When developing a native seed mix for pollinator meadows we advise including many species, sometimes as many as 25 species.

But why?

It can be quite expensive to purchase such a diverse mix, often $2,500 per hectare (for about eight kilograms per hectare). It may be hard to source locally, depending on what growers have been able to collect and store. If you can find the species you are looking for, you may not be able to find the volumes you need for your project.

So why do we have this goal of many pollinator-friendly plant species?

Here’s a list of six reasons why it is worth the time and effort to develop a diverse seed mix for  your meadow project.

1. Offers food resources for a rich, diverse pollinator community

Figure 1: Graph showing that the number of wild bees present increased as the number of plant species in the seed mix increased, reaching a maximum number around 26 species.

 

 

2. Provides nectar and pollen across the seasons

Hairy Beardstongue (Penstemon hirsutus) blooms in spring-early summer when flower resources are scarce in Eastern Ontario. Mary Anne Borge

3. Allows for a variety of flower colour

Example of select plant seeds in a mix and what species they support through the months of July to August. Also note the colour that the species provides.(Excerpt from Seed Calculator tool, Stefan Webber)

 

4. Support generalist and specialist species

Perdita octomaculata, Gil Miranda.
New England Aster (Symphyiotrichum  novae-angliae) supports 33 species of specialist bees. Small carpenter bee. Gil Miranda.

Specialists are those species who only feed on one species or family of plants. For example, the Eight-spotted Miner Bee is a specialist from the aster (Symphyiotrichum) family of plants.

5. Some flowers will bloom early on in the restoration project and others will show up later in the project

A field of Brown-eyed Susans | ©Getty

Brown eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are dominant in the first year of this restoration project.

6. A diverse mix of flowers provides a variety of flower structure. Some pollinators can only access certain kinds of flowers.

© Sarah Coulber

Wild Columbine (Monarda fistulosa) has long tubular flowers that can only be accessed by long tongued pollinators like butterflies, moths, large carpenter bees and bumblebees.

I hope I made a convincing argument that highly diverse mixes for pollinators are important. I hope you will make this your goal when designing meadow mixes for pollinators in your projects. The pollinators will thank you.

Learn more about the work the Canadian Wildlife Federation is doing for native seeds and pollinators.