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Help Pollinators Survive the Winter

When it comes to autumn yard and garden work, by doing less, you'll be doing more for pollinators. Here are a few tips for pollinator-friendly gardening:

  • Leave some leaves. Leaves provide nutrients, insulation, and essential cover for pollinators.

  • Provide sunny areas with bare, mulch-free soil to host ground-nesting pollinators, such as bumblebees and hoverfly larvae.

  • Keep rocks, sticks, logs, and dead trees or stumps for burrowing or taking cover.

Pixabay, Autumn Wood Foliage

  • Maintain a supply of early and late-blooming plants to provide food for pollinators when other sources are scarce.

  • Grow plants in groups so pollinators can easily find them and conserve energy in gathering food.

  • In the spring, protect pollinators by waiting until temperatures are consistently 50 degrees and above before cleaning up your yard and garden. This gives pollinators a chance to safely emerge in the spring.

These simple gardening practices give pollinators the chance to keep pollinating year after year.


Stacy Sola is a Ramsey County Master Gardener Volunteer.

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