News Flash

If you left leaf litter around your yard and in your beds over the winter, you likely have many winter hibernators living there! Ground-nesting bees, bumblebees, and many other pollinators use that leaf litter for cover, and cavity-nesting pollinators may still be snoozing in your leftover stalks from the end of last season.

A good rule of thumb to follow is "would I plant tomatoes now?". Tomatoes do best when planted after temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees, and hibernating pollinators tend to start waking up around that same time. Some butterflies and moths also spend winter in a chrysalis or pupa attached to stems, and may not emerge until temperatures reach the 60s.

Follow these tips for pollinator-friendly spring gardening:

• Wait until temperatures are consistently 50 degrees or higher to rake, mow, or do other yard cleanup
• Once you start cleaning up old stems from perennials and annuals, inspect them to see whether they are plugged with mud or other vegetation. If they are, it means there could be bee larvae in those stems. Leave them in a quiet part of your yard where they can emerge safely later.
• Wait to mulch - adding mulch to your beds can prevent the soil from naturally warming and telling the ground-nesting bees it's time to emerge. Leave some un-mulched areas so there are access points from below the ground.
• Consider participating in Less Mow May! Let those dandelions, violets, and clover bloom - they provide crucial nutrition for pollinators when it's too early for other plants to bloom.
• While you're waiting for temperatures to warm up, do some research on what native plants you could add to your yard. Parts of Minnesota (including Roseville) are now in hardiness Zone 5, and there may be some new plants you could add to your yard.
• Make sure plants are free of neonicotinoids and other insecticides that are harmful to native pollinators. The Ramsey County Master Gardeners plant sale is a good place to find untreated native plants that are safe for pollinators.