Flowers are sustenance for nature’s persistent pollinators

“As far as I know, there isn’t yet a really solid consensus on why it’s happening,” says Joran Viers, county program director and agriculture agent for the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service.

Theories for the mass die-off include a mite infestation, stress from transporting hives for crop pollination, and insecticide exposure that disrupts the bees’ built-in homing ability to find and return to their hives.

The New Mexico Department of Agriculture does not track honey production, says department spokeswoman Katie Goetz, “but anecdotally among the commercial beekeepers we license, it is down.”

That, however, is a function of drought rather than CCD, which has not been detected in New Mexico, she says.

Whatever the reason, there are fewer bees, which is why it is ever more important to think about planting flowering yard vegetation, says Cheryl Kent, horticulture agent with the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service.

“Flowering plants can be perennials or annuals, but things that bloom in the spring or fall are particularly good because there tends to be fewer flowers at that time of the year for bees to utilize, so they’re at a premium,” she says.

And, there are plenty to choose from. Among Kent’s personal favorites are these selections, particularly good for local climate and soil conditions.

SPRING-FLOWERING

♦ New Mexico olive, also called New Mexico privet, is a native shrub that can grow up to 18 feet tall. It produces clusters of small yellow flowers.

♦ Sumac, or skunkbush, produces clusters of small white to yellow flowers in the spring and red berries in late summer and early fall. It can grow 5-8 feet tall.

SUMMER-FLOWERING ANNUALS

♦ The prairie sunflower is prolific. The plants grow up to 4 feet tall or more and are commonly found growing in dry, sandy or heavy clay soils.

♦ Rocky Mountain bee plant, sometimes called stinkweed, can grow up to 4 feet tall. It produces bright pink to purple flowers that are filled with nectar.

SUMMER-FLOWERING PERENNIALS

♦ Catmint grows in a low mound about 2 feet across and 12-18 inches tall. Tiny tubular flowers grow in whorls and are grouped on spikes.

♦ Gaillardia, also called blanket flower, gets 12-24 inches tall and 12-18 inches wide. It produces bright, daisy-like single color and bicolor blooms in shades from buff to red to brown.

LATE SUMMER OR FALL-FLOWERING

♦ Globemallow will grow 30 inches tall and 30 inches wide. The plant has toothed leaves that are arranged in a spiral, and small, orange or apricot cup-shaped flowers.

♦ Goldenrod are strong-stemmed plants with yellow flowers on long stalks. They can grow up to 3 feet tall.