POLLINATORS, PESTICIDES AND RETAIL PLANTS
Pollinator gardens are full of blooms and stunning to behold. If you plan on installing one know that some growers “bulletproof” plants by using long lasting systemic pesticides. Systemics are absorbed through roots into all cells of a plant with harmful downstream impacts on both wildlife and aquatic ecosystems.
It’s easy to assume that the plants we buy won’t contain anything toxic since there’s legislation protecting pollinators. California law (AB363) bans the sale of neonicotinoid pesticides by 2025. Although consumers won’t be able to buy these over the counter, producers will be exempt and treated plants could end up in your garden just as easily as before. The good news is that native plant growers are proud to be neonic-free.
Learn more about planting for birds, bees, and butterflies from the DesertStrawHouse Nursery in Desert Hot Springs.
AVOIDING INVASIVES
Ornamental nursery plants can be beautiful, but a plant that’s perfectly well behaved in distant gardens and even sold locally at nurseries might be considered invasive in the Mojave. Invasives can spread to wild areas and out-compete native plants, deplete springs, and they’re major contributors to wildfire damage. Joshua Tree National Park has a helpful
brochure for identifying invasive ornamentals and weeds. Problem plants that commonly turn up at garden centers are non-native feather grasses, fountain grasses, lantana, and oleander. Trees to avoid include Date Palm, Lilac Chaste, Eucalyptus, and Russian Olive. Invasives are also introduced through common types of birdseed and sometimes commercial mulches.
BUYING FOR HOME PROPAGATION
When buying a plant to self-seed and produce new plants, buy at least three of the same plant to increase the odds of fertile seed. Plant them near each other so that pollinators or winds can easily move pollen between plants of the same species. Even self-pollinating plants benefit from multiple individuals. Keep in mind that most hybrids, including hybrids of natives, are either sterile or not true to seed. This makes true natives the most surefire choice for self-seeding a garden.
Most of us have multiplied our cactus patches by cutting a piece off, letting the break callus over, then planting it. You can also buy leafy plants and multiply them through division or stem, leaf, and root cuttings. This is called vegetative propagation. These are cloning techniques that produce new plants which are identical to the parent plant. When buying plants for making new ‘starts,’ read up on propagation to learn which plants lend themselves to the different types of cloning.
PEAT FREE SOILS
Traditionally gardeners have leaned on peat as an additive for soil aeration and moisture retention. It
’s difficult to find bagged soil mixes that don’t contain it. But environmentally-minded gardeners are starting to use peat alternatives. Harvesting peat releases massive amounts of sequestered carbon and wipes out ancient, irreplaceable ecosystems. Peat-free soil is a hot topic among gardeners who live in countries with peat bogs. To put peat into perspective just imagine how we’d feel here in the Mojave if Joshua trees were being harvested and ground up for export as a soil additive!
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