Annuals, such as cosmos, purchased or grown from seed, have not been treated insecticides that harm bees. © ND Petitt/morguefile.com
Shortly after my Sept. 13 column about a renewed appreciation for bedding annuals, I got a letter from reader J.D, expressing concern that I recommended buying the plants.
“Most, if not all, annuals are being treated by the growers with systemic insecticides that are toxic to pollinators. Retailers do not know or will not tell if the plants they are selling have been treated,” she wrote.
Gardeners are right to be concerned about the impact of pesticides on bees and other pollinators. The ones causing the most worry are commonly called neonics, short for neonicotinoides. Neonics are systemic insecticides, which move through all parts of the plants, including pollen and nectar. They were considered a pesticide breakthrough, because of how they work on insects, and because they are less toxic than other products on the market
I checked with various growers in central Indiana who sell to independent garden centers. And, I contacted the folks at Ball Horticulture Co., the parent company for many seed and plant brands, including Pan American Seed and Burpee, and a representative of the Home Garden Seed Association.
Gardeners will be relieved to know that none of the growers or seed producers contacted use neonics on their plants.
“At Ball, seed for our flowering annual bedding plants is not treated with neonics, and our production farms for vegetative cuttings, like Ball FloraPlant and Selecta, have been neonic-free since last shipping season,” said Katie Rotella of the marketing communications department at Ball Horticulture Co.
“Spraying neonics on flowering annuals right before they go to market is not a common practice,” she said. “And garden centers are demanding any products be clearly labeled if any neonics have been applied.” Her example was Home Depot, which labels plants that have been treated.
“Seed producers depend on bees,” said Patricia Buskirk, one of the country’s largest producers and packagers of seeds, and a member of the Home Garden Seed Association. “Why would we risk harming them? Annual plants – tomatoes, peppers, bedding plants, lettuce, and most of the other plants home gardeners grow from seed – do not benefit from neonics.”
A few months ago I made similar calls regarding the use of neonics on perennials, trees and shrubs. “No, we don’t use any products that contain neonicotinoides,” said Bill Ward, a salesman at Brehob Nursery, Indiana’s largest wholesale grower.
Willoway Nursery, a large grower in Ohio that supplies independent garden centers in Indiana, does use the chemical “sparingly, as needed, to control some insects. We have to pass inspection and to do that we have to be free of pest and disease,” said Danny Gouge, marketing manager at Willoway.
“We have seen incredible public pressure on this topic,” said Joe Bischoff, director of government relations for AmericanHort, a large trade association of growers, nurseries, retailers and others.
AmericanHort has extensive research projects under way to learn about neonics affect on pollinators and to explore alternative pesticides. Besides the horticulture industry, the Environmental Protection Administration and other government agencies also feel the heat, he said.
Takeaways:
- You will not find neonic-treated seeds on any retailer’s shelf or from mailorder or online retailers. Most, if not all growers, do not treat annuals with neonics. Many do not treat perennials.
- As the debate continues about whether neonics should or should not be allowed in agricultural settings, homeowners need to be aware of their own pesticide use, Buskirk said. A case study by Xerces Society showed that homeowners can apply 12 to 16 times the amount used in an agricultural setting. Use pesticides only when necessary, and according to package directions.
- Continue to ask garden center staffers what the plants they sell are treated with. If they don’t know, ask them to find out.
- Express your concern about the use of pesticides that are toxic to bees and other pollinators.
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