Do you know of any good pollinator trees that are native to Maine?
Question:
Do you know of any good pollinator trees that are native to Maine that I could use in coastal Cumberland County?
Answer:
Majorie Peronto, Extension Educator, Hancock County
Thank you for your great question! In his book Bringing Nature Home, University of Delaware Entomologist and Professor Douglas Tallamy shares his research on native trees that are the best choices as larval hosts for butterflies and moths:
- Quercus (oak) — example: Quercus rubra (red oak)
- Prunus (cherries and plums) — examples: Prunus serotina (black cherry), P. virginiana (chokecherry), P. pensylvanica (pin cherry), P. nigra (Canada plum)
- Salix (willow) — examples: Salix nigra (black willow), S. discolor (pussy willow)
- Betula (birches) — examples: Betula papyrifera (paperbark birch), B. populifolia (gray birch), B. alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
- Populus (cottonwoods and poplars) — examples: Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen), P. deltoides (eastern cottonwood)
An excellent online resource where you can learn about these and other native trees is Go Botony.