The Horticultural Research Institute, the research affiliate of AmericanHort, announced the launch of the Grow Wise, Bee Smart website. This resource is a key component of the Horticultural Industry’s Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative, which was created to provide leadership and guidance to the industry on pollinator health. The site serves as the communications hub for the latest research and developments related to the role horticulture plays in supporting pollinator health.

Grow Wise, Bee Smart currently features information on the importance of bees and pollinators, threats to their health, and steps everyone can take to improve habitat and forage. Links to the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and Pollinator Partnership further guide retail and landscape firms and their customers on how to plant and register new gardens and habitats for pollinators.

As the Grow Wise, Bee Smart stewardship program for plant production is launched, and as funded and directed research yields results and guidance, the site will feature timely new information and insights.

The Horticultural Industry’s Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative has three goals:

• fund and guide research to answer urgent questions regarding impact of pest management practices and bee and pollinator attractiveness of major plants we grow and sell;
• develop a plant production stewardship program based on best practices; and,
• partner with other interested groups to improve and expand pollinator habitat and forage.

Great progress is being made on all fronts. The Horticultural Research Institute has directly funded five related research projects totaling $160,100. AmericanHort and HRI helped to secure another $272,000 for a priority project that received special Farm Bill funding. A grower and scientist task force has developed key components for the stewardship program. And, AmericanHort was one of eight founding partners of the National Pollinator Garden Network, which in early June launched the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.

“Horticulture, the health of pollinators, and the success of our industry are intertwined,” said Harvey Cotten, past president of the Horticultural Research Institute and a leader in the Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative. “We are the original green industry, and our plants and expertise can make a difference for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators,” he added.

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The Society of American Florists (SAF) joined with dozens of groups from agriculture and beyond in April to call on Congress to increase funding for important research on pollinator health.

The letter, addressed to Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), asks lawmakers to support increases in President Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget, including a $7 million increase to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service budget for the Pollinator Health Initiative and $500,000 increase for the National Agricultural Statistics Service to further analyze honey bee colony losses and pollination costs for the Pollinator Health Initiative.

“For over a decade, beekeepers have been suffering from higher than typical overwintering losses,” according to the letter. “These losses and the unpredictability of their severity have threatened the sustainability of this important segment of agriculture. That is why all sectors of agriculture, including row crop, specialty crop, beekeepers, and related agricultural industries have come together to express support for the allocation of these funds and exhibit our shared interest in pursuing this research so that we may all base our decisions on sound science.”

The groups signing the letter also expressed their support for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and its role in coordinating efforts for long-term protection of pollinator health.

The letter comes at a time when pollinator health is in the headlines — and “misunderstandings about the highly complex issue, and the role that neonicotinoids, or ‘neonics,’ a class of pesticides, play in pollinator health, are many,” said Lin Schmale, SAF’s senior director of government relations. “This is an issue for which sound science must take priority.”

The letter falls on the heels of the Bee and Pollinator Stewardship Initiative’s launch of the website growwise.org. Supported by SAF, AmericanHort and the industry’s research arms, the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) and the American Floral Endowment (AFE), the Initiative’s website provides a go-to resource for information about bee and pollinator health — whether bee colonies are really still declining and the positive impact the industry can play in promoting bee health. It also cites bee research being conducted by HRI and AFE. Go to the website to download a brochure and “frequently asked questions,” designed for growers, landscapers, and their customers.

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