Flowers for "inviting" pollinating / beneficial insects in the tropics

franzb69 · September 29, 2010

Been thinking about planting flowering plants for increasing pollination and overall vegetable garden health.

I live in the suburbs of Metro Manila. And i am new to gardening. What are good low maintenance, easy to grow flowering plants that are best suited in my climate?

Sunflowers and marigolds have been suggested to me by pinakbet, a fellow member here. Any more suggestions for me to grow?

Thank you.

habitat_gardener · September 30, 2010

I don't know what your common plants are, but in general, the best plants for pollinators have tiny flowers. Some pollinators and most of the beneficials are tiny, so the smaller the flower, the greater diversity of insects. Plants from the daisy family (with the tiny disk flowers in the center of the "flower", or with compound flowers such as yarrow) and the parsley/carrot family attract lots of beneficials. In addition, native plants are the best choice for attracting native insects.

In my garden, I plant lots of native yarrow, buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.), and globe gilia for the beneficials, as well as nonnative echinacea. As much as possible, I let parsley and fennel go to seed.

Other ways to attract beneficials are to provide year-round sources of food (easier in warmer climates!), keep the mulch undisturbed, and never use leaf blowers or poisons. I've also been putting out bowls of water for birds and have tried providing a butterfly watering place (moist sand), but it's hard to keep up.

One of the experts on bees at UC-Berkeley, Gordon Frankie,
http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens/
has a website that tells you which species of bees visited which flowers, and which flowers attracted the most individuals and the most species.

franzb69 · September 30, 2010

thank you for posting that link and your tips. already got parsley and fennel. guess i'll plant them around my peppers too.

i'll look into some buckwheat, but those things also attract pests afaik.

habitat_gardener · September 30, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by franzb69

...i'll look into some buckwheat, but those things also attract pests afaik.

The buckwheats I grow are California natives, Eriogonum spp., not the edible buckwheat, Fagopyrum. Native plants (plants that are native to your area) are usually the best choices for attracting a wide range of beneficial insects.

franzb69 · October 1, 2010

Quote:

The buckwheats I grow are California natives, Eriogonum spp., not the edible buckwheat, Fagopyrum. Native plants (plants that are native to your area) are usually the best choices for attracting a wide range of beneficial insects.

will check the local flora here.

Stepheninky · October 1, 2010

sampaguita, gumamela and ylang-ylang would all three be good I would think and should be easy for you to locate plants or seeds also probably not native but herbs like lavender attract lots of pollinators as well.

pinakbet · October 1, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stepheninky

sampaguita, gumamela and ylang-ylang would all three be good I would think and should be easy for you to locate plants or seeds also probably not native but herbs like lavender attract lots of pollinators as well.

Wow I'm surprised you know those flowers Stephen.

yes you are right. they do grow well here easily.

Stepheninky · October 1, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinakbet

Wow I'm surprised you know those flowers Stephen.

yes you are right. they do grow well here easily.

LOL you would be surprised at all the stuff I know, Joking.

but if I remember right
sampaguita is grow by lots and is a small very fragrant white flower, gumamela is similar or same as what we call a hibiscus and ylang-ylang is small kinda greenish white flower.

I was in the US Navy in my younger days. Though I will admit I did google it to refresh my memory and to spell it right. I do speak some Japanese and Thai but no Tagalog.

roper2008 · October 1, 2010

When your fennel and parsley bloom then you will see
different kinds of beneficials bugs. I have the non-bulbing
fennel that comes up every year. I find that the herb
flowers like oregano, sage, fennel, parsely etc..attacts
the most beneficials in my garden.

franzb69 · October 1, 2010

already got sampaguita here, but i never see any bees flying around it. and it's so darn invasive i wouldn't wanna move it close to my plants. our sampaguita here is 10 feet tall and 10 feet across. =D

got a gumamela bush close to my peppers and tomatoes already. guess i'll just start taking care of it too. lol.

thank you everyone for the tips. i'll just plant my fennel and parsley into the ground when they're large enough to plant. =D

September 29, 2010	#1
franzb69 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Philippines Posts: 210	Flowers for "inviting" pollinating / beneficial insects in the tropics Been thinking about planting flowering plants for increasing pollination and overall vegetable garden health. I live in the suburbs of Metro Manila. And i am new to gardening. What are good low maintenance, easy to grow flowering plants that are best suited in my climate? Sunflowers and marigolds have been suggested to me by pinakbet, a fellow member here. Any more suggestions for me to grow? Thank you.

September 30, 2010	#2
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I don't know what your common plants are, but in general, the best plants for pollinators have tiny flowers. Some pollinators and most of the beneficials are tiny, so the smaller the flower, the greater diversity of insects. Plants from the daisy family (with the tiny disk flowers in the center of the "flower", or with compound flowers such as yarrow) and the parsley/carrot family attract lots of beneficials. In addition, native plants are the best choice for attracting native insects. In my garden, I plant lots of native yarrow, buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.), and globe gilia for the beneficials, as well as nonnative echinacea. As much as possible, I let parsley and fennel go to seed. Other ways to attract beneficials are to provide year-round sources of food (easier in warmer climates!), keep the mulch undisturbed, and never use leaf blowers or poisons. I've also been putting out bowls of water for birds and have tried providing a butterfly watering place (moist sand), but it's hard to keep up. One of the experts on bees at UC-Berkeley, Gordon Frankie, http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens/ has a website that tells you which species of bees visited which flowers, and which flowers attracted the most individuals and the most species.

October 1, 2010	#6
Stepheninky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 682	sampaguita, gumamela and ylang-ylang would all three be good I would think and should be easy for you to locate plants or seeds also probably not native but herbs like lavender attract lots of pollinators as well.

October 1, 2010	#9
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	When your fennel and parsley bloom then you will see different kinds of beneficials bugs. I have the non-bulbing fennel that comes up every year. I find that the herb flowers like oregano, sage, fennel, parsely etc..attacts the most beneficials in my garden.