By Cheryl Brendel, Coordinator, Greene County Master Gardeners
In 2016 the Greene County Master Gardeners began participating in a pollinator study with 31 other counties in Pennsylvania. Penn State Extension was interested in studying the pollinators attracted to five species of Monarda (bee balm) and four species of Coreopsis (tickseed). During the study, the Master Gardeners monitored for varieties of bees: dark sweat bees, bumble bees, honey bees, carpenter bees and green sweat bees. Other visitors to the flowering plants, like moths and butterflies, were also recorded. Over the three year period, we learned that certain bees visited certain flowers more than others. The Route 66 Coreopsis had the highest number of pollinator visits; Monarda Fancy Fuschia had the most bumble bee visits.
Over the three years, the garden became overgrown because Monarda spreads quickly. The last year, the plants bloomed and dried out quickly, leaving the gardens looking wintered early in the season. The Master Gardeners replanted with perennial plants.
For the upcoming seasons, from 2020 – 2022, there will be a new pollinator study. We will be watching for other pollinators, particularly butterflies. We will be observing two native plants – Goldenrod and Joe-Pye. Most people think of these plants as weeds. Goldenrod is often given a bad rap for allergies, when ragweed is the real culprit! The pollen from goldenrod is too heavy to fly through the air; ragweed pollen is lighter and carried by wind.
On a historical note, goldenrod contains a rubber content, 7% in the leaves, which Thomas Edison cultivated to make tires for the Model T! He teamed up with Washington Carver at Dearborn to devise a way to make a rubber substitute.
Goldenrod, with over 100 varieties, is very attractive. The specimens in our garden are Speciosa, Rigida, Fireworks and Odoro. These native plants bloom in the fall and attract butterflies and other pollinators. Solidago is the family name and it is actually a member of the aster family! Propagation is by the wind spreading seed or by spreading underground rhizomes. Goldenrod is the state flower in Kentucky, Nebraska and South Carolina.
Joe-Pye Weed was named after an herbalist, who was said to use it to treat fever. It is also a late blooming perennial, with rose to mauve florets making a compound flower, and can reach anywhere from 3 to 12 feet.
These two gardens are planted in the front of the Goat Building at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Penn State Extension is hoping that the Master Gardeners can show how beneficial these native plants can be to our pollinators.
If you would like to visit the gardens, you will find an outdoor brochure box with information about the perennial garden, and information about the goldenrod and Joe-Pye in the newly planted garden. We are hoping to encourage homeowners to grow some of these for our pollinators once they see that they are not just weeds.
If you have gardening questions or might be interested in becoming a Master Gardener, please call the Penn State Extension Office at 724-627-3745.
