Herbaceous perennial ornamental plants can support complex pollinator communities

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Horticulture
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Urban landscapes often lack sufficient pollinator-attractive plants, impacting insect biodiversity.
• Current urban landscape management rarely prioritizes plants that support stable ecological communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the pollinator attraction of 25 ornamental herbaceous perennial cultivars.
• To assess the role of these cultivars in supporting plant-pollinator networks.
• To determine how landscape context influences pollinator attraction.

Main Methods:

• Assessed visitor abundance and functional groups for 25 cultivars across five genera (Agastache, Echinacea, Nepeta, Rudbeckia, Salvia).
• Analyzed cultivar function within artificial plant-pollinator networks.
• Correlated landscape plant diversity with pollinator visitor diversity and abundance.

Main Results:

• Significant variation in pollinator attraction was observed among cultivars, with bees being the primary visitors.
• Planting schemes with the most attractive cultivars attracted nearly four times more bee species, including specialists and rare species.
• Landscape plant diversity positively correlated with pollinator abundance and diversity.

Conclusions:

• Herbaceous perennial cultivars can support diverse pollinator communities.
• Cultivar selection, landscape diversity, floral traits, and phenology are crucial for supporting stable ecological communities.
• Strategic planting of attractive cultivars can enhance urban pollinator populations.