Rachel Mallinger from UW-Entomology provided us with some fantastic documents about native pollinators and on techniques to encourage these extremely important orchard inhabitants.
- A spreadsheet that indicates which flowering plants have been found to attract native pollinators. The recommendations are to plant in clumps, and to have at least 3 flowering plant species at any given time. The spreadsheet includes the bloom time so as to plan accordingly. The spreadsheet also includes whether the plants have a potential to be weedy or invasive (highlighted in red), and plants that are highlighted in green and pink were found to be especially attractive in a study in MI.
- Finally, a brief article from NRCS that covers some general ways to conserve bees and other pollinators
Many thanks to Rachel Mallinger for these excellent resources!
