Trees for the Bees

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Scott Vogt

Are native wildflowers the only plants that bees love? I knew the answer to this question is no, but needed a reminder. The other day as I was giving a tour at the arboretum. We had stopped next to a Littleleaf Linden tree (Tilia cordata). It was extremely fragrant. It was also covered by pollinators including many different types of bees. The hum as they busily worked over the flowers was amazing. It made me think – Are there other trees that pollinators use throughout the year?

Littleleaf Linden

The plight of bees and other pollinators have been in the news lately. Beekeepers struggle with colony collapse. Pollinator populations continue to decline. Habitat loss and dwindling sources of pesticide-free plants make it harder for insects to find the food they need for their very survival. Wildflowers are promoted as the elixir for these endangered pollinators, but in reality a diverse network of food has never been more important. Trees are a vital food source for all sorts of insects. The abundance of flowers at a single location provide bees and other pollinators with valuable sources of nectar. Trees can be part of the solution to these problems. Here is a list of trees that pollinators will flock to when in bloom. Besides helping the pollinators they may give you some shade.

Black Cherry-Prunus serotina

This native tree can be found in the eastern half of the United States. Black Cherry is not a specimen tree, but offers fragrant, nectar-rich flowers followed by tangy fruit that wildlife enjoy. Plant along the outskirts of your property so it has adequate space, ultimately reaching 50-75 feet tall. Other cherry trees and fruit trees offer pollinators nectar early in the year. We certainly benefit from their work.

Black Cherry

Basswood-Tilia americana

This deciduous tree is a bee magnet. The clusters of fragrant yellow flowers in June and July attracts pollinators from all over the neighborhood. The foliage is heart shaped, which provides dense shade. It has an upright habit that develops into a broad spreading tree over time to 75 feet. The smaller (to 40-50 feet) non-native cousin Littleleaf Linden is just as alluring to pollinators. The variety ‘Redmond’ is one of the most common available at your local garden center.

Willows-Salix sp.

This is often overlooked as a group of trees, but it is extremely important to a wide variety of pollinators. Consider planting a pussy willow or weeping willow in your garden, especially if you have a wet spot. I grew up fishing around and under Black Willow trees along the East Emma Creek. I can still remember being scolded and even dive bombed by a Red-winged Blackbird that was protecting its nest in one of these Black Willow trees. They are not very ornamental, but valuable to a host of wildlife along with many different pollinators.

Pussy Willow

Catalpa-Catalpa speciosa

This is a tree that deserves wider use because it is very adaptable and tough. The showy, white flowers in June are sought by bees. These flower clusters develop dangling cigar-like seed pods. The heart-shaped leaves are attractive along with the irregular branching of the tree. It as many unique features that may be worth a try in your garden.

Catalpa

Black Locust-Robinia pseudoacacia

This native tree makes fantastic honey. The creamy white, fragrant flowers dangle from the branches in long 4-8 inch racemes. Bees flock to the flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen. The black locust tree is quite adaptable but needs full sun for best growth. Most trees reach 30-60 feet tall at maturity. Look for varieites called ‘Frisia’ or ‘Purple Robe’ to establish in your garden.

Black Locust

Diversity is the key to pollinator success. The pollinators needs a variety of plants that bloom a different times all through the year. Blooming trees literally take pollination to a new level. Your bee-friendly habitat needs some blooming trees.

Trees for the Bees Photo Credits

A Tale of 3 Prairies

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Katie Schmidt

In the past few weeks I have had the good fortune to visit several different prairies, each under different circumstances, all of them delightful in their own way. Here’s a tale of 3 prairies for you, in hopes you become inspired to visit these places as well!

Willa Cather Memorial Prairie

Webster Co., Nebraska

Willa Cather Memorial Prairie near Red Cloud, NE.

I had just finished up the last few pages of Cather’s well-loved novel My Antonia as we rolled into the city of Red Cloud. A friend and I made a day trip to Webster County to take in the sights and sounds of Cather’s world, including this prairie just west of town which may have been the inspiration for some of her famous descriptions of plains life. If you are a lover of the prairie, you need to put Willa Cather’s work on your reading list immediately, then scurry up to Nebraska and tour her hometown, Red Cloud, (renamed “Black Hawk” in My Antonia) which is also the home of the Willa Cather Foundation. There you can have a personalized tour of her childhood home, church, and neighborhood along with the opera house and historic bank building, all still in turn of the century style. While hiking in her short, windy memorial prairie I saw lots of familiar species – silver sage (Artemisia ludoviciana), purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) and little bluestem (Schizachrium scoparium).

Tall Grass Prairie

Chase Co., Kansas

View west from our seats. Who would want to watch the musicians when you can gaze at this?

We were far from the stage but we could hear them perfectly!

I wasn’t planning on going to the Symphony in the Flint Hills, but through the kindness of an acquaintance two tickets fell into my lap, free of charge. So with lawn chairs in tow my date and I headed out to a pasture near Clements, KS in Chase county. There was delicious BBQ to be had and an art gallery and information tent to peruse before and after the concert. The music was provided by the Kansas City Symphony; gorgeous selections were wonderfully preformed, including American folk tunes and well known tracks from Dances With Wolves and Indiana Jones. Top it all off with a live cattle drive on the hill behind the stage and the music bouncing off the hills around you, it was the perfect afternoon. The weather even cooperated – I never broke a sweat! The prairie was looking lush from recent rains; I couldn’t help but geek out on the species I recognized on the 3/4 mile walk back to the car – blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) and spider milkweed (Asclepias viridis). Save up some cash and treat yourself to this art-filled prairie experience next year!

Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

McPherson Co., Kansas

During the EPS week here at the Arboretum, I had the privilege of chauffeuring some of the participants on their field trip to Maxwell Wildlife Preserve. A good day at work, to be sure! It’s a beautiful expanse of preserved prairie that is home to Elk and Bison.

View near the Maxwell observation tower.

The walled trailer we were riding on let us get extremely close to the bison without the danger. Incredible viewing!

There were too many calves to count, perfect timing for our group.

Calf and mother stick close together.

The tour guides were charismatic and knowledgeable, providing a history of the refuge and a natural history of the land. The prairie there is healthy and diverse, giving us a look at butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), lead plant (Amorpha canacens), goats rue (Tepherosia virginiana) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium).

Each prairie region has its own unique charms, from thick tall grass areas in the east to short and scrubby land in the west – Carve out some time this summer to visit and compare!

Plant profile: Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Scott Vogt

Several years ago as I was preparing for our fall plant sale, I noted that I had a flat of 32 golden alexanders (Zizia aurea) ready for the sale. I went back three days later and could not find the plants anywhere. I thought somebody had moved them, but later discovered the flat of plants had been eaten to the soil line by Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. They were on several other plants in the gardens as well as a few random plants within the nursery. I was amazed at how voracious those caterpillars were. They literally ate the plants to the ground.

The beautiful bloom of Golden Alexander

Golden alexander (Zizia aurea) is the Kansas Native Plant Society 2016 Wildflower of the Year. They are most often found in prairie savannas, woodland edges, wooded bottomlands, stream banks, moist meadows, and floodplains. They are quite adaptable once established surviving even the driest summers.

The deep green leaves of golden alexanders are distinctly divided and tough. This wildflower grows between 12″ to 36″ tall with yellow flowers in flat topped umbels forming in May and June. The seeds that develop resemble dill seeds. Be careful! If it is happy, it will self-seed and colonize an area.

Zizia aurea is an important plant whether in bloom or not blooming. It is a member of the parsley/carrot family, which are host plants for Swallowtail butterflies. When in bloom, many other pollinators are attracted to the bright yellow flowers. It is a pollinator magnet.

Blue False Indigo with Golden Alexander in the foreground and background

This native wildflower is extremely easy to grow in either full sun or partial shade. I tend to plant it in areas that receive morning sun and then are shaded during the hottest part of the day. It can thrive in clay soils and the shiny foliage and vivid yellow flowers make this a welcome addition to your wildflower garden. Plant a few as an offering to the Swallowtail butterflies. In my opinion, this is a plant that should be in every garden.

Kansas – A Rich Heritage of Environmental Education

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Brad Guhr

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Photo by Brad Guhr.

The prairie is central to our environmental education in Kansas (Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City, KS).

It is Earth Partnership for Schools (EPS) summer institute time again at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains. For the 10th year in a row, we are hosting teachers from around South Central Kansas for a week to learn about, plan, practice, and celebrate the environmental education process of teaching students about natural and cultural history of the native Kansas prairie. This year’s EPS summer institute with its 33 teachers (our largest group ever), 482 years of collective teaching experience, and ample enthusiasm for providing prairie project-based, hands-on education for their students provides the perfect setting to be thinking about environmental education in Kansas.

I have taken a bit of time to inventory, categorize, and provide a brief description of the vast array of environmental education resources in Kansas. It turns out to be a pretty rich heritage indeed.

State-Sponsored

Our state-funded conservation entity Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism has a focus on just those things. They promote hunting, fishing, and camping opportunities throughout the state and connecting people with outdoors Kansas. Their long-running Outdoor Wildlife Laboratory Sites (OWLS) Program is a great promoter of establishing native wildlife habitat on school grounds.

Museums and Zoos

Exploration Place – This was a favorite end-of-summer destination for my boys when they were younger. They were first attracted to the blocks, climbing/play areas, and model train set, but eventually became hooked on the hands-on exhibits featuring wind currents, stream morphology, weather, and geology. The most memorable visit was when retrieving an errant mini golf shot led to three hours of getting wet and sandy in the Arkansas River under the watchful eye of the Keeper of the Plains.

Flint Hills Discovery Center – One of the newer facilities in Kansas that not only wonderfully interprets the natural and cultural history of the Kansas Flint Hills Prairie, but it is also an architectural and landscaping gem.

Kauffman Museum – A Museum of Mennonite Immigration and History in Kansas. They interpret the natural Kansas setting encountered in the 1870s, have a collection of wildlife in taxidermy, and the surrounding outdoor landscape features one of the oldest reconstructed prairies in Kansas. A good destination for school field trips and summer educational programming for youth.

The University of Kansas Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center – For more than 140 years, scientists and students have collected and studied life on Earth. The museum has more than 8 million specimens of plants and animals, including prehistoric and living species gathered from every continent and ocean.

Sternberg Museum of Natural History – Museum features include a replicated fossil dig site & a discovery room with hands-on activities. While I have not been there, I understand it features a great collection of marine and flying reptiles and fish fossils from the Cretaceous Era.

Sedgwick County Zoo – Accredited wildlife park and major attraction in Wichita that has become recognized both nationally and internationally for its support of conservation programs and successful breeding of rare and endangered species. Having over 2,500 animals of nearly 500 different species, this zoo ranks as the number one outdoor tourist attraction in Kansas. They also do a nice job of interpreting the native fauna of Kansas.

Sunset Zoo – City zoo of Manhattan is home to over 300 animals representing more than 100 species.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park – Family-friendly destination in Goddard where parkgoers have up-close, hands-on interaction with the animals.

Environmental Education /Nature Centers/Botanical Gardens/Arboreta

Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) – A statewide non-profit association of many public and private agencies, organizations, businesses and individuals promoting and providing quality, non-biased and science-based environmental education in Kansas for 45 years.

Chaplin Nature Center – A 230-acre nature preserve with four miles of hiking trails and environmental education for all ages along the Arkansas River near Arkansas City.

Dillon Nature Center – 100-acre park/arboretum with a pond opened in Hutchinson in 1994. The visitor center includes a nature display gallery with dioramas, interactive exhibits and live reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Great Plains Nature Center – Experience 240-acre Chisholm Creek Park via 2 miles of accessible trails through wetlands, prairie, and riparian habitats. The visitor center has dioramas that feature Great Plains ecosystems including their plants and wildlife.

Konza Environmental Education Program – 8,600 acres of rolling hills marked with flint and limestone dominate the landscapes around Manhattan KS. The Kansas State University Biology Department conducts prairie research here and The Nature Conservancy owns the land. Trained docents will lead your group in an activity that highlights the biology, geology, ecology, and history of the tallgrass prairie.

Botanica – The Gardens are decorated with a collection of 20 elegant sculptures, flowing streams, fountains and waterfalls that complement the beauty of plants and that create a visually stunning atmosphere. Facility rentals as well as educational, artistic, and cultural experiences are plentiful.

Bartlett Arboretum – This 105 year-old botanical gem features state champion trees, picturesque views of waterways, bridge and pergola architecture, a quaint location for an outdoor wedding, art classes, a tulip festival and an outdoor concert series.

Dyck Arboretum of the Plains – 28 acres established in 1981 in Hesston featuring hundreds of species of native and adaptable wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees. Whether planted with horticultural intention or as prairie-based ecosystems, Kansas native plants are promoted here in ways pleasing to both people and pollinators. Pay a visit if you are looking for scenic facility rentals, recreation, environmental landscaping, ecological restoration, Great Plains seminars, environmental education for teachers, and an acoustic music concert series.

Conservation/Specialized Education

Audubon of Kansas – Promotes appreciation and stewardship of ecosystems in Kansas and the heartland, with emphasis on conservation of birds, wildlife, prairies and other habitats.

Kansas Land Trust – By crafting customized conservation agreements with landowners, KLT helps permanently protect Kansas lands of ecological or agricultural importance and of historic, scenic, and recreational merit.

The Nature Conservancy of Kansas – The leading conservation organization working to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. Areas of current focus in Kansas include the Flint Hills, Red Hills, Osage Cuestas and Cheyenne Bottoms.

Kansas Herpetological Society – Encourages conservation, scholarship, research, cooperation, and dissemination of scientific information regarding the herpetofauna of Kansas.

Kansas Native Plant Society – Encourages awareness and appreciation of the native plants of Kansas in their habitats and in our landscapes by promoting education, stewardship, and scientific knowledge.

Kansas Ornithological Society – A statewide organization devoted specifically to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds. Collectively, the KOS has unrivaled knowledge about the status, distribution, ecology, and identification of the state’s avifauna.

Research

Kansas Biological Survey – A University of Kansas research center of natural sciences research, environmental mapping, conservation and education. Scientists work with graduate and undergraduate students, as well as visiting scholars on research covering water, air and soil quality; land use; threatened and endangered species; global change biology; environmental engineering; and aquatic ecology and watersheds.

Teacher Groups

Kansas Association of Teachers of Science (KATS) – KATS shares ideas and techniques for teaching science education to Kansas students.

Kansas Association of Biology Teachers (KABT) – Current and former educators interested in advancing the practice of science teaching within and beyond the borders of the state of Kansas.

Natural Areas

Natural areas rich with flora and fauna can be found around the state featuring prairie and wetland ecosystems. In southwestern Kansas, the Cimmaron National Grassland features shortgrass prairie. Tallgrass prairie is featured in the Flint Hills at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Maxwell Wildlife Refuge features Smoky Hills mixedgrass prairie and herds of bison and elk. Marshes critically important in the Great Plains Flyway include the rare inland salt marshes at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms, the largest interior marsh in the United States.

Now get out there and find and engage with these great environmental education resources in Kansas!

The Prairie Paradox

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Scott Vogt

“Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple.”

– Martin O’ Malley, Former Governor of Maryland and Mayor of Baltimore.

When I first read this saying, I automatically changed it in my mind. I changed it to “reversing prairie degradation and loss is complicated; planting a wildflower is simple“. Granted, we appreciate trees in Kansas. But more than trees, we need to plant prairie to reverse the losses to our signature landscape. Only one percent of the original prairie remains—99 percent of prairies are gone. The rich prairie land is now used to produce crops and raise livestock. Only a few pockets of prairie still survive in their original form, including the Flint Hills.

I grew up on a farm and learned so much from farm life. I know the value of the land. I understand how hard it is to eke out a living working the land. There is a richness of the soil precisely because it was once prairie. Conservation of the soil is vital to the success of any farm. Stewardship of the land is understood. We can’t take the land away from the farmers and landowners, but we also can’t let the prairie disappear forever either. We need the food that this land produces and we need to save this almost extinct ecosystem. It is complicated on so many levels.

Big Bluestem growing in the Prairie Window Project

I believe the solution to the prairie paradox is to allow for and encourage individuals to make small steps, such as choosing to plant native wildflowers and grasses in our own yards and landscapes. Just like remnant prairies that dot the landscape, our small gardens can have an impact. This impact can be multiplied with each new wildflower and each new garden that is established. By choosing to establish just a few native plants, we can begin the slow process of reclamation, rejuvenation and renewal of this lost landscape. Large expanses of prairie are never coming back, but a patchwork landscape of our own native plants seems doable.

Larger prairie restorations are a challenge. They can take years to get established and even then the results will almost always fall short of the original prairie. I can remember looking at a prairie restoration in Wisconsin that had been seeded over 20 years earlier. The guide noted that the prairie had just started looking like the original prairie. It took that long to develop into something that resembled a true prairie. I am not saying that we shouldn’t plant new prairie. If anything, we should start now so the transformation can begin. A “new prairie” does not develop overnight. It takes time and is complicated by so many different factors. We should have realistic expectations and be patient.

Burning the Prairie Window Project-Spring 2016

Even our Prairie Window Project is continuing to mature. It is now nearly 10 years old. We have worked hard to keep the trees and yellow sweet clover out of the prairie. We planted the prairie with good diversity of wildflowers and grasses but even that is no guarantee of success. The impact of farming on the land, weed competition with new native seedlings, management regiments and many other influences can have detrimental effects on a prairie reconstruction slowing the transformation. These examples demonstrate how complicated it can be to change a farm field to a prairie. It is costly, time consuming and unpredictable.

Earth Partnership for Schools Native Planting

We should keep planting native plants because it is the right thing to do. Plant a prairie if you can. Reclaim a prairie if you can. The prairie ecosystem, unique to North America, is an important part of our natural heritage. Native pollinators need these plants for their survival. Native wildflowers and grasses create habitat for wildlife. We should be aware of the many benefits of native plants. Obviously, native plants are worth the effort. Remember, planting a wildflower is simple –why not start today?

This is a landscape worth saving!