Genus - bumblebee top herbs
Headphones in the garden, why YES?
- They provide insects, especially bumblebee queens, with plenty of pollen and nectar with a high sugar content.
- They are unpretentious, easily propagated by dividing rhizomes, and can be used in many places in the garden.
- There are a variety of species available, including horticultural cultivars, for every gardener.
- Horsetails belong to the same family of horsetail plants as other bumblebee favorites – mint, lavender, sage, and hyssop.
The most common taxa from which to choose for an eco-friendly garden are:
An attempt to rank according to importance for bumblebees and other pollinators (roughly, not exhaustively)
If you love them, there's nothing to worry about.
Lamium purpureum ( Lamium purpureum )
- Annual or biennial herb widespread throughout Europe. Native to the Czech Republic.
- Completely undemanding, often as one of the first (pioneer) plants on bare areas (after construction work, fields, greenhouses, wastelands).
- It also grows in scattered forms, the stems are shorter, from 10 to 30 cm. Unlike the similar spotted sedge, the leaves are clustered only in the upper part of the stem.
Meaning:
- It blooms from March to November, and in warm winters it can bloom all year round .
- In early spring and early summer, it is an extremely important pollen and nectar-producing plant for insects, loved by all types of bumblebees.
- Nectar contains sucrose. The sugar content of nectar is up to 45%.
- It provides bumblebee queens with the necessary energy in the spring before they start searching for nesting sites.
- for bumblebees in autumn , as it provides young mothers with the energy they need for wintering.
Growing tips:
- Since it is a plant that grows well on its own, especially tolerance. Let it grow, its scope does not harm other cultivated plants or the lawn.
- Although it is classified as a weed, it is actually a typical pioneer plant. It is the first to occupy bare soil, but then it also gives way to other, more persistent or lush plants. Therefore, it does not oppress or harm them.
- The gardener can help the most by simply letting the purple marigold live. The insects will be grateful for it. It will revive the lawn and places where not many other plants grow.
- It can be used as an underplanting, for example, for raspberries, the edges of fences, walls.
- Targeted propagation is possible by dividing the rhizomes, sowing seeds. Seeds can be collected in paper placed around the flowering stems. The stem is shortened and after planting, occasional watering is sufficient. However, keep in mind that most are only for a year.
- The purple hornwort areas are impressive, because they are full of insects. You can also see rare species of bumblebees there, which you would not see otherwise, so these areas deserve protection for one year. (Postpone planned planting..)
- It is damaged by mowing, the stem is fragile when trampled, raking. As mentioned above, over time it gives way to others. However, it easily moves to new locations.
Interesting facts:
- The sweet, fragrant flowers can be used to a lesser extent as edible flowers on cakes.
- It is a medicinal plant.
- Not only bumblebees will be delighted by the purple bumblebee – solitary bees like the Plumipes plumipes . It is a typical mason bee, which is sometimes mistaken for smaller bumblebee species due to its thick hairs.
- The pollen grains on the insect's legs are a deep dark orange color.
Purple earwig
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A queen bumblebee on a purple hawkweed. A careful observer will see a typical welt on the left hind leg (under the wing)
Here was a haystack last year, this spring it was a pasture for purple hornwort insects
White knotweed (Lamium album)
- Perennial, grows in clumps, 20-50cm tall herb.
- Undemanding, it reproduces well by cuttings and dividing rhizomes.
Importance:
- It blooms from April, blooming repeatedly until late autumn. It provides enough food for bumblebees and not only them all year round.
- The nectar has up to 53% sugar content with a high sucrose content. Bee pollen is an essential source of protein and other substances for insects and bumblebees.
- Large areas - beds of white sedge can cover most of the needs of bumblebees and are therefore an ideal plant for those who struggle with chemical gardeners in the neighborhood. Bumblebees, even rare species such as the forest bumblebee, will find a food source that they prefer in the garden with a sedge bed. It will be your garden and your sedge bed that will be a real rescue station for them..
- For the agricultural and forest bumblebee, this is one of the main food sources, available throughout the life of their colony.
- It used to be an abundant and weedy plant, thanks to droughts and chemical use in agriculture, but it is retreating from its original habitats. It is a key plant for many bumblebee species.
- A bumblebee keeper should first provide a food source for the bumblebees and then a home. The white hornet is the right choice to help bumblebees easily and quickly.
Growing tips:
- It is not that demanding on soil, but it prefers soils with a higher nitrogen content.
- It prefers slightly shaded and moist places, so it can be used as an understory for shrubs and trees.
- Propagation is easy by dividing the rhizomes. Collection is possible in the wild by digging up the roots so as not to damage the original habitat. It is better to trim the stems after planting.
- Occasional watering during dry periods.
- Constantly trampled places do not suit her.
Interesting facts:
- The anthers in the flowers are strikingly black, but the pollen and pollen grains are bright yellow.
- The most sought after among bumblebees with a long proboscis (field, forest, garden)
Those who are serious about bumblebees will primarily choose to plant them. Here, the rare forest bumblebee.
Example of using white huckleberry in the garden as a minikiwi rootstock
All bumblebees love the white hornet,
especially those with long proboscis – like the field bumblebee here.
Spotted ragwort (Lamium maculatum)
- A perennial that can be confused with the annual purple marigold. Unlike it, it has a taller stem (up to 50cm), larger flowers and a more regular distribution of leaves along the entire length of the stem.
- Unlike purple coneflower, it can be grown in clumps and many of its cultivars are also available in horticulture.
- Native species of deciduous forest edges.
Importance:
- An important source of nectar and pollen for pollinators, similar to the purple hyacinth. Very popular with bumblebees, especially the garden bumblebee.
- It blooms from May to September, but in warm winters it can bloom all year round.
- Ideal for gardeners who are afraid of wild species. Breeding has created a number of beautiful cultivars, such as: 'Aureum' - with golden yellow leaves, 'Beacon Silver' - a particularly pretty variety with uniform silver pattern and dark green leaf edges, 'Elizabeth de Haas' - with yellow and white variegated leaves or 'White Nancy' - with a large spot and white flowers.
Growing tips:
- It likes shady and moist places with nutritious and lighter soil.
- Ideal as a replacement for lawns in shady places (under trees, shrubs).
- It can be propagated by digging up rooting shoots or dividing clumps.
- It can also be grown as a potted/box plant, it requires watering and shading.
Lamium maculatum f.albiflorum -F.Gérard
author: Michael Kesl, place of photo: Czech Republic, Choteč
license CC-BY-NC source biolib.cz
Spotted hornwort f. albiflorum - F.Gérard
author Michael Kesl
place of acquisition Czech Republic Divoká Šárka
license CC-BY-NC, source biolib.cz
Spotted earwig
author of the photo: Petr Vobořil http://www.pinuli.net
place of capture: Czech Republic Zehuby u Žlebů
copyright: CC-BY-NC-SA
Yellow sedge also sometimes called Yellow sedge ( Galeobdolon luteum )
- A perennial, beautiful as an understory in shady places with a stem height of 15-30cm, where it creates impressive carpets.
- A garden variety with silvery decorative leaves is its relative, silvery sedge (they are often sold under the same name).
- An undemanding, domestic species. It does not mind drier places.
Importance:
- It blooms from April to July.
- Ideal for bumblebees with long proboscis, those with short ones (like bees) will not be able to reach the nectar, but they will manage (they will bite a hole in the side and steal the sweet nectar). Especially popular for the field bumblebee or the eared bumblebee.
Growing tips:
- Suitable for shade and partial shade as an understory of shrubs and trees, ground cover carpet-like growth.
- It is not demanding on soil, preferring drier soil .
- Propagation is easy by cuttings from the mother plant or by dividing the root ball.
Interesting facts:
- For a long time it was classified as a member of the genus Helichrysum, but due to the difference in its flower, it belongs to a separate genus of Helichrysum, which also includes the very similar Helichrysum (unlike the Yellow Helichrysum, it prefers cooler and wetter areas).
- Silvery-leaved primrose is a popular garden perennial that often self-seeds.
- The seeds of the pitulnik are spread by ants, and in return, it offers them fleshy fruits, which the ants adore.
Silver-leaved primrose as a ground cover plant under shrubs. photo: Jakub Černý
A burnt-out silver-plated scoundrel under an oak tree.
Sage-leaf knotweed ( Lamium orvala )
- A non-native species, it is exceptionally widespread in our country.
- A perennial for shade to partial shade, available in some nurseries for its attractive and fairly large flowers.
- It blooms from April to June.
Growing tips:
- Frost-resistant to -23 degrees, suitable as an undergrowth under shrubs and trees.
- It prefers moist and permeable soil.
- It forms clumps, the stems are upright and up to 80cm long.
- Propagation by division of rhizomes.
Interesting facts:
- Quite rare in gardens, so who wants to have some of this gardening rarity :).
- Can be seen in arboretums and botanical gardens, for example in Prague-Troja or Průhonice Park.
Sageleaf sedge
author: Robert Flogaus Faust
location: Italy
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Sageleaf sedge flower detail
author: Robert Flogaus Faust
location: Italy
Sageleaf sedge
author: Robert Flogaus Faust
location: Italy
