Advertising is defined as an effort to bring public attention to or promote something. Calling attention to an attribute or a characteristic of a plant would therefore be considered advertising. This includes product description on plant labels, signage or catalogs that describe plants as bee-friendly, attractive to pollinators attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds etc., bee or butterfly plant, good nectar source or any description that the plant is associated with bees or pollinators by text, pictures or symbols.
Third party literature such as horticulture books, posters, etc. is not considered advertising.
Third party literature such as horticulture books, posters, etc. is not considered advertising.
Verbal descriptions of plant characteristics including their potential to be pollinator-friendly are not considered advertising.
Verbal descriptions of plant characteristics including their potential to be pollinator-friendly are not considered advertising.
Pollinators include insects, birds and mammals (examples include honey bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats).
Pollinators include insects, birds and mammals (examples include honey bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats).
All plants offered for sale in Minnesota are covered: annuals, bedding plants, perennials, trees and shrubs.
All plants offered for sale in Minnesota are covered: annuals, bedding plants, perennials, trees and shrubs.
The law does not regulate the use of specific insecticides or products; rather, it is the labeling of plant material that is regulated. Plants cannot be labeled or advertised as attractive or beneficial to pollinators if they are treated with systemic insecticide that: (i) has a pollinator protection box on the label; or (ii) has a pollinator, bee, or honey bee precautionary statement in the environmental hazards section of the insecticide product label that results in a concentration in its flowers greater than the no observed adverse effect level as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for acute oral toxicity for adult honeybee. All insecticide products with active ingredients that act systemically and carry bee- or pollinator-protective label language noted in the law have the potential to lead to detectable levels of residues. A systemic insecticide is on that is both absorbed by the plant and translocated through the plant’s vascular system. Insecticides that work through translaminar absorption – moving into the leaf where the active ingredient remains for a period of time – are not considered systemic insecticides for purposes of this law.
