Article written by Khadejah Scott, Horticulture/Agriculture/Natural Resources Agent – UF/IFAS Extension at Wakulla County.
Gardening for pollinators is not only beneficial for the environment, but it can also be a rewarding and fulfilling hobby. However, living in an apartment can pose a challenge for those who want to create a pollinator-friendly garden. But fear not! With a little bit of creativity and effort, you can still create a welcoming space for pollinators to thrive. Check out these tips to encourage pollinators at your apartment.
Choose Your Location
The balcony is the obvious first choice for your apartment pollinator garden. Alternatively, if your building has a roof, porch, terrace, or courtyard, check to see if you can use those spaces for a few plants.
Assess Your Size And Space
The majority of apartment dwellers value their available space strongly. Finding space for just you and your possessions, much less a garden can be difficult. But even the smallest areas have the potential to turn into green havens with a little imagination. Make sure your space gets adequate sunlight and is close to a source for watering.
Select Your Plant Types
One way to start your garden is by choosing the right plants. Diversity is the key to a good pollinator garden. Because each pollinator has its techniques for sourcing nectar and pollen, flowers should be as varied as the pollinators that visit them. Native plants such as Gaillardia (Gaillardia pulchella) are an excellent option as they provide food and shelter for local pollinators. Together with native plants, you may also grow annual ornamental flowers in smaller gardens that will thrive and provide an excellent source of nectar and pollen, like zinnias (Zinnia elegans), or sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). Another best option is also to use culinary herbs. For instance, basil (Ocimum basilicum) and oregano (Origanum vulgareare) are fantastic nectar sources if you allow them to flower. One creative way to create a pollinator-friendly garden is by incorporating a variety of textures and colors. This can include adding different heights, shapes, and textures to your garden, as well as incorporating a variety of flower colors. You can also choose plants that bloom at different times of the year to ensure a consistent food source. This will attract a wide range of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Sunflowers can be grown from seed and provide food for birds. Photo: J_McConnell, UF/IFAS
Plant in Containers
Another important aspect to consider is the type of containers you will use for your plants. You can use anything from traditional pots to repurposed containers like old tires or wooden boxes. Just make sure that your containers have proper drainage and are large enough to accommodate your plants. Plants such as swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Blazing Star (Liatris spp.), and Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) do well in containers.
Think Vertically
In a small area, vines can significantly expand the habitat that is available by climbing up a trellis or lattice against a wall or fence. Numerous native vines such as the Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) can go in large containers and are excellent sources of nectar and pollen for pollinators.
Include Bird Feeders And Bird Houses
An enjoyable way to observe birds up close and get in touch with nature is using bird feeders. Additionally, they enhance the natural food sources that birds can find near your garden. Bird houses also provide shelter to cavity-nesting species and increase the species of birds at your apartment.
A hummingbird gathering nectar from a firespike (Odontonemastrictum) flower. Photo Credit: Knolllandscapindesign.com
Finally, make sure to supply a source of water for your pollinators. This can be as simple as a shallow dish or bowl filled with water or a small fountain. Just be sure to change the water regularly to prevent mosquito breeding.
Creating a pollinator-friendly garden in an apartment is not only possible but can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. By following the tips above, you can create a welcoming environment for local pollinators to thrive. For questions about pollinators for apartment living, contact your county UF/IFAS Extension Office.
It’s a bit early still for blueberries in north Florida, but they are definitely on the horizon. We have a handful of bushes at home and the office, and I’ve noticed the white blooms are gone and berries are forming as we speak. Many of us, myself included, look forward to the late-spring harvest of blueberries, taking our children out to u-pick operations and hunting down family recipes for blueberry-filled desserts.
Often, when people think of fruit growing in the wild, their minds naturally go to tropical rainforests, with visions of bananas, mangoes, and drooping fruit-laden trees. But blueberries are a home-grown local Panhandle fruit. A walk through any self-respecting northwest Florida wooded area is bound to have blueberry bushes growing wild. Vaccinium species thrive in more acidic soil, (between 4-6 on pH scale), which we have in abundance here. In northwest Florida, we have lots of pines and oaks dropping needles and leaves, seasoning our soil to a 6 or lower on the pH scale. Central and south Florida soils are alkaline due to all of the natural limestone, so while blueberries are grown on farms down south, they’re rarer in the wild.
Blueberries are pollinated by bees of many stripes, but most people are unaware of the specialized bee that literally lives for this season. During the last few weeks, this species has been furiously pollinating blueberry bushes during its short, single-purpose lifetime.
The blueberry bee uses “buzz pollination” on blueberry shrubs. Photo by Tyler Jones.
Southeastern blueberry bees (Habropoda labriosa) are active only in mid-March to April when blueberry plants are in flower. They are smaller than bumblebees, and yellow patches on their heads can differentiate males. Blueberry pollen is heavy and sticky, so it is not blown by the wind, and the flower anatomy is such that pollen from the male anther will not just fall onto the female stigma. Blueberry bees must instead attach themselves to the flower and rapidly vibrate their flight muscles, shaking the pollen out. Moving to the next flower, the bee’s vibrations will drop pollen from the first flower onto the next one. This phenomenon is called “sonicating” or ‘buzz pollination” and is the most effective method of creating a prolific blueberry crop.
The blueberry bee has a solitary and nearly single-focused lifestyle, yet one of great importance. Photo courtesy USGS
This native bee lives most of its life underground, emerging in the spring when blueberries are in bloom and living long enough to pollinate the plants. Blueberry bees do not form hives, but create solitary nests in open, sunny, high ground. Females will dig a tunnel with a brood chamber large enough for one larva, filling it with nectar and pollen. After laying an egg, the female seals the chamber and the next generation is ready. The species produces only one generation of adults per year.
By the time we are picking fresh blueberries in May and June, you probably won’t see any blueberry bees around. However, we should all consider these insects’ short-lived but vitally important role in Florida’s $70 million/year blueberry industry!
Some citrus is recovering from our December 2022 hard freeze and pruning will be needed. Learn to identify your tree’s graft and how to prune away any rootstock material with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
An activity during our No Mow March campaign was for participants to document flowers and pollinators from their landscapes. This activity was available through an INaturalist group specific to No Mow March. Although we only had 13 participants, they made 85 observations representing 50 species of plants and insects.
The photo that was selected as the favorite is the Clasping Venus’s Looking Glass, Triodanis perfoliate, by Martha W. This was around the Tallahassee, FL area. Martha received an electric edger, battery, and charger.
We hope to have more participants in our photo collection next year as we observe the plants and pollinators visiting our landscapes when we don’t mow.
No Mow March was an awesome success this year! Together, by leaving some unmown areas of our lawns and landscapes, we helped create acres of additional valuable pollinator habitat in a critical time of the year. However, we can’t forget that there are still nine months remaining in which we can provide low-maintenance food and shelter for pollinators and other wildlife in our landscapes this year! The following are three of my favorite ultra-low maintenance pollinator friendly shrubs for Panhandle landscapes for summer and fall.
Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
Chaste tree or vitex, an outstanding Florida-Friendly Landscape shrub/small tree, provides many aesthetic and wildlife landscape benefits throughout the growing season. Vitex features attractive grayish-green foliage and grows into a nice, rounded shape (10-15’ tall). However, the primary draw is its summer/fall flower show. Sporting striking masses of purplish-blue flowers for months on end until frost, Vitex is a pollinator magnet. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and all manner of other pollinators visit vitex when in bloom and birds frequent the shrub in the fall to feed on its seeds. Simply select a site with full sun and well-drained soil and Vitex will reward gardeners and pollinators for years to come.
Firebush (Hamelia patens)
Firebush is a showstopper for both passers-by and pollinators. This sorta native shrub (Florida native but does not occur naturally in the Panhandle), is a prolific producer of tubular, bright-red flowers from late spring-through frost. These flowers are a preferred nectar source for many species of butterflies, Zebra longwing and Gulf Fritillary included, and a favorite of hummingbirds. Like vitex, birds also enjoy feeding on the berries that follow firebush flowers. In the Panhandle, firebush tops out at around 6’ tall and about as wide and is often killed back to the ground by frost, regrowing rapidly each spring. Firebush has no real insect or disease issues in landscapes and prefers the same sites as Vitex and will appreciate as much sun as you can give it and well-drained soil.
Bright orange-red blooms on a firebush. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
American beautyberry, or just Beautyberry as it is commonly referred to, is a lovely little deciduous shrub native to all parts of Florida and provides benefits to all manner of landscape wildlife. Though primarily known for its bird-attracting, vibrant purple berry clusters that appear late summer through fall, Beautyberry is a host plant for several butterfly/moth species and its dainty, pink flowers are an early summer favorite of many bees! Beautyberry grows 5-7’ in height and is extremely adaptable in landscapes as well, thriving in sun or light shade and many different soil conditions.
American Beautyberry
Photo by: UF/IFAS
It’s important to remember that providing pollinator/bird food and habitat in lawns and landscapes is not a one month event, but a year round commitment. Reducing mowing frequency, reducing pesticide use, planting native trees, including host and nectar annuals/perennials in landscape beds, and yes, planting native fauna friendly shrubs like vitex, firebush, and American beautyberry are all part of maintaining a pollinator-friendly yard! Plant one (or several) today! For more information on creating pollinator habitat in landscapes or any other horticultural topic, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension Office.
