Let the Garden Be Messy - Minimize Fall Cleanup
As summer is winding down and your flowers have died back, you might be tempted to start garden cleanup. Holding off on cleanup can help support numerous invertebrates including native bees.
When it comes to supporting our native stem‑nesting bees, the best thing you can do is embrace a little garden chaos. By planting native species with pithy or hollow stems and leaving those stems standing through fall and winter, you’re giving these overlooked pollinators a fighting chance. Yes, it can look a bit messy—but that’s exactly the point. Let’s dig into how you can make your yard a better home for stems, bees, and biodiversity.
Plant the Right Natives for Nesting Habitat
To attract and shelter stem‑nesting bees (like small carpenter bees Ceratina, leaf‑cutter bees Megachile, and others), focus on native plants that produce pithy or hollow stems:
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Elderberry (Sambucus spp.)
Raspberries / native cane berries (Rubus spp.)
Yarrow (Achillea spp.)
Plus other ornamentals like joe‑pye weed, wild bergamot, blazing star, asters, sunflowers, milkweeds, mountain mints, and more.
These species naturally form stems that are ideal for bees to excavate nests and overwinter.
Let the Stems Stand: Don’t Clean Them Up Too Soon
One of the most important steps to protect nest sites is simply holding off on fall cleanup.
Leave dead flower stalks and stems standing through winter—but cut them back in early spring, before bees start nesting.
Keep trimmed stems at a stubble height of approximately 12–18 inches (some sources suggest up to 24 inches), which is ideal habitat and still looks relatively neat.
Trim around the last spring frost—this timing ensures you don’t disturb overwintering bees.
The Lifecycle of Stems, Bees & Habitats
Year 1 (Growing Season): Blooming plants grow healthy, solid stems. Bees won’t nest in these fresh, intact stalks.
End of Year 1 (Winter to early Spring): Cut stems back to 12–18 inches. These cut stems are now ready to be used by next spring’s bees.
Year 2 (Following Growing Season): Bees begin nesting in leftover stems—laying eggs, provisioning pollen balls, and overwintering as larvae or adults inside.
Year 3 (Spring): Older stems from Year 1 still house bees; stems from Year 2 may now serve as nesting sites too. Always leave standing until stems naturally decompose.
This cycle—letting stems stand for 2–3 years—ensures that successive generations of bees can emerge safely and perpetuate the habitat cycle.
Elderberry's Special Role—Not as a Flower, But as a Nest
Elderberry isn’t a standout for nectar or pollen—but its value lies underground—or, well, inside its stems. The pithy, dead wood of elderberry is a prime nesting material for small carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.), who carve tunnels into broken or hollow elderberry stems.
This shows that even species not known for floral resources can play a critical role in nesting habitat. So yes—don’t judge elderberry by its lack of floral resources—it’s providing nesting sites in its own way.
Normalize the "Messy" Look
A garden in “disorder” may not win design awards, but for pollinator conservation, it’s a small price for big gains:
Let dead stems and leaves stand—it’s essential winter habitat for many insects.
Leaves and stems also offer benefits such as natural mulch, snow and flood control, and free “weed fighting” coverage.
New growth quickly hides messy stubble by mid-spring, balancing aesthetics with ecology.
Inform neighbors or label your front yard as an intentional habitat (“neat in front, wild in back”) to shift expectations and encourage support.
Your garden doesn’t need to be pristine to shine—it just needs to be purposeful. By planting native species, intentionally leaving stems, and embracing a wilder aesthetic, you transform your landscape into a sanctuary for stem-nesting bees—tiny but mighty helpers in our ecosystem. For a handy quick guide, you can refer to this table.
Let's make "messy" the new beautiful—and help those bees build the future, one hollow stem at a time. To learn more about overwintering pollinator habitat, check out this overview of crating habitats including woody debris piles, dead stems, leaf litter and more from Xerces Society.