Many native species sleep in the soil
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During spring and summer, sweat bees such
as these can be seen foraging on many
blooming plants. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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Mulch is a wonderful thing, and we have lots of free mulch falling from our trees now. But please don't cover every inch of the garden with it. The native bees we've worked so hard to entice to our plants need some bare soil.
Many California species -- and there are about 1,600 native bee species -- nest underground. Honeybees, which are not native, live in hives, of course. Native carpenter bees do what they're named for: carve holes in fence posts and other wood for their nests.
But other bees are solitary. Smaller than honeybees, sometimes tiny, they nest in soil holes barely the width of a pencil lead, usually in flat, sunny spots. Some bee species nest in already-existing cavities or holes.
I was able to see ground-nesting bees up close earlier in the year when I was adding new chip mulch around my rose bushes. Suddenly 5 or 6 little bees appeared, hovering in a rather agitated manner. I scraped back the chips they were flying over and, sure enough, there were little holes in the ground near the base of one bush. I found other tiny holes at the edge of the same planting area, near the driveway. I watched one bee crawl into its hole.
Now I'm more cautious about what I cover up, and am careful to leave some areas uncovered in each planting bed. (Note: Mulch shouldn't come right up against stems or trunks anyway, since that can promote rot.)
Now, leaf mulch or leaf litter does offer protection for bumble bee queens, and butterfly and moth species, as well as that gardener favorite, the lady beetle. So do leave some leaves!
Pollinators may go into hibernation when the weather turns colder, but they don't go away entirely. And we want them back in spring.
(For more on pollinators and winter, check out this excellent post from the Xerces Society.)
A postscript on an oak tree
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This is the remaining stump from the blue oak that
lost its leader branch in late October.
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Sure enough, it's been cut down to the final few feet of its 4-foot-wide trunk. I peeked at the stump and wasn't surprised to see the center rotted out. We're probably lucky that the branch fell when it did, rather than the entire tree falling down and taking out a lot of the nearby trees and the utility building next to it -- and potentially harming park visitors.
But I will miss this tree.
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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 16
Take advantage of this nice weather. There’s plenty to do as your garden starts to switch into high gear for spring growth.
* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before their buds open. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees.
* Check soil moisture before resuming irrigation. Most likely, your soil is still pretty damp.
* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.
* Transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.
* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.
* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).
* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.
* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.
* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.
* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.
* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.
* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.