Thanks to the University of Maryland/Maryland Grows this informative article on how to protect pollinators this fall.

Landscaping for pollinators

Did you know that how and when you cut back your perennials and tidy your landscape matters to pollinators?  

I just read a fact sheet from the Xerces Society that opened my eyes to more ways to help pollinators year-round, especially in the fall.   

I already make sure I have something blooming from April to frost, so pollen and nectar are always available. And I emphasize native plants that coevolved with pollinators to support them best.

But beyond flowers, there are many things we can do to provide shelter for nesting and overwintering pollinators. And we can start some of them in the fall. 

Pollinators need places to stay safe during the winter

Pollinators and other insects shelter in stems and branches of trees, shrubs, and flowers. They also shelter in leaf litter, undisturbed or bare ground, dead wood, brush piles, and rock piles.  

Incorporating these features in your landscape – rather than cleaning them away – supports bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.   

So how can you make your garden more welcoming to pollinators this fall?

Start with the stems. Don’t cut back your perennials until late spring. Bees and other pollinators hibernate in the stems in winter. Only remove unhealthy plant stems to manage disease.  

But doesn’t that look a little unkempt? Yes, but messy is beautiful – and necessary for pollinators to survive and thrive.  

The Master Gardeners and I believe this so strongly that signs in our teaching gardens say, “Excuse our mess, pollinators at rest,” to explain why we don’t cut back plants in the fall.

Next, leave some leaves. Most butterflies and moths use leaf litter to protect eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, or adults over the winter. 

Wooly bear caterpillars tuck into leaf piles. Luna moths wrap their cocoons in leaves. Some butterflies lay eggs on fallen leaves. Queen bumble bees burrow into soil under leaves.  

What you can do

So pile some leaves around trees, shrubs, and perennials as a natural mulch. They will suppress weeds, hold moisture, and feed the soil. I chip some leaves but leave some whole.    

I often use leaf mulch in my vegetable garden, too. And when I had a larger landscape, I kept a 3-foot border of leaves against a stone wall to provide more shelter.   

Leaves aren’t litter: they’re habitat. Ideally, some leaves will become a permanent part of your landscape. Pick a corner, an edge, or a garden. I let leaves lie in a small woodland garden. 

But if you need to remove some of the leaves, try to leave them in place until mid-spring to give overwintering pollinators a chance to emerge.  

This is really a glimpse of the many ways you can invite and support pollinators year-round. Learn more about Pollinator Gardens on the Home and Garden Information Center website. 

Thanks for all you are doing to protect pollinators. It matters.  

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension.

This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.

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