Benefits of Native Planting

Did you know that the best pollination is achieved when both honeybees and native wild pollinators are present?

Spring is arriving in the Southern Hemisphere and our bees and beekeepers are back to work preparing the hives for a productive and healthy season ahead.

Take a look around you and observe what is blooming at this time of year. Can you hear buzzing? Early spring is a critical time for pollinator health as bees typically experience a nectar dearth, meaning little to no fresh nectar is present in the natural environment. By this point in the year, bees have likely consumed much of their winter food stores and there is limited new nectar coming in.

Great New Zealand Natives to plant

Planting native and flowering trees is an amazing way to support pollinator health in your community. Great examples of early flowering trees to plant in Aotearoa are: Rata, Kowhai, Kaka beak, magnolia, crab apples, Basksia, bottlebrush, and Rewarewa.

How to help the bees? Leave the weeds.

Helping bees in your area can be as simple as leaving the weeds to flower and allowing a part of your yard or garden to be wild! Bees are opportunists and will harvest nectar and pollen from nearly all flowering plants, not only the prized ones but also the weeds and even invasive species. Create a pollinator pathway by dedicating an unused portion of your garden or yard to pollinator friendly flowers. In late spring when soil temperatures have warmed up a bit, sprinkle wildflower seed mix in a prepared bed or bank site and cover with a very light coating of soil (2-3mm) water in lightly and watch for germination in as early as 10 days.

Many wildflowers once planted will reseed again the following year!

Did you know that creating healthy pollinator habitat close to food crops has been shown to improve food production in adjacent food crops?
By enabling a greater variety and number of pollinators to persist year-round, important pollination services are available when required and on demand. Encouraging and creating pollinator habitat in unused areas like roadsides, shelterbelts, dam margins, woodlands, grasslands, roaky areas, and river edges can help create “pollinator resovoirs” that provide pollen, nectar, and nesting sites for native bees thoughout the year.

When choosing pollinator plants, select indigenous species to your area that are drought tolerant and can be resilient to a changing climate.
Be sure to gather a diverse selection of plants with varying flowing times, shapes, and colors as this will deliver the most nutrients and best food sources so our beloved pollinators can thrive!