by Birgitt Evans
Photo by Lori Eanes
What is odorless, colorless, tasteless – basically undetectable – and is present in every part of the vast majority of the ornamental plants that will be sold by California nurseries this summer? That’s right, it’s neonicotinoids, also known as “neonics”. Billed as a safer insecticide for vertebrates, neonicotinoids have been shown to harm or outright kill bees, butterflies and other pollinators, aquatic organisms and birds. Neonics are applied to reduce damage to leaves by chewing insects, but their presence in nectar and pollen as well makes them toxic to pollinators.
The state of California was so concerned that in 2022 the California Department of Pesticide Regulation adopted new regulations (which took effect on 1/1/24) controlling the amount, application method and timing of neonic applications and setting seasonal application rate caps on neonics applied to agricultural crops. And AB 363 which was enacted in 2023 takes neonics out of the nursery and garden department by 2025 and limits their use to licensed pesticide applicators.
But it is not what we, ourselves, are spraying that is so scary, but what wholesale nurseries are drenching their ornamental plants with. Because we simply do not know what that is or the amount of drench that any given plant received. I have had discussions with employees at several nurseries and I have been told every time that, unless the plants are organically grown, locally grown by someone who can tell you they do not use neonics or are marked “neonic free”, you should assume they have been drenched with neonics.
There is a certain insanity to consumers purchasing plants to support pollinators while producers are so afraid consumers will not purchase plants with any leaf damage that they are applying systemic insecticides that will ultimately harm the pollinators people are trying to help.
What should you as a consumer do?
- First, learn more about the problem by watching the talk that ABG hosted with Dr. Andrew Sutherland, San Francisco Bay Area Urban IPM Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension.
- Begin a dialog with your local nursery. Ask for organically grown plants or plants grown without neonicotinoids. Do not believe blanket assurances that none of the plants contain neonics unless the nursery grows all of its own plants.
- Seek out small, local nurseries which grow their own plants without the use of neonics. California native plant nurseries are especially likely to be neonic free.
- Learn how to grow your own plants from neonic-free seeds. Many plants that attract pollinators such as sunflowers, tithonia, Phacelia, Clarkia and bachelor buttons are easy to grow.
- Trade plants with others. Many plants such as Verbena bonariensis, seaside daisy, cosmos, foxglove and hummingbird sage easily self sow or spread so people may have plants to share with you. They may, in fact, be delighted to get rid of some plants!
It is incredibly important that gardeners educate themselves about pesticides such as neonicotinoids and that we start asking questions and requesting pollinator-safe plants as we seek to regenerate ecosystems. We should be talking to people in the nursery trade, in local government and in state government about both the plants we put in our yards and the trees we plant on our streets; trees are meadows in the sky as far as pollinators are concerned. The more we know and the more questions we ask, the more we will be able to provide a truly safe haven for the animals in our yards.