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Planting ‘bee trees’ for Earth Day

By Kristi Hendricks - Garden Inspirations | Apr 14, 2023

All hail to tradition, by planning carefully to plant a pollinator on Earth Day (April 22)! Trees may very well offer that endless array of “return” that you are hoping for. With spring come fragrant blossoms, followed soon by cooling shelter in summer, then colorful autumn leaves and finally the winter lawn art. When planted in the right spot, shade trees help keep a home cooler and insulated from damaging winds, thus reducing energy costs.

Deciduous trees not only shed their magical leaves to conserve water and energy in winter, but also to assist with wind-blown pollination, with spring’s arrival. Mower mulching those few remaining leaves directly back to the turf canopy is a cost effective means of adding nutrients to lawn soil and suppressing summer annual weeds from germinating in turf voids.

Native trees offer a painter’s palette of spring and summer blossoms. Shepherdstown can boast of the raspberry-colored blossoms of the eastern redbud, the pale yellow flowers of the American linden tree and the drooping white panicles of the sorrel tree. The showy flowers of these beauties attract honeybees and other beneficial pollinators.

Let’s take a closer look to see what the buzz is about. The earliest bloomer, Cercis canadensis, is known for its dark multi-trunked base and its pink flowers blooming profusely on bare branches, much to a bee’s delight. Redbuds are known to be great companions to the slightly later blooming dogwood, in naturalized settings. Long after the bloom has faded, songbirds are known to break open the resulting bean-like pods for a seed treat.

The flowers of the late spring-blooming linden (Tilia americana) were once used to make tea, and syrup was made from this tree’s sap in times past. Another common name, basswood, refers to the tough inner bark (bast) used in colonial times to make rope and mats. When the “bee tree” is in full bloom, honeybees are known to visit in such abundance that the humming can be heard at a distance.

The sorrel or sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboretum) resembles the dogwood, with an understory growth habit, fissured bark and crimson autumn leaf color. Yet its summer foliage resembles a peach’s glossy, toothed leaves. In early summer, there is no mistaking the waxy lily-of-the-valley-like panicles found so attractive to bees. Soon to follow, silver-colored fruit capsules on the tree, offering winter interest to otherwise stark landscapes.

For people who don’t have sufficient yard space to support a full-sized tree, there are other ways to plant a tree in celebration of Earth Day. Local parks, libraries, schools and historical sites often have initiatives in place that call to participate in tree plantings. Don’t be a wallflower. Reach out to volunteer.

Kristi Hendricks is a graduate of Shepherd College and West Virginia University and a Master Gardener with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at belowthejames@yahoo.com.