This ring will collect the extra water these young plants need to get established. It will also supply a deeper watering which will encourage deep root growth and help the plant become established quicker. These tiny, black, pesky insects are virtually omnipresent throughout North America. Ants do perform some beneficial functions. They play an important role in our ecosystem by disposing of the remains of other dead insects.
Ants also play an important role in the pollination of flowers.
A few ants coming to gather nectar from the blooms is not a plant pest problem. But when you have too many ants in your plants, forming an expressway up the stalks of a plant, this is indicative of some other bug problems that need to be addressed. Ants themselves do not harm your plants. But ants are ingenious little 'farmers' that help several other bad bugs harm your plants. Ants like to farm aphids, whitefly, scale, and mealybug.