5
Summer Plants
Summer fruit, berry, and cover
plants include trees, shrubs,
aquatic plants, and vines which
produce food from June through
August. The biggest group in this
component are those plants that
produce fruits and berries in the
summer. Wildlife species attracted
are American robin, junco,
woodpeckers, brown thrashers,
blue jays, catbirds, bluebird, wood
thrush, cedar waxwing, oriole,
scarlet tanager, cardinal,
butterflies, cowbird, pheasant,
deer, grouse, squirrel, raccoon, red
fox, and pheasant.
This group of plants tends to
spread and create thickets
producing excellent cover. Some of
these plants are: raspberries,
blackberries, serviceberries, wild
plum, chokecherries, lilac-flowered
honeysuckle, cherry, and amur
maples. Climbing vines create
nesting cover and fruits. The best
fruit trees for wildlife are
mulberries, chokecherries, and
black cherries.
The best tall shrubs are bush
apricots, chokecherries,
birdcherries, and serviceberries.
Plums and cherries are good
medium shrubs. The best low
shrubs are cherries, honeysuckle,
raspberries, elderberries,
blackberries, and blueberries.
Grapes are the best vines and
strawberries are the best forb.
If you want to create a shelter
belt, elderberries, scarlet elder,
American plum, cherries, service
berries, and mulberries are best.
For aquatic areas consider:
smartweed (used by 66 species),
bulrush (52 species), pondweed
(40 species), wigeon grass (33
species), wild millet (29 species),
spike rush (29 species), wild rice
(23 species), cattails (17 species),
wild celery (16 species), and
duckweed (16 species).
honeysuckle, cherry, and amur
maples. Climbing vines create
nesting cover and fruits. The best
fruit trees for wildlife are
mulberries, chokecherries, and
black cherries.
The best tall shrubs are bush
apricots, chokecherries,
birdcherries, and serviceberries.
Plums and cherries are good
medium shrubs.
The best low shrubs are cherries,
honeysuckle, raspberries,
elderberries, blackberries, and
blueberries. Grapes are the best
vines and strawberries are the
best forb.
If you want to create a shelter
belt, elderberries, scarlet elder,
American plum, cherries, service
berries, and mulberries are best.
For aquatic areas consider:
smartweed (used by 66 species),
bulrush (52 species), pondweed
(40 species), wigeon grass (33
species), wild millet (29 species),
spike rush (29 species), wild rice
(23 species), cattails (17 species),
wild celery (16 species), and
duckweed (16 species).
Fall Plants
Fall fruits, grains, and cover
plants allow migratory birds to
build up fat reserves prior to
migration. Non-migratory species
need this Fall food to build up their
“food pantries" or add to their fat
reserves so they can make it
through the winter.
Gray catbirds, brown thrashers,
American robins, chickadees,
juncos, purple finches, cardinals,
cedar waxwings, wood thrushes,
nuthatches, grosbeaks, ruffed
grouse, bluebirds, wood ducks,
pheasants, and orioles seek out
the fruit of the red osier
dogwood, gray dogwood,
mountain ash, winterberry, and
cottoneasters.
Grains such as corn are valued
by nearly 100 species as is
wheat, oats, and grain sorghum.
Winter Plants
Winter fruits and cover plants
can make the difference whether
wildlife survive the winter. In order
for this food to be available
during the winter, it must have
persistence and low appeal to
wildlife when the fruit first
appears. Examples are:
snowberry, crabapple, chokeberry,
staghorn, sumac, bittersweet,
highbush cranberry, wahoo, and
Virginia creeper.
Some of these fruits are bitter
when they first ripen. Others
must freeze and thaw several
times until the fruits break down
and become more palatable.
Butterfly, Bee, and Moth Plants
Butterfly, bee, and moth plants
will add class to your habitat. You
might want to create a garden of
native prairie wildflowers or native
woodland wildflowers.
The most common butterflies
attracted include monarch,
painted lady, comma, red-spotted
purple, tiger swallowtail,
fritillaries, red admiral, sulphurs,
cabbage, and blues. If you are
wanted to attract a moth, you
might have the clearwing or
sphinx visit your garden. Bees
that are nectar feeders are
bumblebees and honeybees.
