Spring Home Improvement 2026

The very versatile maple tree

If you travel through your yard or neighborhood, and see palmate leaves, you may have a maple tree! Maple trees are great trees for Minnesota. They are hardy, there are many varieties, many sizes and many colors. In this article I will feature three: Silver Maple, Red Maple and Sugar Maple.

Silver maples are fast growing deciduous trees that typically reach 50 to 80 feet tall and can reach over 100 feet in ideal moist conditions, with a mature canopy spread of 40 to 70 feet. They grow quickly, adding several feet in height annually, making them great shade trees. However, Silver Maples are also known for their weak wood and invasive roots. These are the roots you

usually see near the surface of the turf. The silver maple (Acer saccharum) is known for the silvery-white underside of its leaves. They like moist soil.

I live on Rice Creek and have a deck overlooking the creek on

the north. When we bought the house it had a silver maple, an excellent shade tree, on the eastern size of the deck. In the morning the deck has sun. Around noon the tree starts giving shade, first the eastern side of the deck, then later covering the entire deck.

The red maple (Acer rubrum) in our yard is a special tree. It is on the south side of the house where it can be seen from the street. It has spectacular fall foliage which can be viewed by the entire neighborhood. Red maples are the similar in height to silver maples, but with a canopy spread of 30 50 wide at maturity, offering fast growth and brilliant red color, though specific cultivars and growing conditions can vary their size. The leaf of the

red maple is while faster growing, silver and red maples do not live as long as sugar maples. Their average life span is about 50-100 years. Red and silver maple trees have serrated edges, while the sugan maple has smooth edges.

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) also have great fall foliage, but its main use is for production of maple syrup. If there is only one tree, one can insert a little metal tap into the bark and hang a bucket from it. For more syrup, want more trees are needed. Rather than one bucket, food-grade small tubing can be hung from one tree to the other ending in a large tub. A fire (or commercially, an electric heater) boils the sap down to syrup. Yum!

The sugar maple normally reaches heights of 80-115 feet and the mature canopy spread is typically 40 to 50 feet but can be up to 60 feet. The crown of a sugar maple is dense and mostly oval when not crowded. The sugar maple tree is long-lived, to 300-400 years. The leaves are deciduous palmates with five lobes and are born in opposite pairs. The fall color is often spectacular, ranging from bright yellow on some trees through orange to fluorescent red orange. Maybe you need a maple tree in your yard. Early spring is a great time to plant maples!

Lynda Ellis is a Master Gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension.

There’s something magical about plucking a fresh lemon or lime from your own tree—especially when you live in a northern climate. That tempting dream is what led me (and many others) to take the plunge and bring home a citrus tree. Because our winters are harsh, growing citrus here means keeping them in pots so they can be brought indoors during colder months. In the summer, they shine as patio showstoppers. The secret to long-term success is knowing exactly how to care for them, especially once they are back inside.

To boost your chances of success, it is best to start with more forgiving citrus varieties. I recommend Meyer lemon, Calamondin orange, or a kumquat tree to begin your citrus journey. Dwarf varieties can also work well, but it’s best to begin with something proven to be easier care and build your skills from there. When it comes to pots, go just one to two inches larger than the nursery pot your tree came in. I opt for glazed ceramic containers because I’m prone to underwatering. If you’re the overwatering type, terra cotta is better for allowing moisture to escape. Citrus roots hate soggy conditions, so use a well-draining soil mix and a pot with a drainage hole. A light soil made with perlite or sand is ideal. You can also find DIY citrus soil blends online if you’re feeling adventurous.

Summer care is fairly simple. Citrus trees love sunlight—aim for at least 6–8 hours a day—and they thrive in our Minnesota humidity. Let the soil dry out between waterings, but don’t panic over a rainy stretch because with proper drainage, they

can handle it. Yellow leaves can be an indication of overwatering, but also a lack of nutrition, which they need to successfully bear fruit. I fertilize three times a year: once in February (before blooming), in June (after blooming), and in October.

Once nighttime temperatures consistently dip below 50°F, it’s time to bring your citrus plant indoors. Do a thorough pest inspection, hose off the leaves (gently if fruit is present), and spray with a neem oil solution a couple of times during the first few weeks. If you find bugs mid-winter, neem or horticultural oil are safe for edible fruit trees.

The big challenges indoors are light and humidity. A south-facing window might provide enough sunlight, but indoor air is often too dry. A humidifier helps, but I go all in with a mini greenhouse and grow lights to keep my tree happy. Pebble trays and misting help a little but often aren’t enough on their own.

Citrus fruit takes patience—often 6 to 12 months to ripen. My lime tree sets fruit from April through summer, and I don’t harvest until at least mid-winter when the limes start to turn yellow. Pick the fruit too soon, and you will be disappointed with hard, bitter fruit. With the right care, citrus trees can thrive in pots and bring year-round joy. And when those fragrant blossoms open in early spring, your whole home feels like it’s waking up with them.

Brenda Ortmann is a Master Gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension.

Talking lawn care with U of M

By Jon Trappe

We’re getting back into our yards and gardens, with pent-up demand following a long winter. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Jon Trappe has tips for yards that accomplish multiple goals, including promoting pollinators, climate action and a lovely look.

Q: Why do our yards matter?

A: For many people, their lawn is their first and most frequent point of contact with nature. The benefits of nature-based therapy can literally be found in their backyard. They’re safe, convenient and private places for children and pets. Many people enjoy working in their yard as a hobby or as a connection to the outdoor world.

There are environmental benefits behind the turf that make up our yards. They protect surface and groundwater by serving as living filters. They grow well in suburban and urban areas that are often dominated by impervious surfaces, while helping cool these areas that tend to hold heat. Yards are incredibly efficient at storing carbon in the soil as organic matter, playing an important role as a carbon sink for greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane.

Q: Is No Mow May a good idea?

A: No Mow May gained popularity

to help promote good habitat for pollinators, a goal we can all support. The idea behind it is to not mow your lawn for the entire month of May. It is still unclear if there is a benefit to pollinators, but we do know that it could stress out your lawn. May is the one month where our grass grows the most, and by not mowing we could be stressing our lawns out going into the most stressful time period of the yearthe summer. If you are interested in promoting pollinators in your lawn, we have found several species like Dutch white clover, self-heal, creeping thyme and ground plum can all tolerate mowing and provide excellent forage for pollinators.

Q: It’s more complicated than meets the eye. How do you do the right thing?

A: Aim for a yard with grass 3 ½ inches tall or higher. That means letting it grow to 5 inches or more before mowing. One of the great things about letting grass get taller is that its roots will grow deeper, meaning it can withstand drought much better than shorter mowed yards. Letting grass grow higher also fends off weeds like crabgrass in your yard and helps you reduce your carbon footprint by using less fuel.

Q: Should I use lawn fertilizer? Are there organic alternatives?

A: We encourage some supplemental fertilizer in lawns

because it can help ensure a healthier turf. A healthier turf can be more resilient to stresses like foot traffic and allow the lawn to crowd out weeds like crabgrass. How much fertilizer to be applied can depend on a lot of things like the lawn species, soil type, or even how much shade you have. A good starting point is to have your soil tested. This will tell you the nutrient levels of your soil and the most beneficial type of fertilizer product.

From the plant’s perspective, it doesn’t care if the fertilizer is synthetic or organic. However, your soil might benefit from an organictype fertilizer product. Check your soil test first. Many organic fertilizers have phosphorus, which cannot be applied unless the soil test shows phosphorus as deficient.

Q: What about watering, especially if we have a dry summer?

A: Many of the grasses that grow in Minnesota or the upper Midwest can get by without any extra water beyond what nature supplies. The

lawn may get a little dry and the turf may get a little tannish, but this is likely the grasses going dormant. If we go more than 30 days or so without rain, consider watering to keep the lawn alive until the next rainstorm. When the lawn is stressed from lack of water, try and stay off it to reduce stress and it should be able to bounce back just fine.

If you are going to water, don’t do it by a set schedule. By watering “deeply and infrequently”, you can actually train the grass roots to go deeper into the soil. This just means that if you are going to water, it is better to do it less often but with a higher amount. If you have an irrigation system, look into using a smart controller that can adapt to local weather conditions. It will save you water and make your lawn more resilient.

Jon Trappe has been a Turf Extension Educator for the University of Minnesota since October 2022.

Shoreview planted the city’s first pollinator rain garden a few years ago. Located at McCullough Park the garden is a cooperative effort between Arden Hills-Shoreview Rotary Club, partnering with the Shoreview Parks and Recreation and Public Works Department and the Rice Creek Watershed District. A crew of 27 volunteers from the Arden Hills-Shoreview Rotary Club and Shoreview Garden Club, along with Shoreview’s natural resources team, worked in two shifts to plant over 400 plants.

The 2,000 square foot garden, designed by Brian Olsen, urban planner for Ramsey County, includes a variety of native Minnesota plants, well suited to attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths, as well as to filter the runoff water from the parking lot. Rain gardens absorb stormwater runoff from roofs and paved surfaces. These gardens provide significant environmental benefits, including reduced flooding, improved water quality by removing pollutants, groundwater recharge and enhanced habitat for birds and pollinators.

By Logan Gion Contributing Writer

The Moline home is a log cabin. Actually it’s much more like a log lodge. Stocky tree trunks stack atop one another to form the exterior and interior walls while the backyard deck overlooks White Bear Lake. Sitting on a lacquered, single-piece, carved walnut bench overlooking a hill of wild clover and native grasses that fall away down to the water’s edge, one could easily think this house was tucked away in the Boundary Waters, no one around for miles—certainly not less than five minutes from downtown White Bear Lake.

For Joel and his wife, Rachel, that’s the point. “I wanted to have a space where I was happy to be here versus go somewhere else,” Joel explained. “When I do travel, it’s to meet up with friends. We would never just get in the car and go (somewhere); I’d rather stay here.”

As for the log-cabin theme, Joel grew up going to his father’s boss’s cabin in Nisswa, Minnesota. When Joel’s friend built the home in 2005, Joel found himself drawn to the property.

“(My friend) would call me and ask, ‘Do you want to grab dinner in Stillwater?’ I would always say, ‘How about I grab pizza and a bottle of wine and bring it to the cabin?’” Joel recalled. “Did I just love coming out here because it reminded me of my childhood?”

Eventually, the friend sold Joel the property, which came with a standard grass lawn. The yard now, though, is anything but standard.

Although his fondness for cabins began in child-

hood, Joel did not fall in love with gardening until well into adulthood, when he lived on the St. Croix River. Before that, he lived in a condo in Minneapolis. “Not a lot of garden space there,” Joel said with a chuckle. “I bought the house on the river, and it had beautiful gardens. I bought it from this elderly couple that no longer could take care of it. And I felt this obligation to take care of their gardens, so that's how it started.”

At his Stillwater residence, Joel planted over 100 miniature pine trees. He wound paths through the yard and a trail down to the riverside. “I was literally perched on the cliff,” he said, “and I created a space where you could hang out and pretend you were in the middle of nowhere.”

Because his White Bear Lake home has a log-cabin theme, Joel said he believes the middle-of-nowhere feeling is even more appropriate. The transformation, which took five years, is now complete with Japanese weeping pines, Cass Gilbert lawn ornaments, and pollinator-friendly hillsides. Concepts like “curated landscaping” and “wilderness” normally do not mix, but Joel fully embraces nature as a design partner. “Even when random weeds come up, if I like them, I keep them,” Joel said, careful to use the term “volunteer” instead of “weed” in every instance thereafter. Bursts of prairie fleabane, ground ivy and creeping phlox fill the gaps between Joel’s ’s touches. The most unique volunteer grows on a boulder that a former

neighbor gave to Joel before she moved. “It’s got this great moss growing on it,” Joel said, before pointing to a small conical flower, “and this is actually an astilbe that is planting itself.” Because of the moss, the astilbe is tiny—one of perhaps two dozen other plants that make the rock its own miniature world. The largest attraction of the yard is a variable-speed, rock-lined stream that begins on a small hill above his detached garage. It cuts through milkweed patches, hostas and hydrangeas and rushes into a koi pond resting opposite the front door. In the middle of the stream’s path is a wooden swing, rock-hewn benches and a remote-controlled fire pit. From this spot, astilbes next to him, Joel can survey his home and the lake beyond.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HEAT PUMPS

Efficiency: Air source heat pumps can heat a home at efficiencies of well over 400 percent in cool weather. For comparison, conventional heating systems that run on gas, oil, or propane have efficiencies between 80- 99 percent. In a cold climate, the average efficiency for an entire winter is typically in the 200-250 percent range. That means over a winter, you get between two and almost three times the amount of heat for your house than what you buy at the meter. That translates to dollars saved!

Cooling efficiencies are much higher, too. Cold-climate heat pumps with variable speed capacity typically cool at twice the efficiency of common AC units.

REBATES?

Affordable Technology - Efficiency and Heating Costs

Efficiency: Air source heat pumps can heat

Heat Pumps Are Clean Energy - and Getting Cleaner: If reducing your carbon footprint is a priority, heat pumps are the cleanest option available because of their extreme efficiency. Unlike burning oil or gas, which will always produce carbon emissions, electricity from the grid that powers heat pumps tends to get greener every year. In the chart at right, average equivalent carbon emissions from the heat pump (for the northern US) are significantly lower than any other fuel.5 Moreover, in many areas you can choose “green” energy options from your electric company that may be partly or completely generated by renewable energy or other green technologies.

of well over 400 percent

For comparison, conventional heating systems that run on gas, oil, or propane have efficiencies between 8097 percent. Burning fossil fuels for heating

never reach 100 percent, because some heat will

go up the chimney, along with moisture

combustion byproducts. That leaves

lot more “heating potential” than

in your house. But when the heat pump efficiency is calculated, the useful heat delivered is much larger than the energy you buy at the meter. In a cold climate, the average efficiency for an entire winter is typically in the 200-250 percent range. That means over a winter, you get between two and almost three times the amount of heat for your house than what you buy at the meter. That

ASHP Myth #2: Heat pumps are expensive

A lot of older heat pump models had low heat output and relied on costly electric backup heat. Frequent installation problems led to excessive use of electric heat. Most cold climate heat pumps have high heat output and don’t even have electric backup heaters.

Cooling efficiencies are much higher, too. Cold-climate heat pumps with variable speed capacity typically cool at twice the efficiency of common window ACs.

Remember too that unless you are currently heating with electric baseboards or other electric heaters (such as radiant panels), your electric bill will likely go up in the winter, possibly quite a bit. The heat pump uses electricity to operate; but of course, your fuel bills will also go down. If you start with a full tank of oil or propane, it may take a month or two before you start seeing the heating cost savings that balance out those higher electric bills.

Heating costs: If your existing heat is low-cost natural gas, you may pay somewhat less to heat your house than with an air-source heat pump. If electric rates are lower, and gas rates are higher, that can easily flip. At a range of expected electric and fuel costs as shown in the chart (bottom-right), the heat pump beats any other fuel for heating cost. The degree of savings depends on your fuel and electric prices, so a range is shown for comparison.4

Heat Pumps Are Clean Energy - and Getting Cleaner

If reducing your carbon footprint is a priority, heat pumps are the cleanest option available because of their extreme efficiency. Unlike burning oil or gas, which will always produce carbon emissions, electricity from the grid that powers heat pumps tends to get greener every year. In the chart at right, average equivalent carbon emissions from the heat pump (for the northern US) are significantly lower than any other fuel.5 Moreover, in many areas you can choose “green” energy options from your electric company that may be partly or completely generated by renewable energy or other green technologies.

For those who want the ultimate clean energy heating and cooling system, solar electric (photovoltaic or “PV”) may allow you to generate 100 percent of the electricity needed to operate your heat pump, renewably. If you have a suitable location with solar access, net-zero or close to net-zero annual emissions is possible for many homes equipped with these technologies.

By Lynn Nelson Special to the Press

To downsize or not to downsize, that is the question

During the past five years, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to these questions. First my 90+ year old parents moved from our family home (theirs for 50+ years) in Forest Lake. The amount accumulated was mind boggling, and the kids and grandkids spent months clearing things out and trying to channel stuff to the appropriate destinations: recycling, garbage, Goodwill or gifts for other family members and friends. Some of the stuff was so hard to part with, it ended up in our garage and basement.

Then a dear friend and colleague who just turned 80 and has no biological children of her own had a healthcare crisis and ended up in rehab for a year. She had to sell her home and rely on others to make decisions on her behalf about her home and belongings.

I lived in a neighborhood populated mostly by people in their 70s and 80s. I’m in my late 60s and calculated that my husband and I had plenty of time to enjoy our house on shore of White Bear Lake. We’d recently retired and traveled a fair amount to visit family. We had a large yard and three dogs – one of which we inherited from my parents.

So when a nearby condo came on the market at a building, which is rarely vacated, we took a look expecting to apologize to the realtor who showed it to us for wasting her time. It came as a shock to realize that we could see ourselves at

home there. It had a view of the lake and plenty of room for our little family. We realized that the place would sell fast, so we made an offer.

If you can, pick a downsizing pace that’s comfortable for you

Before we knew it our offer was accepted, our home was sold, and we had to get rid of half of our stuff in less than three months. Unfortunately, I come from a long line of pack rats

According to AI, a pack rat, or woodrat, is a North American rodent known for constructing large, elaborate nests (middens) and hoarding diverse materials, particularly shiny objects, earning it the nickname “trade rat.”

Vocabulary.com says the term “pack rat” is also commonly used to describe a person who keeps excessive amounts of belongings and finds it difficult to get rid of items, which describes me to a T.

This is different from hoarding. People have been using the word hoard as both a verb and as a noun for both “to hide” and “treasure” for centuries. Often keeping provisions a secret comes from not wanting to share during scarcity. And in modern times, there is shame associated with hoarders who can’t move about their homes, due to the great accumulation of stuff that # have little value.

I bring this up because the decision to downsize is greatly affected by the amount of stuff you need to get rid of and how attached you are to it. In my case, I admit to being greatly attached to stuff for sentimental reasons. And because I lived in my grandparents’

home for more than a dozen years, I had incrementally accumulated more than three generations of stuff.

Beyond that, I was raised by parents who grew up during the Depression. It affected my Dad more than my Mom –he saved enough for many “rainy days”, and he loved to bargain shop. I fear I’ll be using the oatmeal and canned cranberries he left me when he moved to a senior center in Mahtomedi for the next two years.

Physical challenges

For these reasons, I’m glad we started downsizing while we are relatively young. Although, I’d recommend taking far more time than we did to prepare for a move. Due to our short timeframe, I was on my feet for more than 10 hours a day for 30 days. From a pros and cons standpoint, I lost some weight. But my legs and feet were swollen at night, and I was so tired, I often fell asleep with my book in my hand.

Fortunately, my husband and his friends are still able to lift and scale stairs. I had a hip and knee surgery in the past few years and can do it, but not very quickly.

We paid friends to help us

Due to our short timeframe, we knew we couldn’t pack without help. So we turned to some trusted friends who could use a little extra cash. One of whom is more of a pack horse than a pack rat; he did a lot of shuffling of boxes from house to vehicle to condo storage.

If we had taken more time up front, we could have gotten rid of half of the financial documents and memorabilia (definitely my sore spot) before we moved. Another friend, who I used to refer to as my “house husband” when we moved into our house and my husband was working too much to do much around the house, provided emotional support. He kept me going when I wanted to quit and provided guidance when the decision making became overwhelming.

Who knew you could get decision fatigue from something as simple as keep, store or toss?

A planner and organizer by nature, this move challenged me at so many levels. It involved scheduling (my strong suit), budgeting (my husband’s strong suit) and time management (another area I enjoy).

rage, shed or basement, so we had to be realistic about how to fit the 50 of the 100 pounds we started with into what I now call “a 10-pound bag” aka the condo. We also had to juggle making decisions about renovating our new space with emptying our old space. And we had to purchase a few items we’d never needed before like pee pads and a nanny cam for the dogs.

Find a trusted estate sale professional

In addition to hiring help, one of the best things we did was decide to have an estate sale. Earlier I mentioned that we had accumulated a lot of stuff: there were many pieces of clothes and jewelry we hadn’t worn for years, chairs and tables that sat alone in the basement, record albums that had never been played by us, and a sailboat we had only sailed a half dozen times in the last dozen years. Having an estate sale allowed us to leave literally two truckloads of our belongings behind and delegate decision making to professionals who have extensive experience deciding what should dumped, donated or sold.

I did not attend our estate sale. Watching family heirlooms go to new homes was not something I wanted to be on hand for, and I’m sure the estate sale folks prefer not to have owners on hand to interfere with the sales process. Now that it’s over, I’m trying to focus on the fact that much of what we owned will get better use in new homes – especially a baby grand piano, which did not sell. Thankfully, our new homeowners helped get it to a nursing home whose piano had recently broken down. When to downsize is a deeply personal decision, which may involve concerned family members. We didn’t want our kids to go through what we went through with our parents. And I watch friends struggle with their desire for independence versus the realities of aging: we don’t have the capacity to do as much as we used to do, so something has to change.

It’s impossible to know how long you’ll have the physical, intellectual and emotional capacity to downsize. But some of the variables are predictable, based on your health, how your parents aged, how many belongings you have, and whether you have children who will help you stay in your home – I recommend talking frankly with them, rather than assuming they’ll do this. And how much control you want to have over the process of downsizing. Odds are, the younger you are the more control you will have.

Keep your eye on the prize

During the couple days before we made an offer on the condo, I did a back-of-the-napkin estimate of how much living in the condo would cost versus living in the house. Although there was a hefty HOA fee with the condo, we no longer have lawn mowing, snow plowing or renovation fees. And our taxes have been almost halved.

The estimated time and financial savings made the decision a no brainer. With our limited time left, we want to spend more time on people and activities we love and less time managing our possessions.

Lynn Nelson is working on a book on

First, I had to imagine us living in the new space and what we would need versus want. We no longer have a ga-

Water Wisely: Start in your own backyard

Water is a precious resource needed by all living things. If you care for a yard or garden, you can help protect water resources by being wise about watering practices, starting in your own backyard.

Much of our treated drinking water is also used for landscape irrigation, so it pays to reduce water use and protect our supply by being wise about landscape watering practices at home.

Although all plants need water to be healthy and grow, some, like lawns, need less water than we think. While others, like trees, need more.

Knowing the what, when, where and how of watering in your garden or landscape is key to growing healthy plants and conserving our precious water supply.

Tips for maintaining healthy garden beds

What to water:

• Choose plants that will thrive in your existing soil type, light, space.

• Know which plants require consistently moist soil and those that prefer drier conditions.

• Note microclimates: dry shade, windy areas, poor drainage.

When to water:

Early morning to allow leaves to dry and reduce foliar diseases.

• Feel the top 6 inches of soil. Dry? Time to water.

How and where to water:

Water the base of plants to avoid getting leaves wet and reduce foliar diseases.

• Layout soaker hoses or drip irrigation

Quick tips

• Select plants that will thrive in existing soil type, light, and space.

• Collect and use rainwater to water plants.

• Water evergreens until the ground freezes.

• Water in early morning to allow leaves to dry and reduce diseases. Mulch plants to conserve moisture.

• Use sensors and smart controllers on automated irrigation systems.

• Water deeply, but less often, to encourage root growth and drought tolerance.

in early spring as plants emerge.

• Water deeply and less often to promote deeper, healthy roots.

Conserve water:

• Collect and use rainwater.

• Choose drought-tolerant plants that require less water.

• Add 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch to conserve moisture in the soil and protect roots.

• Amend soil with compost to increase soil’s water-holding capacity.

• Tips for maintaining healthy shrubs and trees

• Select drought-tolerant shrubs: - sumac, alpine currant, buffaloberry, spirea, ninebark, potentilla, smoke bush, gray dogwood, common bearberry, black chokeberry, forsythia, junipers

• Select drought-tolerant trees: - amur corktree, ginkgo, hackberry, Kentucky coffeetree, honeylocust, tree lilac, bur oak, American bayberry

• Newly planted shrubs and trees require regular watering until they are established.

• Apply water to the root ball once a week.

• Water established shrubs and trees when the top 6 to 9 inches of soil dry out.

Tips for maintaining a low maintenance lawn

• Set your mower at 2.5 inches or higher to promote deeper roots.

• Water only when it is necessary.

• If watering is required, it is best to water between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. to

reduce water loss due to evaporation or wind.

Water deeply and infrequently.

- Depending on soil type and air temperature, lawns need only a quarter inch to one inch of water (minus any rainfall) per week.

- Sandy soils may need to be watered 2-3 times per week but with less volume each time.

- Clay soils need to be watered only 1 time per week.

Install a rain sensor, a soil moisture sensor or a smart irrigation controller as part of your automated sprinkling system to reduce over-watering.

• Use drought-tolerant turfgrasses to conserve water.

The more you know: Native bees in Minnesota

By Madeline Dolby Shoreview Press Editor

From mid-April until mid-October each year, residents can find all kinds of bees in their yards. According to Elaine Evans, a University of Minnesota Extension educator and bee research, there are currently 518 species of bees that are native to Minnesota.

“The number is (kind of) increasing, as there is more research going on and we’re learning more,” Evans said. “Our partners at the (Minnesota) Department of Natural Resources, they’ve been doing a lot of bee surveys, finding a lot of new species and new habitats.”

According to Evans, there is one species of honeybee that lives in Minnesota, and it is not native.

“There are no native honeybees in North America. So, there is just the one Western honeybee that’s been imported; it’s primarily managed by people,” she explained.

Recently, some native bee species like the rusty patched bumblebee and the Dakota skipper have experienced declines in population and distribution. For bumblebees, roughly one out of four species are in decline.

There are a few different ways that non-native bees can impact those native to Minnesota. Evans explained that one of the big categories of non-

native bees are managed bees, such as honeybees and even a few types of bumblebees.

“One of the things that happen with management is people move them around a lot … They are often in close proximity to each other. That is a really good way to spread diseases around,” she said. “With moving bees, you can move new diseases into areas where they weren’t before … So there is a lot of concern for both honeybees and bumblebees. Those managed bees can spread diseases to other bees.”

The spreading of diseases happens mainly at flowers. The bees are landing on the same plant and diseases move around between them that way.

“We know that the diseases are moving around,” Evans said. “What we don’t know is what the impact of those diseases are on the other pollinators.”

Just like humans, bees can pick up a virus but not get sick from it. Some diseases and viruses make certain species of bees sick, while other species are not affected. Currently, the University of Minnesota is doing research on how some of these diseases are being picked up by bumblebees from honeybees, but the viruses aren’t replicating in the bumblebees.

“There’s definitely spillover that these diseases are moving from

honeybees to bumblebees, but the bumblebees aren’t spreading it to each other,” Evans said. “We know that we have bee populations in Minnesota that are threatened with extinction. We want to keep bees from going extinct.”

In order to set seed and reproduce, many plant species rely on animal pollinators to move pollen from flower to flower. Bees are some of the most efficient pollinators because their bodies are designed to collect and store pollen to feed their young.

Honeybees are good at finding the most productive flowers and collecting resources from them. When there are a lot of honeybees being kept in one area, there are not enough flowers around to support both the honeybees and all the other species of bees living there.

impact that honeybees would have on that.”

Minnesota’s pollinators are facing challenges on many fronts. These challenges include habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, diseases and parasites. Pollinators help provide food and habitat for animals, buffer waterways and store carbon. Without pollinators, it would be difficult for fruits, vegetables and nuts, like almonds, to grow.

“There is a concern that having a lot of honeybees in an area cannot leave enough flowers for everyone else,” Evans said. “We know that there are areas where there’s not a lot of floral resources. Then there can be concerns about the environmental

“Twenty years, 40 years ago, there were a lot more flowers that were out there. And just on the landscape broadly overall. Even just in roadsides, agricultural areas,” Evans said. “In recent decades there’s been more use of herbicides to control weeds in crops, but then it also spills over into those roadsides that used to be full of plants that would bloom that bees could eat. Now, there’s fewer and fewer flowers in those areas.”

Evans said that one of the exciting things about working with pollinators is how quickly they respond to people planting them.

Exterior Home Improvements

Pollinator habitats do not have to be large; they can be planted in a small space in your yard or in a boulevard.

“We call them pocket prairies, these kinds of smaller plantings, where you have particular native plants, native prairie plants. They are something that the pollinators can find really quickly, and they’ll start using it right away,” Evans said. “So pretty much as soon as you have things blooming, you’ll start seeing a lot of pollinators that are using that habitat.”

Other ways residents can help pollinators is provide places for them to live. Pollinators typically create their homes in the ground or in plant

stems. Evans said that having lesstended corners in resident’s yards can help create areas where bees can live.

Residents can also help collect pollinator data. Residents can take photos and share them to INaturalist, an online portal where you can record any kind of plant or animal that you see that is not domesticated. For more information on bees in Minnesota, visit beelab.umn.edu or www.dnr.state.mn.us/mbs/mn-bees. html.

Editor Madeline Dolby can be reached at 651-431-1226 or quadnews@ presspubs.com.