Could Annual Flowers Harm Pollinators?

Bright showy annuals are starting to show up at garden centers. After our long winter these brightly colored flowers are pretty irresistible. Last year we went all out and planted them in our window boxes and hanging baskets. I deadheaded them constantly, and these inexpensive plants bloomed all summer long – keeping the bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and humans happy.

But this winter I began to worry about whether these annuals were treated with insecticides which could harm the pollinators. Am I making life more complicated or is this a real problem? In good conscience can I create the same beautiful boxes as last year?

I researched this issue online and asked my ecologically minded landscaper Andrew Johnson for his opinion. It turns out that I am indeed making life more complicated and this is a real problem. I’ll have to work harder this year if I want pollinator friendly annuals.

Most people buy their spring plants at big box stores and larger local garden centers. Where do these plants come from? It’s way too cold up here to grow anything in time for our spring gardening fever.

Most of the plants come to garden centers from large growers all over the country who commonly use pesticides to avoid plant damage. Some plants are even labeled “pollinator-friendly” or “bee-friendly”, but there is no legal or nursery standard definition for that term and researchers are finding toxic levels of insecticides in nursery plants. Unless a garden center labels the plant as organic, it may or may not have been treated with insecticides. The unfortunate answer is you can’t tell whether these plants could be hurting the pollinators.

So there are two options to ensure your annuals are both beautiful and pollinator friendly. Either look for annuals labeled as USDA Certified Organic plants in a large garden center, or shop at a local garden center selling only organic plants. As far as I can tell, there’s only one organic nursery selling annuals and perennials in the Mount Washington Valley. I plan to check them out on their opening day later this week and blog about it next week.