WASHINGTON GARDENER Pollinator Plant Picks
transplant well. It has a long season of blooms, making it one of our more showy wildflowers in the garden. It is also a good cut flower. Bronze Fennel
BY KATHY JENTZ When we usually think of pollinator plants, we think of those na- tive perennial workhorses like Black-eyed Susans and Coneflowers. However, there are several other pollinator garden plant choices for our gardens that can help support bees, butterflies, beetles, humming - birds, and many more beneficial creatures in our region. Here are a few to consider adding to your home landscape. Butterfly Weed
Bronze Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ) is an ornamental perennial herb whose ferny, soft foliage and bright yellow flowers make it a favorite background plant for many gar- deners. Its wispy, tall stems look great in combination with other plants such as rose bushes. The cultivar ‘Purpureum’ is espe - cially attractive with a darker, smoky plum coloring to its foliage. Plant it in full sun and it will grow to up to 6 feet high. It does not need staking or fertilizing. It is hardy to USDA zones 5 to 9 and is native to the Mediterranean and
Butterfly Weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ) is a perennial plant that is native to much of the Eastern and Southern United States. It is also known as Butterfly Milkweed or Or - ange Milkweed. The flowers of Butterfly Weed are com - monly orange or yellow. The blooms are a nectar source for many kinds of butter- flies, bees, and hummingbirds. The leaves are narrow and bright green. The foliage is a food source for the caterpillars of Mon - arch, Grey Hairstreak, and Queen Butter- fly. Butterfly Weed prefers to be planted in
southwest Asia. It is not the kind of fennel that produces a large edible bulb at its base. Instead, it looks and grows more similarly to dill or anise. Bronze Fennel is also a great addition to the pollinator garden. The flowers attract many kinds of bees and hoverflies. It is also a host plant that supports the Black Swallowtail butterfly’s caterpillars. You can collect the fragrant fresh leaves to use in fish dishes; and the dried seeds can be used in a variety of savory or sweet recipes. Bronze Fennel is also deer-resistant and it has no serious disease issues. It will self-seed around, if you let it, but it is easy to pull and transplant it when it is at the seedling stage to another place in your garden. Baptisia
full sun and does well in poor soils. It is drought-tolerant once estab - lished. It is hardy to USDA Zones 3 to 9. It is deer-resistant like oth - er members of the milkweed family. However, it doesn’t produce the milky sap that other milkweeds do. Butterfly Weed can self-sow if allowed to go to seed, but it takes a few years for a new plant to flower. It has a deep tap root, so does not
False Indigo ( Baptisia spp. ) is a low-maintenance, deer-resistant plant that looks wonderful in a mixed perennial gar- den. It is also known as wild indigo. The common name stems from the fact that the Native Americans and early settlers used the plant to create colorful dyes. The genus Baptisia is a US native that occurs naturally east of the Rocky Moun - tains. They are hardy from USDA Zones 4-8. Baptisia is known as a long-lived plant
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with deep roots, so be sure you place it where you want to keep it for several decades. Those deep roots also make it a very drought-tolerant
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62—PATHWAYS—Fall 23
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