Garden

[qshpr89]

I have researched on-line and found some tips, but wondered if anyone has any good suggestions for helping to build Bumble Bees but not attract wasps?  The plantings I have done seem to draw a couple bumbles but tons of nasty wasps.  Last year the wasps even started nesting in siding of the house so we have caulked and sealed.  Any advice is appreciated.  Thank you.

[dex]

I have blueberry bushes that are always full of bumblebee when they are in bloom.

[Icegoddess]

I have a small garden out front, not large enough to grow blueberries unless I wanted to grow just one blueberry bush and nothing else.  Ha ha.  My dad had a couple of blueberry bushes, but he had a big yard.  I didn't see any honey bees last year, but had a lot of bumblebees.  They loved my caryopteris bush as well as the dwarf butterfly bushes in the bed.  

[dex]

@Icegoddess  I have a friend who grows hers in large pots.You need two so they can cross pollinate.I have four bushes and usually get around fifty pounds of very large sweet berries.My neighbors love to steal them and send me pics of them all picking while I am away.LOL.They also send later pics of muffins and other baked goodies.

[Icegoddess]

@dex, the ones my daddy had were too big for pots.  Maybe it depends on the variety.  I know there are different types depnding on what part of the country you live in.  We're in the South.  His were taller than me.  Some years he would get plenty to share and others not much of anything.

[dex]

@Icegoddess @Oh those were huge bushes.Mine are about four feet tall.I fertilize them with pine needles,coffe grounds,egg shells and dried banana peels.We always get tons of berries.

[piperbay]

I was lucky to have milkweeds come up on their own and they attracted bees and butterflies.

I was just reading that we should not buy plants treated with the broad spectrum pesticides, called Neo Nicontinoids. They can be deadly to bees!

Neonics are systemic pesticides that get inside plants causing them to produce pollen that's toxic to insects. They are responsible for bee colony collapse.

If I buy plants , I will look to see if they have a pick that states if they have been treated with this. Europe has banned this.

[JustJazzmom]

Hopefully your states list on the labels if the plants have been treated with neonicotinoids. 

I think bumblebees like honeybees nest in the ground.

Great website IDing various flies, wasps & bees: http://pollinator.com/identify/whatsbuzzin.htm

Mud dauber wasps will create a nest for their larve in ridged shingle type siding. 

Paper wasps make those hexagonal paper nests that can attach to aluminum siding ceilings or maybe inside a whiffle ball caught in a gutter! 

Carpenter bees make 5/8” round holes in cedar, redwood or pine wood (think arbors & patio furniture) for their tunneled nests. 

Having 2 varieties of blueberries increases yield. 

http://ccenassau.org/resources/blueberry-growing

[jpie]

I noticed that there were several bumble bees buzzing around my ajuga (groundcover) plants that are in full bloom right now.  They love them!

Also my hibiscus/rose of Sharon attracts them like crazy during the summer months!

[depglass]

Whatnow, thanks for my hoot of the day.  I can just see my neighbors sending pics like that.