I took these pics today, but the hummers didn't cooperate and pose, as usual.
At the Manettia cordifolia Brazilian Firecracker Vine. I planted this under the eaves and the plant doesn't get as much sun as it would like to have, but it bloomed anyway.
At the Ipomopsis rubra Standing Cypress.
At the Cuphea schumanii. The hummer is almost lost in the foliage background!
Whoops! Forgot the Cuphea schumanii pic.
At the Justica carnea Brazilian Plume. She almost gets lost in the fence in the background.
Thanks Hummer_girl for the photos of your birds and the plants that they like to feed from. Do they seem to have any favorites that you have noticed? I am trying to collect as many hummer friendly plants as I can find, thanks again. :~)
Dave
Besides the plants shown above, the other attractors at my house right now are:
Cuphea x 'David Verity'
Canna Robert Kemp
Canna indica
Lobelia cardinalis
Salvia guaranitica Black & Blue
Salvia coccinea Texas Sage
Salvia 'Coral Nymph'
Justica brandegeana
Lonicera sempervirens
Ipomoea coccinea
Ipomoea x multifida Cardinal Climber
Hamelia patens Mexican Fire Bush
Dicliptera suberecta King's Crown
Malvaviscue arboreus var. drummondii Turk's Cap
Russelia equisetiformis Coral Plant
Begonia boliviensis Bonfire
Agastache canna 'Heather Queen'
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii Hummingbird Shrub
Zauschneria garrettii 'Orange Carpet'
Fuchsia Gartenmeister Bonstedt
Salvia greggi 'Furman's Red'
A lot of these I grow as annuals would have a longer growing season in Florida.
I also have a lot of other plants that are not blooming right now. My lists can be very long!
h_g,
Very nice photos and thanks for your long list!
Given you're in 5b, do you overwinter your cupheas, firecracker vine, etc, indoors during the winter or do you start over fresh in the springtime with seeds and starts??
I find that it takes me such a long time to get my tropical type plants to any decent size and by then my hummer population has started to migrate. But I start ours from seed and cuttings and tiny plants. I don't overwinter them.
Zone 5b is my old classification, I'm really in zone 6a. Though it is possible for us to have a really nasty winter around here, which will make zone 6a feel tropical.
I have grown Cuphea ignea from seed (forgot to mention I have those planted, also). But this is the first year I have Cuphea David Verity and C. schumanii. Both of those plants I bought mail order. I don't think the David Verity will produce seeds, so I plan on taking cuttings. Something I have never done before. I have been doing research so I don't make any mistakes! The C. schumanii is in its natural form, no botanists have messed with it yet, and it is producing seeds, which I have been collecting. Not knowing what the seeds would do, I also planned to take cuttings. But, surprise, the plant has been dropping seeds into its pot and I have a couple dozen baby Cupheas growing, ranging from a couple inches to a fraction. I have been gently nursing them along and will pot them all up and overwinter in my basement under grow lights.
The majority of the seeds I start inside I have been planting on April 1st and putting the plants outside after May 1st, but I am thinking of starting some seeds in March so the blooms come earlier. The Begonia Bonfire seeds have to be planted by February 1st to have blooms in May. I planted the Bonfire seeds for the first time last spring, so I know it will take that long to get flowers.
The Firecracker Vine is another new mail-order plant this year. I have three. I am going to dig each one up, pot up, and overwinter under grow lights. I am also watching the vines to see if they will produce seeds.
The Fuchsia, Russelia, Justicas, Mexican Fire Bush, and the C. schumanii mother plant and Cuphea David Verity mother plant I am going to try and overwinter under lights in the garage for the first time, and probably take cuttings of the Fire Bush. The Cannas I dig up and overwinter the rhizomes. The Salvia coccinea & S. Coral Nymph I planted from seeds on April 1st. I think the flowers didn't emerge until June, but the plants are just hugh! Bigger than anything I have ever bought from the nursery, and loaded with flower stalks. The Coral Nymph seeds are seeds I harvested in 2006 or 2007, and germination rate was very high in 2009. I plan on collecting seeds from both Salvias this year. The Ipomoeas I collect seeds from each year, and plant them early May where I want them to grow; this year they didn't get planted until June, so they were a little late blooming, but the vines are thick with flowers right now. I am going to try and overwinter the Black & Blue Salvia in a winterized pot outside and see what happens. They are supposed to be hardy to zone 6, now. I'm not sure the King's Crown will overwinter in the ground. I am going to insulate the plant with compost, but I am thinking about taking cuttings just to be sure. This was a new mail-order plant this year and the hummers have love it, so I want half a dozen more! Everything else is in the ground and will get a winter mulch. A couple plants are zone 7s, so I'm stretching the zones hoping they will survive, and I am thinking about taking cuttings, just in case. It gets too expensive buying new tropicals every year, since the majority of what I want can't be found locally and has to be mail-order.
Thanks hummer, for your explanation. I'm going to make a TAB for your post so I can refer to it later. It sounds like you're going to have a lot going on in your basement this winter!
Besides my hummers plants, I have quite a few cacti to overwinter, plus 33 Desert Roses, a Devil's Backbone, Living Stones and a Madagascar Palm (all succulents). I have 2 grow light areas in my basement, and will probably have to add a third, plus the lights I'm setting up in my garage. This year I am doing a lot more than ever before. Winter used to be my down time, a break from all the gardening and watering, time with my books and planning for next year. The cacti/succulents slow down or go dormant over winter, so they don't require a lot of care, and I never started seeds inside until April 1st. This winter will be different, and if everything survives or grows I'll probably decide it wasn't too much of a bother and wonder why I didn't do it years ago. Over the last 2 years I have started several hummer favorite perennials from seed, and everytime I water I admire the plants and think, "I did that!" Feels good.
Tabasco: how do you TAB a thread for later viewing?
This message was edited Sep 11, 2009 5:38 PM
To Make A TAB:
Go up to the right hand corner of this page and click on the 'little yellow file folder' (next to the "Search Forums" box).
A page will come up where you can enitle your tab.
Then follow the instructions on the page.
Now, if you want to just make a TAB for one single post in a thread (which is what I often do when I find it full of good info) then:
Go to the left margin of the post you like and find a 'Post #' (in blue) under the DG name, date, and time.
Click on that and then go to the upper right of the new page that comes up to click the 'little yellow folder' to make a tab. And Voila! you're finished.
You are quite ambitious for your winter gardening plan!
Have you ever done 'wintersowing', btw? You might find that a fun wintertime occupation too.
(There is a DG forum that explains it in detail.)
Thank you for the TAB instructions. There are several threads I would like to save for future reference. This thread just for the instructions :-)
I wintersowed Lobelia cardinalis wildflower, Penstemon Barbatus 'Coccineus' Jingle Bells Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsute Hairy Beardtongue wildflower, and Gentiana crinita Fringed Gentian. They all had to be stratified for germination. Everything came up; the Lobelia flowers the first year, but the others not until the second year. This year there are more perennial seeds I'm going to scatter in early winter, but I need to clean-up a couple beds first.
my babies went south last weekend the babies finally got strong enough to make the journey
I wintersowed my lobelia cardinalis, too. My hummers enjoy that one all day. One clump is right in front of my front porch, so it's sort of a bird's eye view of their antics.
Karen
Hummer_girl, thanks for sharing your great pics and all the wonderful information. I'm just getting started with hummingbirds and have been trying to read everywhere for information on plants I can add. Here all I would have had to do was read this thread. I'm also zone 6a so I should be able to grow much of what you do.
Tobasco, thanks for the tabbing info...I am also going to TAB this thread for future info. There are so many encouraging and helpful members here and that has made my attempts to get started sooooo much easier, and sucessful!
Willow
Thanks.
I must get some of that Lobelia for our garden, too! I have a packet of the seed and I think I will go ahead and "Wintersow" it after Christmas.
If you are wondering what "Wintersowing" means, BTW, here is the forum that explains it: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/coldsow/all/
It's an 'easy-as-pie' method to get started on growing from seed. And many butterfly and hummingbird plants lend themselves to this technique for germination. (and kqcrna is an expert at it and can answer all kinds of questions about it!)
Hey, tabasco, I think you've been wintersowing as long as I have. Maybe you're the expert, with those beautiful gardens of yours.
But, yes, l. cardinalis is a great hummingbird plant.
Karen
Thanks again Tobasco. This looks like a perfect thing for me to try as I already do alot under lights and tend to run out of room. If I could wintersow at least part of it I'd have more space. What is the best place to find seed sources for hummingbird plants? I've seen a few in the run of the mill seed cataloges, but there are many I haven't seen sources for.
I have another list of hummer-friendly plants that bloomed in my yard earlier this year:
Aquilegia canadensis Wild Columbine
Atom Gladiolus
Gladiolus oppositiflorus v. salmoneus Wildflower Salmon Gladiolus
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Mirabilis jalapa 'Marvel of Peru' Four O'Clock
Kniphofia Torch Lily
Mimulus ringens Monkeyflower
Mimulus cardinalis Scarlet Monkey Flower
Monarda fistulosa Wild Bergamot Beebalm
Silene virginica Fire Pink
Silene regia 'Royal Catchfly'
Spigelia marilandica Indian Pink
Stachys coccinea Scarlet Hedgenettle
Tithonia rotundifolia 'Red Torch' Mexican Sunflower
Zinnia 'Cherry Queen'
Zinnia 'Red Spider'
Weigela (3 varities)
Hemerocallis Pardon Me Daylily
Platycodon grandiflorus Balloon Flower
I also have other plants blooming that the hummers visit I didn't list:
Agastache 'Acapulco Salmon & Pink'
Agastache rupestris Apache Sunset
Chelone oblique Rose Turtlehead
Ipomoea luteola Scarlet Creeper vine
Ipomoea lobata Spanish Flag vine (forgot I planted the seeds!)
Ipomea coccinea var. hederifolia Scarlet Star Orange Morning Glory vine
Ipomoea quamoclit Cypress vine
Justicia fulvicoma Mexican Plume (I did see at least 2 hummers visit once)
Maurandya antirrhiniflora Snapdragon Vine (I recently found 2 volunteer plants from seeds dropped last year)
Salvia azurea Azure Blue Sage
Salvia splendens Blaze of Fire
Antirrhinum majus Snapdragon
Torenia fournieri Wishbone Flower
Buddleja davidii 'Adonis Blue'
Calibrachoa Callie Bright Red
And a list of hummer-friendly plants I have planted, but not this year:
Asclepias curassavica
Eccremocarpus scaber Tresco Crimson Chilean Glory Vine
Here's a list of companies I purchase seeds from:
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery
http://www.mowildflowers.net/
Easy Wildflowers
http://easywildflowers.com/
Prairie Moon Nursery
http://www.prairiemoon.com/
Diane's Flower Seeds
http://www.dianeseeds.com/
Select Seeds
http://www.selectseeds.com/
I purchase my Cannas and Atom Gladiolus from:
Old House Gardens
http://www.oldhousegardens.com/
I hope this helps!
I'm still seeing 3 hummers buzzing around. Last year they didn't leave until early October.
This message was edited Sep 18, 2009 3:37 PM
This message was edited Sep 18, 2009 3:49 PM
This message was edited Sep 18, 2009 3:56 PM
Wow!!!! Thank you! You really are the Queen of Lists. That will be so much fun to look through. My grandaughters, aged 3 and 4, will be here tonight for a sleep-over, but you can bet I'll be on the computer looking as soon as they're in bed. Yesterday we sat about 5 ft. from the feeders and they got their first close look at the hummers...they were mesmerized. Thanks for your help!
Willow
About an hour ago I was collecting seeds from the Ipomoea x multifida Cardinal Climber, which is climbing around hanging baskets of Calibrachoa Callie Bright Red. My head was bent forward into the foilage, a stem of Calibrachoa poking into my very short hair. The whrilly-wind sound of hummer wings came up on my left and moved over my right ear. I didn't move. I knew I had red blossoms resting on my head. The hummer didn't land on my head, but she was within an inch, the fast beat of her wings strongly ruffling my hair. She moved a little forward and I could see her out of the corner of my eye. I swear a wing tip grazed the top of my ear. That is absolutely the closest encounter I have ever had. Too bad no one was around with a camera.
We still have at least 3 hummers zooming around. While I was watering, a bee chased 1 into a tree, another was at the Lobelia, and the third at the feeder. I always like to think there are more than I can count at one time.
What a wonderful experience. That's so exciting and they're just so amazing to see up close. I worked at a Boy Scout camp in the Colorado Rockies for many years when my kids were growing up. We had a feeder on the Health Lodge porch, where I worked, that was just flooded with hummers. We could take down the feeder and hold it in our hands with our fingers on the little footrests, and the little birds would come sit on our fingers to drink. You had to be willing to sit very still for a long time, and sometimes you'd swear you were going to get scewered by a little beak as they zipped around your head, but it was one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life. Now I'm excited to again be watching them and have them stay and visit, but these are different species, for the most part, and I'm not too good with the identification yet. Hope someday to have one on my finger again.
Willow
does anyone recognize this little guy he is not a ruby throad had lots of this kind last spring and my book doesnt show this guy he is very territorial and kept the ruby throats aways from the feeder by sitting on the wire of my led light butterflies
Scicciarella: looks like a female ruby-throated. The girls do not have the scarlet throats, only the boys.
I don't think so. The female ruby throats have white necks, the white goes all the way up the neck to the beak.
http://www.hummingbirds.net/rubythroated.html
Karen
the females have green backs not black this guy is almost all black and much shorter with the gray and only a small white ring
I've been looking through my hummer books. Hard to match pictures. Good to know the coloring is nearly black, but looks like some green in the feathers in your photo. The beak looks like a ruby-throated pictured in my book, shorter and straightish, but Karen is right, I missed the light coloring up the throat on the female. I'll keep looking.
Using the link Karen provided, the following hummers are listed for the Ontario area:
Ruby-throated, Rufous, Green Violet-ear, Broad-billed, Black-chinned.
This message was edited Sep 22, 2009 12:07 PM
I have male and female ruby throat here all summer
this little guy came in may stayed only for two weeks and moved on with his family
this is the female ruby see the white all the way and the green back
this is the male ruby throat you can see the colorfull band
and here is my strange guy you can see clearly that its a totally different kind of bird and the males of both species faught for this spot on the wire next to the feeder from sun up to sun down
as you can see he has a white band no bright color at all and is gray and black
I could be wrong but it looks like a Black-chinned. In the first photo of him I think I can see the deep purple color along the edge of this throat.
are black chins suppose to be in my neck of the woods pardon the punn
but what was he doing in eastern ontario since the go from british columbia down to mexico make pit stops in texas and california
so they are the west coast hummers not east
we usually only get ruffus sometimes and mostly
ruby throat
From what I've read about birds they can get off course and end up where they usually don't. You might post it on the Bird ID forum and maybe someone can identify it for you. Or send it to this sight http://hummingbirdworld.com/h/index.html , if you can't get a positive ID. Good luck...I'd really like to know what it is.
yes one or two but I had if I counted right 8 of them all male and never saw the females unless they look the same
after checking the females look very similar to the ruby throat female amost identical just a little taller so I probably had eight couples and ten couples of the ruby throat it was crazy at my house for two weeks
My RT hummer males don't flash the red until they become agitated or territorial. So peacefully at rest they all look like females to me. Is there another feature I can look for to distinguish?
ruby throat are slimmer
the females have the white from the beak all the way down
the blackchinn has a white band very visible
