UNITES STATES—Floral color attracts pollinators. Hummingbirds mostly prefer bright red, pink and orange. Butterflies mostly prefer bright orange and yellow. Bees prefer bright blue and purple but are less discriminating than other pollinators. Of course, these are mere generalizations. Otherwise, the majority of pollinators might ignore species that bloom with white flowers.
Realistically, most flowers do not rely on pollinators for pollination. They rely exclusively on wind, so are just green or brown, and not visually prominent. These include flowers of grasses and conifers. Otherwise, small but prominently prolific white flowers are the next best option. They rely on either or both wind and pollinators for very effective pollination.
For example, firethorn bloom is very appealing to bees and other pollinators. It is also so prolific that some of its pollen disperses into the wind. Its tiny but abundant white flowers cannot avoid pollination by one means or the other. Most orchard trees, such as apricot, plum, apple and pear, use the same technique. So do viburnum, photinia and elderberry.
True Colors
This should not imply that white is a substandard color, though. After all, white flowers do attract pollinators. Several pollinators, such as nocturnal moths, prefer luminescent white flowers. More importantly, many pollinators see more than white. Several types of Insects see ultraviolet. What seems to be white to us can actually be elaborately colorful to them.
Furthermore, white needs no justification. It happens to be the best color option for some garden applications. It brightens visually dark situations and mingles well with almost all other colors. A few types of flowers, particularly those with distinctive form, excel at white. Calla, camellia, lily of the valley and various lilies are only a few of numerous examples.
Cool season annuals for autumn and winter will soon replace old warm season annuals. White busy Lizzie, petunia, cosmos, alyssum, snapdragon and zinnia are finishing soon. White pansy, viola, dianthus and wax begonia may replace them. Later in autumn, white cyclamen will become seasonal. There are always enough white flowers to choose from.
Highlight: Naked Lady
From scarcely exposed tops of seemingly dead bulbs, floral stalks unexpectedly appear. Foliage only appears after bloom finishes. This is why Amaryllis belladonna is known as naked lady. It blooms unfoliated. Various varieties of the same species bloom with about the same vivid pink color. White variants are very rare. Floral fragrance is mild but sweet.
Naked lady flowers are about two feet tall on simple brown or green stalks. Fleshy seeds that develop after bloom are viable only while fresh and plump. Foliage begins to appear by later summer and grows more with autumn rain. It resembles foliage of lily of the Nile, but is more fragile, and shrivels by late spring. Then, bulbs lay dormant through summer.
Naked lady bulbs are impressively resilient, but also quite sensitive. If possible, the best time to relocate them is supposedly between bloom and foliation. However, relocation is likely easiest during complete summer dormancy. Unfortunately, though, such relocation can interfere with subsequent bloom. Naked lady needs full sun exposure to bloom well but requires no water.
