AUGUST 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


35 Hedgerows offer native plants for native bugs


Building pollinator populations drives interest in native plantings


Stories by RONDA PAYNE LANGLEY – Attracting the


right kinds of bugs to a crop often means providing them with a home. Pollinators and beneficial insects need a reason to stick around during planting, growing and harvesting seasons and the most natural habitat for native insects is often native plants. That’s where the experts at NATS Nursery Ltd. can help. “We can propagate year-


round,” explains Haley Argen, who handles starter plant sales for NATS. “We grow over 200 species of native plants.” Most of the material at


NATS is grown from seed. This allows for greater genetic diversity than working from a smaller supply of parent stock. NATS collects its seed from


its own 40-acre site in Langley as well as from other producers. Argen’s colleague, Michael


Campbell, says propagating plants from seed can be challenging. “One year, you can go in


August and it’s spectacular [seed] picking,” he notes. “And the next year, it’s not.” To ensure the quality of


the seed, NATS inspects its harvest thoroughly prior to depositing it in its own on- site seed bank. “We do a lot of seed


cleaning,” Argen explains. The work pays off. Some


hardy plant seed, like that of trees and shrubs, can last for decades if stored properly. This is particularly important for native seed, which is notoriously difficult to source. “There’s very few places to buy [native] seed. We bank seed; we sell plants,” Argen says.


The time from seed to


seedling can be lengthy and may end in heartache. The failures, however, aren’t discovered until the effort is invested. Growing is described as part science and part art by this team. “And that’s a huge challenge for us,” Argen says. “Breaking the physiological dormancy … that’s part of the growing cycle.” NATS sales rep Walt Pinder


says native plants are subtly different depending on region. Since NATS propagates plants native to other areas – its clients are located across the Pacific Northwest – its Langley greenhouses need to be responsive to the light, soil, irrigation and temperature requirements for the plants it’s growing. Growing the seed to be 20- gallon plants is a long process. “People often think they’re


ordering another commodity,” Campbell says. “We have to manage our inventory and anticipate demand. Everything takes time and costs to maintain. It’s not a widget that goes on a shelf.”


When the company was


contracted to supply 350,000 plants for the roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre, for instance, the job required four years. Growing clean plants is critical if they’re to encourage pollinators and beneficial insects. “We use IPM,” explains


Argen. “We don’t use neonics [neonicotinoids] because many of our plants are being used for pollination support. We only use chemicals as needed.” Pollination support is


important to farmers too, Argen adds, because there’s a


Cultivating pollinators Developing a hedgerow with native plantings


attractive to pollinators depends on several factors, says Haley Argen of NATS Nursery Ltd. in Langley. “Do [farmers] have places in mind where they can


create a hedgerow, or an island?” she asks. “How much area is it? Do they know what other native species grow in their area? What’s the water situation?” She recommends plantings that support pollinators


throughout the year, matching hedgerow species to adjacent crops so bees can forage when the bloom is off the berries, for example. “It’s about creating a diversity,” says NAT’s Michael


Campbell. “It’s that diversity that creates the habitat.” While the right plants to attract pollinators depends upon a number of things, sales staff at NATS have five top picks for pollinator-friendly hedgerows: goldenrod; Saskatoon berry; tall Oregon grape; thimbleberry/ salmonberry, and red flowering currant.


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An employee at NATS Nursery Langley transplants fern seedlings. RONDA PAYNE PHOTO


dollar value to the food it helps farmers grow and sell. “It’s not just feeding the bees when your crop is ready to be pollinated, but keeping them year-round,” Campbell adds. “By having hedgerows, you’re creating shoulder


seasons. We’re seeing more interest in pollinator gardens.” Many native plants flower


and provide pollinator support because they support native pollinators that fly when the honeybees don’t.


“Honeybees fly at around


14 degrees [Celsius] but the native bees start earlier. That’s one of the reasons why [the native bees] are so important,” Argen says. “These pollinators are living where they do the work.”


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