Meenal Harankhedkar, Director of Horticulture
Jul 1, 20221 min
Photos: A mix of simple and compound flowers
Flowers come in diverse shapes, sizes and colors. Simple or compound, each one has the same goal, to attract as many pollinators as possible.
Racemes (compound flowers) certainly have an upper hand vs simple single flowers like those of the Daylily. One single inflorescence raceme stalk has multiple flowers, and in most cases, all flowers are placed together tightly for the highest impact.
No wonder most compound flower are one of the best pollinators, eg., Rudbeckias, Sedums, Sunflowers, Echinacea, Salvias, Daisies, Solidago, Eupatorium, etc.
Simple single flowers were a characteristic of the most primitive Angiosperms, for eg., Magnolias. But as plants evolved, complex compound flowers came into the picture and disk florets and racemes are evolution at its best!
When planning a summer pollinators friendly garden, have a closer look at the flowers of the plants you are choosing and check if there is a good mix of plants with both simple single flowers and complex flowers.
Simple is always good, but when it comes to pollinators, complex compound flowers are your best bet!