To celebrate Arbor Day this Friday, April 28, plant a native tree. Better yet, make it a keystone species, and then surround it with a “soft landing” to provide a welcoming spot for pollinators. Heather Holm, pollinator conservationist and award-winning author, and Leslie Pilgrim, founder of Neighborhood Greening and editor of the Butterfly Effect, developed the soft landing concept to give gardeners an easy and approachable way to help pollinators at home. They need it: More than 40 percent of our insect species are declining globally, according to a 2019 study. “People know things are falling apart and they want to help,” says Pilgrim. “But they don’t know how to start. Planting a soft landing beneath a native tree is a simple garden project with a really big impact.” Not to mention, it’s beautiful. Holm and Pilgrim show us how.

Photography by Heather Holm, unless otherwise noted.

What is a “soft landing”? 

Above: The soft landing plants beneath this native maple tree include flowering pink wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), foliage of Zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), Smooth Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), and white-flowered Viola canadensis. Photograph by Vicki Bonk.

A soft landing is a diverse mix of herbaceous native plants grown underneath the dripline [see below for more on this] of a native, preferably a keystone, tree. “These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects, such as bumble bees, fireflies, lacewings, and beetles. In addition to plants, soft landings also include leaf litter, duff [partially decayed organic matter], and plant debris. They also build healthy soil, provide food for songbirds and pollinators, sequester more carbon than turf grass, and reduce time spent mowing,” states Holm on her site pollinatorsnativeplants.com. “But it’s important to remember that soft landings only work with native plants,” adds Pilgrim. “You can’t do this with a random tree and a random groundcover.”

To create a soft landing, Holm and Pilgrim recommend a mixture of native perennials, sedges, and woodland grasses. “The planting style is up to the homeowner,” says Holm. “But for a tidier look, stick to plants that grow no taller than 24 inches tall, 18 inches is preferable.”

What is a “drip line”?

“A drip line is the extent to where branches come out from a tree. Go to the farthest branch out, and then “draw” a vertical line down from it,” says Holm. “That’s the tree’s drip line.” Adds Pilgrim: “I think of it as the tree’s umbrella.”

Why are keystone plants important? 

An American linden (Tilia americana) grows above a sea of understory plants: Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), white Trillium grandiflorum, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) foliage, and Jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).
Above: An American linden (Tilia americana) grows above a sea of understory plants: Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), white Trillium grandiflorum, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) foliage, and Jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).

For the biggest biodiversity bang for your buck, plant a keystone species. “Keystones are native plants that support a significant number of caterpillars (butterfly and moth larvae),” writes Holm. Native oak trees, for instance, are a shining example: More than 940 kinds of caterpillars feast on them. After they’re done feeding, these future butterflies and moths finish their life cycles in the leaf litter and duff beneath the tree. According to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), entomologist Doug Tallamy and his team at the University of Delaware discovered that 14 percent of our native plants support 90 percent of butterflies and moths. While horticulturalist Jarrod Fowler found that 15 to 60 percent of North American native bee species are pollen specialists who only eat pollen from 40 percent of native plants. To find the keystone plants in your region visit the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) site.

How do I get started? 

A white oak in Minnesota is surrounded with early meadowrue (Thalictrum dioicum), pinkish-purple wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), periwinkle-hued Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), two grassy-like carex: (Carex sprengelii and Carex pensylvanica), and the downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens).
Above: A white oak in Minnesota is surrounded with early meadowrue (Thalictrum dioicum), pinkish-purple wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), periwinkle-hued Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), two grassy-like carex: (Carex sprengelii and Carex pensylvanica), and the downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens).

Source link

You May Also Like

Gardening Guidance for Growing Orchids

Orchid cultivation Orchids seem to do best if a greenhouse is devoted…

Holiday Displays at Niagara Falls – FineGardening

Today we’re visiting with Alice Fleurkens. We live one and half hours…

Why are Yams So Useful? | The Survival Gardener

For years we’ve been growing various types of true yams (Dioscorea spp.)…

Amaranth: The Ultimate Triple Threat in Your Garden

Amaranth is a source of beauty, color & food in my low…