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We have a River Birch (Betula nigra) on the property and every year in the spring it showers down lots of seeds. Some end up sprouting in all my flower boxes so when I begin cleaning up in the autumn, I transplant as many as I can. Most go to my daughter, who is a Botany professor at a Pennsylvania university. There they are brought along in a greenhouse and planted out for a variety of projects. Have 32 potted up so far. More to come.
#gardening
#allotment
#NewEngland
#zone6b
@gardening
@richrollgardener how nice that they are used in science or are able to become trees! :)
@richrollgardener @gardening. The river birch are a lovely tree. Thank you and your daughter for planting more.
@Pollinators I have a paper bark maple (acer griseum) that does the same thing. I pot them for the local garden club sale
@deepmud. The garden club sale is good.
@Pollinators it *is* good, but lots of invasives turn up and I have the unpleasant job of pointing them out. 
. Invasives grow well enough that they turn up a lot
But it is a good public service in that regular folks can buy plants at reasonable prices. And it funds our speakers.
@deepmud. It is good to identify the plants. The garden club shouldn’t sell poison ivy, for example.
@Pollinators lol. We don't have poison ivy here, lol. But we do have knotweed, and a bunch of garden creepers that do entirely too well.
If I were going to play devils advocate, I'd say that poison ivy is at least a native. 
. Although I'm super allergic to the stuff.
@deepmud. Is the garden club talking about continuously warmer growing zones because of climate change? The plants are going to see warmer seasons.
@Pollinators yes, they are, although most of the members are in their 80s. (Gardeners seem to live a long time, especially if they avoid chemicals).
But last winter was a very cold one. We got to ten degrees F. So, were having warmer weather in summer which is bad because it doesn't rain in the summer, much.
So, the weather is just wacko and unstable. 
@deepmud. Yes. Yes it is.
@Pollinators i garden for the bees.
Early spring is an essential time. I try to keep the queen bumblebees fed. The best shrub, by far, for this is Lonicera x standishii, and Lonicera fragrantisimum. I know there's trouble with Lonicera, but those two are priceless for early spring bees because they bloom all winter. And so far, I've never seen a seedling, which is amazing because I've grown these plants for over 30 years
@deepmud. We have Lonicera caerulea for the spring bumblebees and we have planted cream wild indigo. The indigo is several years old from Prairie Moon Nursery of Winona. It is growing slowly. The honey berries are vigorous. These are the first blossoms where we see bumblebees feeding. In the old climate.
@deepmud. Gardening for pollinators is a fine thing.
@Pollinators I just love looking at them. When the fennel is flowering, just about everything comes to eat the pollen. And I mean everything, from tiny little guys all the way up to the golden digger wasp.
One year, there were thousands of soldier beetles. And entomologist friend was amazed.
Fennel is quite the weed here, so I cut the seeds off before they drop.
Another excellent plant is echium blue bedder. Bumblebees just love it.
@deepmud. The fennel is popular with the pollinators.
@deepmud @Pollinators What’s really wonderful for the earliest bees is the non-native Weeping Willow that came with this house — but it’s gradually dying of old age, and I need to add another early-blooming nectar source for them. I’ve planted a native willow, but it blooms later.
@ClimateJenny what zone do you live in?
The weeping willow is very hardy and doesn't give me any idea how cold your temperatures are.
I think we pollinator gardeners need to consider non-native plants to get that early time taken care of
@ClimateJenny @deepmud. We are fortunate to have a pussywillow tree near the apple trees. The willow blooms about when the honey berry shrubs bloom so the pollinators have early season sustenance. #pollinators.
@Pollinators fantastic, and thank you for thinking about it! 
@deepmud Many pollinators love fennel blossoms. #growyourown, #pollinators, #minnesota.
@Pollinators I need to take photos! Great idea.
I wish I knew what all those critters are. Some of the tiny ones move so fast. Maybe if I start taking photos, I can identify them.
@deepmud. The photographs from the phone camera help with discovery and identification. There are a lot of similar looks popular with the pollinators. #pollinators.
@Pollinators @deepmud Fennnel blossoms. And glasses with wine, apparently.
@richrollgardener I’ve saved a few saplings from nearby trees this year too. Do you know if it’s best to plant them in the spring or fall? I’ve heard mixed opinions.
@Morning1 Fall is generally better. The root system will be recovered when it's becoming warm and the tree makes leaves (evaporation).
@richrollgardener
@Morning1 There are a lot of variables involved, but in general, my preference is Spring, while plant is still dormant. Prepare site in Autumn, plant in Spring. The folks at Fedco Trees have good advice:
https://fedcoseeds.com/trees/planning_planting.htm
@richrollgardener @gardening @Beedazzled That is great! They look healthy. 