NEW research from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), with support from the Wildlife Gardening Forum, has found that pollinators in the UK do not always prefer native plants in gardens and allotments.

The findings, which are the first from the charity’s four-year Plants for Bugs research project and are published in the Journal of Applied Ecology , suggest that gardeners wishing to encourage and support pollinators should plant a mix of flowers from a wide range of geographical regions.

While there should be an emphasis on plants native to the UK and the northern hemisphere, as more pollinators from a range of pollinator groups visit these plants, plants from the southern hemisphere, such as Lobelia tupa and Verbena bonariensis, can also play an equally important role.

By tending to flower later than native and northern hemisphere species, southern hemisphere plants provide much-needed nectar and pollen long after other the plants have gone to seed.

RHS scientists found that regardless of the origin of the plant (native or non-native), the more flowering plants a garden can offer throughout the year, the greater the number of bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects that will visit.

Speaking about the study, RHS lead researchers Dr Andrew Salisbury and Helen Bostock said: “The UK’s 1,500 species of pollinator are thought to be under increasing pressure due to the loss of habitat and food sources.

“As more traditional habitats have been reduced, the role of gardens as havens for pollinators and other wildlife is growing in importance.

“That said, up until now the role native and non-native plants play in sustaining wildlife in gardens has been unclear and confusing.

“Now, for the first time, gardeners can access robust, evidence-based information on the most effective planting strategy they can adopt if they wish to attract and support pollinators.

“These findings will help gardeners to confidently pack their borders, window boxes and allotments with flowers without getting hung up on the idea that they are somehow doing the ‘wrong thing’ if the plants they have chosen are not all UK natives.”