Continuous Bloom Matters More Than Native Plants Alone

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Margie Patlak, whose master's thesis focused on native plant restoration, argues that an exclusive focus on native plants can leave gaps in the food supply for insects. Most native plants bloom for a month or less, so unless a gardener carefully sequences many different species, there will be periods with nothing in flower — and insects need to eat throughout the entire growing season. Patlak supplements native plantings with non-native annuals such as petunias and calibrachoa to fill those gaps, noting that even insects that normally prefer specific plants will use whatever is available when their preferred source is not blooming.