Reflecting on 2023

This was a dry year in southeast Nebraska. Watering plants and keeping the water features full was a priority this year in the Cherry Creek Habitat.

Looking at the data, we are on target to have more moisture that 2022. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Weather and Climate keeps monthly and annual precipitation totals (in inches) since 1887.

https://lincolnweather.unl.edu/data/monthly-precipitation.asp

Insect observations seem down this year. Saw very few Monarch butterflies and caterpillars. I observed this year:

leaf cutter bees (Megachile species)

bumble bees (Bombus species)

black swallowtail butterflies (Papilio polyxenes asterius)

painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui)

Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

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Plants that bloomed and did well in the Cherry Creek Habitat this year include:

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)

hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa

tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum)

rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium)

chicory (Cichorium intybus)

brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)

pitcher’s sage (Salvia azurea)

Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

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I am looking forward to a peaceful, restful winter and anticipating the first blooms of next year. What will 2024 bring?

Best holiday wishes, Mary Jane Frogge

What We Have Learned

The Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat is 10 years old! In the fall of 2012, Soni Cochran and I attended “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program in Halsey, Nebraska sponsored by Nebraska Game and Parks. One of the sessions focused on the challenges of increasing our native pollinator population. We left the session with a handmade native bee nest box and motivation to spread the message about the importance of encouraging native pollinators in our community.

In the spring of 2013, we asked our then unit leader if we could transform the underutilized space behind the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County office into a native pollinator and wildlife habitat. The journey began and it is amazing to see how much we have accomplished and learned during this time.

A few of our accomplishments include: two educational signs, solitary bee house, two insect hotels, five water stations, over 40 native plants with name labels, over 100 stems of common milkweed for monarchs & other beneficial insects and became a Nebraska Pollinator Habitat Certification Program site member.

Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat Summer 2015

The habitat is a great place to teach youth, adults, Master Gardeners and even our own staff about the importance of pollinators. Every time I visit the habitat I see or learn something new.

In 2014, Soni planted one sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) in the center of the Cherry Creek Habitat. This sunflower grows in tight colonies and reaches 3-5 feet tall. Unfortunately, it began to spread and I was afraid it would take over the whole habitat. Thankfully it has not, but it did overtake all the Liatris we had planted. I am impressed with hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) and wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). Both have done well and not been over taken by the sawtooth sunflower. All three plants are long bloomers and visited heavily by native bees.

Sawtooth sunflower

Hoary vervain

Monarda

In 2014 we also added native grasses. Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) has done very well. This prairie tallgrass forms upright clumps with blue-green foliage. The beautiful seed heads tower over me, 6 – 7 feet tall. It has spread more than I like, but mainly in an area where there was poor quality fill soil. In the late fall and winter, the deer rest in this area when it snows.

Indiangrass

We struggle to provide spring blooming plants for our early pollinators. Spring flowering bulbs do not do well in our poor quality clay soil and wildlife like to feed on them. Thankfully, we have spring flowering trees that provide early blooms: Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), wild plum (Prunus americana) and peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides).

Wild plum

Several volunteer trees and shrubs try to get established in our habitat. It is important to remove them when they are young seedlings and not allow them to get established in our native flower area. Gray dogwood (Cornus racemose), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), red mulberry (Morus rubra), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids) have been removed from the habitat.

Soni and I attended a workshop by Dr. Ted Burk with the Department of Biology at Creighton University. He and his students have done butterfly and plant species research for eight years at Allwine and Bauermeister Prairies.  They developed a list of plants found in Nebraska that attract butterflies. At the top of the list was tall thistle. We immediately decided we needed to add this plant to the Cherry Creek habitat. We had learned tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum) is a native plant and biennial. Not a noxious weed menace like musk thistle (Carduus nutans).  We knew we would be criticized for this selection. Soni and I understood, we were both former farm kids and spent our summers rogueing out thistles and other weeds. We transplanted one plant and waited for it to bloom. When that day arrived we were in awe of the insects that were visiting the flowers. Swallowtails, bumblebees and native bees we had never seen before. It did not take long for others to notice the blooming thistle and they were not happy. One fellow staff member, who was a former farm kid too, showed up at my office door with a spade and said they were on their way to dig it out. I was ready and calmly explained the difference between tall and musk thistle. I explained tall thistle was a native thistle and was not on the noxious weed list. I showed them how to tell the difference and explained we had all been mislead growing up that ALL thistles were bad. Thankfully they backed down and today many tall thistles are growing in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat.

Black swallowtail butterfly on tall thistle.

It has been a rewarding and educational experience for me to help create and manage the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. I am happy to share what I learn.

Mary Jane Frogge

Seed Collecting and Saving

Beautiful fall day in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat!  It is a perfect day to collect seeds from native plants.  Our common milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca) are going to seed, so it is important to collect some before they all go poof in the wind.  Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and Partridge pea pods (Chamaecrista fasciculata) are also ready to be harvested. After collecting the seeds, you can replant them in a new location as soon as possible. They will germinate next spring.  If you are saving the seeds, be sure to give them time to dry out completely before you store them.  They will rot if not dried properly.  Be sure to label the envelope or container you store them in. Consider sharing seeds with others and help promote native plants.

MJ Frogge

Common milkweed

Partridge pea

Cup plant

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is blooming in the Cherry Creek pollinator habitat. This late summer and fall blooming perennial of the Compositae family, is native to North America, where there is well over 50 species. They have mostly wand like stems, variously shaped leaves and heads of small yellow flowers. Because they are such common plants in rural areas, some people may think of goldenrods as weedy and unsuitable for the flower garden. Most of these plants are striking in appearance.

These low maintenance, nearly pest free plants deserve a place in your pollinator habitat. This time of year you can find bees, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and flies all visiting the flowers on this beautiful plant. Goldenrods make nice border plants or do well in a wildflower or prairie garden setting. Goldenrods do not cause hayfever. Their pollen is too heavy to be carried by the wind. Ragweed, which inconspicuously blooms at the same time, is the culprit.

MJ Frogge

What is Blooming in August?

Excited to see so many wonderful summer blooming plants in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat this month.  The butterflies and bees are in large numbers and it is great to be in the habitat watching all the activity.  Rosinweed, tall thistle, chicory, brown-eyed Susan, pitcher’s sage, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, cup plant and Joe-Pye weed are all blooming now. All these plants are fairly easy to start from seed.

MJ Frogge

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What is blooming?

Hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) is blooming in the habitat now.  This perennial, native plant has beautiful purple-blue flowers and blooms for at least 6 weeks.  It gets 2-3 feet tall and prefers drier soil conditions.  I always see bumblebees visiting the flowers, as well as butterflies and solitary bees.

MJ Frogge

Pollinator Week, June 19-25, 2023

Pollinator Week is an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The week of June 19-25 will spotlight a unique opportunity to learn about some fascinating and important animals, the pollinators.

Tiger swallowtail on Monarda

Often overlooked or misunderstood, pollinators are in fact responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food that we eat. Beginning in 2006, pollinators started to decline rapidly in numbers. Participating in Pollinator Week can help save these important animals.

MJ Frogge

What you can do to help pollinators:

• Educated yourself on pollinators that live in your area.

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/about-pollinators

• Avoid pesticides in your home landscape.
• Plant a pollinator garden using native plants.

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists

• Consider certifying your pollinator habitat.

https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/douglas-sarpy/nebraska-pollinator-habitat-certification/

• Provide nesting sites, like bee houses or insect hotels, for pollinators.
• https://xerces.org/publications/fact-sheets/nesting-overwintering-habitat

• Provide a water source such as a bird bath, small pond or water feature.
• Go to the Pollinator Partnership web site to learn more about pollinators. http://pollinator.org/
• Share the information you learn with others.
• Establish green corridorsby working with your neighbors to include several backyards in a pollinator habitat plan.
• Attend a pollinator event.

Pollinator Week

Asters

Asters are hardy perennials that bloom late summer until the first hard frost. Many asters are native to Nebraska and a late-season source of pollen for migrating monarchs, other butterflies, moths, bumblebees, solitary bees, honey bees and soldier beetles.

Asters are easy to grow and look great in a mass planting. They can be planted with other native plants like purple coneflower, coreopsis, black-eyed Susan and native grasses.

The main plant disease is powdery mildew. It causes a whitish growth that appears on leaves. To reduce the chance of this disease, grow asters in full sun and space the plants, so they are not crowded.

Heath aster – Symphyotrichum ericoides, 2-3 feet tall with white flowers.

Fendler’s aster-Symphyotrichum fendleri, 6-16 inches tall, white flowers, low growing.

‘My Antonia’ white flowers, 12 inches tall.

Smooth aster – Symphyotrichum leave, 2-4 feet tall with purple flowers.

‘Bluebird’ violet-blue flowers, 3-4 feet tall.

Calico aster- Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, 2-3 feet tall, small flower heads of white or pale purple flowers with reddish-rose centers.

‘Lady in Black’ white flowers with raspberry centers, purplish-black leaves, 3-4 feet tall.

New England aster – Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, 3-5 feet tall with pink, red-violet, purple or blue flowers.

‘Andenken an Alma Pötschke’ is a fast growing, upright, compact plant that grows 30-42 inches tall. It has masses of flowers, 2″ across, with rose pink petals which bloom for 6 weeks or longer in late summer.

Kickin’ series of bushy and compact asters, 2 ft. tall and wide, late summer to fall-blooming with semi-double flowers. Comes in seven different cultivars: ‘Carmine Red,’ ‘Lilac Blue,’ ‘Lavender,’ ‘Pink Chiffon,’ ‘Silver Pink,’ ‘Mauve,’ and ‘Purple.’

New York aster-Aster novi-belgii, 3-4 feet tall, purple, dark pink, white flowers.

‘Alert’ purplish-red flowers, 1.5-2 feet tall.

Aromatic Aster– Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, 1-4 feet tall with pink, lavender-blue, purple flowers.

‘Dream Beauty’ pink flowers with orange centers, 1 foot tall.

‘Fanny’ purple-blue flowers, 2-3 feet tall.

‘Raydon’s Favorite’ violet blue flowers, 2-3 feet tall.

‘October Skies’ sky-blue flowers, 1-2 feet.

Sky Blue aster-Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, 3 feet tall with light blue flowers.

Silky aster– Symphyotrichum sericeus, 1-2 feet, one inch purple flowers, branching stems with leaves covered silvery hairs, blooms in August.

Prairie aster – Symphyotrichum turbinellum, 3-4 feet tall with lavender flowers.

MJ Frogge

New England Aster

smooth aster

calico aster

Teaching Youth About Pollinators

Happy Pollinator Week! This week our office is hosting 4-H Clover College. Twelve youth signed up for my session called Pollinator Party. We discussed what crops need pollinators. They looked at the list and circled foods they eat. I then asked them to highlighted a favorite food. I asked how they would feel if they could never have that food again. The shocked look on their faces was clear. They are starting to understand the importance of pollinators.

It was a beautiful day to be out in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. They notice the native flowers that were blooming. Many were fascinated by the solitary bee house and watching the leaf cutter bees fill the holes that were drilled in the wood blocks. They planted dill and zinnia seeds to benefit caterpillars and butterflies.

After exploring the habitat, each youth made a solitary bee tube house to take home and place in their landscape. It was a fun morning and by the end of the session, the kids had a better understanding of our native pollinators and how their habitat is important to protect. 

MJ Frogge

It’s May!

The Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat has received much needed rain. It is raining right now! Plants have grown well and the habitat has greened up. Common milkweed, Joe-Pye weed, hoary vervain, bee balm, tall thistle, common yarrow, aster, penstemon, purple coneflower, goldenrod and cup plant are found in the in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. Master Gardener volunteers helped cut back dead plants, weed trees and spread mulch earlier this month. I added new blocks to the solitary bee house. We should be seeing leaf cutter bees soon. Spring is here.

MJ Frogge

Blocks with drilled holes and paper straws for solitary bees.

Common milkweed.

Joe-Pye weed.