Everyone can create a lush indoor garden as it can change the whole atmosphere with elements of nature.

Nikita Sethi, founder of Kalpane.in, an online marketplace for homegrown creatively made products and Gurpreet, founder of Elite Earth, gives you a few tips for a greener environment at home.

* Statement planters for your house: Try placing the plants in stands of varying heights to ensure they make a statement. Like one can always try on having an L-shaped shelve to save the floor-space and at the same time place the plants in a way that the height of each gives a statement to the room.

* Give your kitchen a makeover: The kitchen area can be used and plants can be integrating into the decor and small pots can be placed below the windows. One can try creating small vertical gardens for herbs and succulents. Cooking with fresh ingredients straight from your mini garden in the kitchen is the most exquisite thing and the welcoming décor just makes the kitchen a place to be.

* Reading nook: Plants brings the natural texture and good energy to your reading nook. A vertical plant arrangement looks like a piece of artwork and one can hang it in a corner and it will help in changing the atmosphere in the room.

* Give your home a beginning: Decorating the Hallways not just brings life to your house but the blooming flowers and the planters make it look inviting for the guests. The entrance of your house should always feel pleasant and warming and having shade plants all over the entrance just makes the house look more vibrant.

* Plants are your party saviour: It is not necessary to always have your plants on the top of the table. If you are planning for a housewarming party or a baby shower then you need to have a good table space. Tuck a couple of cement planters underneath to fill in the space with color, or use the wall hanging planters to make the space look more cool and chic.

Plants that bite

There is only one plant I know of that would actually bite you and that is the Venus Fly Trap. A bite from that plant would not be painful or even leave a bite mark. The four plants you will read about here all grow in this area and can cause mild to severe skin rashes resulting in pain, suffering, medicated creams and prescriptions.

Poison Ivy is generally the first poisonous plant that people think of. The old saying, "leaves of three let me be," refers to the three leaflets that make up one leaf. Other plants such as raspberry and boxelder have leaves that can easily be confused with Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy plants can grow in the form of a small plant, a small bush or tree and even a vine that climbs high into trees. Virginia Creeper is another vigorous vine that climbs trees; however, it has five leaflets and is not harmful. All parts of the Poison Ivy plant contain urushiol oil that, when touched, spreads quickly on the skin due to the oily nature. Urushiol oil is very potent. One nanogram (one billionth of a gram) can cause a rash on human skin!

Poison Hemlock is a magnificent plant that found its way to ditches and fence lines in just the last few decades. I call it magnificent because it has large, shiny, beautiful, fern-like leaves. This plant is symmetrical and can grow 6 to 8 feet tall. In June, clusters of tiny white flowers appear followed by light brown seeds. All parts of this plant are poisonous to people and livestock. If you mow this plant down, be careful that juice from the stems don’t touch your skin. Blisters can form that look similar to Poison Ivy rash.

Wild Parsnip has been a common weed in the area for as long as I can remember. In the last 10 years, it has become an invasive weed in many parts of North America. It has been crowding out other friendlier ditch plants like the Foxtail and Brome grass. This plant will grow up to 5 feet topped with tiny yellow flowers in a flat, open cluster. The sap from this plant contains chemicals called furanocoumarins which, when exposed to sunlight, can cause a severe burn within 24 to 48 hours.

The fourth plant on my list can actually be eaten! Stinging Nettle when picked young can be used in salads, cooked like spinach, or steeped as a healthful tea. The problem arises when this plant gets bigger and matures. Hair-like barbs on the stems and leaf veins contain an irritant that feels like a bee sting if they touch bare skin. It is a sharp stinging pain that will go away in 10 to 15 minutes. It generally does not cause a lasting painful rash like the other plants mentioned above.

So how do you protect yourself when hiking out in nature? First and most important is to educate yourself and be able to identify these plants. Look them up and share the information with your family and friends. Then go out and try to find these plants so you know what they look like in their own home turf. Second, dress appropriately for your outdoor activity. A long-sleeved shirt and long pants with hiking boots and socks will protect you from poison plants and also ticks, mosquitos and gnats. Third, if your skin is exposed to poison plants, do not spread it by scratching or wiping your face with your hand. The oil can be easily spread, especially if you wipe sweat off your brow.

If you are "bitten," wash the exposed area with clean soapy water as soon as possible. Rinse with clear cool water. Launder your clothes to remove any residual oil. Consult a pharmacist for creams to use or seek medical help if a serious rash forms. And remember, "leaves of three let me be."