In this episode I'm walking you through why it's worth making room for natives at all, including what researchers are finding about the decline of butterflies, bumble bees, and the insects that birds depend on. Then we'll get into how fall and winter planting works, from dormant seeding after a few hard frosts to the six-week window for plugs, and how that changes if your winters are snowy, rainy, or barely there. After that we'll go plant by plant through milkweeds, coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, bergamot, asters, goldenrod, golden alexanders, and mountain mint, with whether each one is best started from seed, a plug, or either. We'll also talk about the plants that feed the lady beetles, lacewings, and tiny wasps that eat your garden pests.
Let's dig in.
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References and Resources:
Edwards, C.B., Zipkin, E.F., Henry, E.H., et al. (2025). Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century. Science 387(6738): 1090: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp4671
USDA National Agroforestry Center (Vaughan & Black) — Agroforestry Note 34: Enhancing Nest Sites for Native Bee Crop Pollinators: https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/assets/documents/agroforestrynotes/an34g08.pdf
University of Delaware, UDaily — Biodiversity for the birds: https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2018/october/non-native-plants-birds-insects-washington-chickadee-desiree-narango-doug-tallamy/
University of Illinois Extension — Plant native perennials in the fall for healthy spring growth: https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/plant-native-perennials-fall-healthy-spring-growth
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Utah Pollinator Habitat Program — Native Seed Planting Guide: https://ag.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Seed-Planting-Guide.pdf
Michigan State University Extension — Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plants, Bulletin E-2973: https://sanweb.lib.msu.edu/DMC/extension_publications/e2973/E2973-2007.PDF
Oklahoma State University Extension — Native Milkweed Germination Guide, HLA-6503: https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/native-milkweed-germination-guide
University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension — Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/butterflyweed-asclepias-tuberosa/
University of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology — Tropical Milkweed and Parasite Infections in Resident Monarchs in the Southern U.S.: https://ecology.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/monarch-factsheet-2018-1.pdf
USDA NRCS — Plant Guide: Eastern Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea: https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_ecpu.pdf
USDA NRCS — Plant Fact Sheet: Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea: https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_ziau.pdf
University of Illinois Extension — Autumn allergies: don't blame goldenrod: https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2022-10-21-autumn-allergies-dont-blame-goldenrod
New Mexico State University Extension — Guide H-169: Using Insectary Plants to Attract and Sustain Beneficial Insects for Biological Pest Control: https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_h/H169/
Nevison, K.A. (2016). Considering a role for native plant cultivars in ecological landscaping: an experiment evaluating insect preferences and nectar forage values of Phlox species vs. its cultivars. M.S. thesis, University of Delaware: https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/21442
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