plants to attract hummingbirds

I would love to have some ideas on what plants to plant this year to attract hummingbirds. Are there any plants that attracts hummingbirds more than others?

Iowa,

I have hedges of Firebush (hamelia patens) growing on both sides of my driveway...the hummies really love that stuff.

A neighbor has Orange Trumpet Vine (campsis radicans) hanging over the fence and they fight for that too.

Golden Dewdrops aka Sapphire Showers (duranta repens/duranta erecta) is also a hummie favorite as well as a butterfly magnet.

They love monarda and salvia and tend to go to red flowers first.

Of course, feeders work extremely well too :o)

~ Cat

Coral honeysuckle vine firebush.

My Trumpet Vines get covered with Hummers. They like them all but I mainly see them on the orange one
(Madame Gallen, I think) because its the closest one to the house. Black & Blue Salvia is another they love.
Mine rarely use the feeders unless there filling up for migration but I still keep a few out all the time.
They are wonderful little gems.

Fuchsias, sage, they love it here.

Hi IowaAnn,

Last autumn was the first time I ever saw a hummingbird on my teeny zone 5a city lot--it was a thrill! I saw him or her sipping from my hanging baskets filled with million bells (sorry, I don't know the latin name), butterfly bush, and caryopteris. This year I'm planting salvia coccinea "Lady in Red," tons of perennial cardinal lobelia, firefly & ruby bells heuchera, penstemon, zinnia, honeysuckle (lonicera brownii "dropmore scarlet"), scarlet runner bean, morning glory & cardinal climber vine, liatris spicata "Dense blazing star," four o'clocks, foxgloves (digitalis mertonensis) nasturtium, and agastache ("apache sunset" root beer hyssop and "blue fortune" anise hyssop). I've heard these are all attractive to hummers in our zone. (I found inspiration at this site: http://canada-gardens.com/2hummingbird.html)

Hope this helps!

Junebug, isn't it amazing how the site of one little bitty bird could cause such a sudden addiction! :) I also started seeing them last year and caught the bug of researching which plants to get into the ground this year so I could experience the thrill of seeing more and more of those little hummers. Thanks for all the good suggestions!

In our zone, Agastaches are very effective to attract hummingbirds, penstemons, and columbines (I grow three different kinds and I am going to add another two this spring). I had Scarlet Hedgenettle twice trying to get it to live here in California but it just wouldn't make it past our winters. However, Scarlet Hedgenettle is excellent for hummingbirds.

Good luck!!

Thanks,

Chuck

I was reading this post today, and it inspired me to consider putting in a trumpet vine. They are so pretty, and the fact that they would attract hummingbirds is a big plus. However, I then went to the Plantfiles, to get some additional information, and was positively floored by the amount of negative comments there are on this plant. In many areas, it seems to be extremely invasive. People wrote about fighting it for ten, and twenty years!

The seeds are spread by the birds, plus it uses runners, and is a fast grower. I would recommend research before anyone decides that this is the plant for them. Negative comments far outpaced positive.

Oh pennefeather! I know ALL about the Trumpet Vine. I planted one last year and cut it back when the cold temps hit us and wilted the leaves. I am waiting to see if the entire vine died or not. If it is still alive, I have a nice sized pot for it and will be digging it up and transplanting it into a container. That will stop it from spreading as long as I don't let it go to seed. The jury is still out on that vine, but I have seen it up the side of a tree and in bloom and it is stunning! I really want one, but just not planted in the ground in my yard. :-)

Thanks for bringing the issue up again about that plant. It's more commonly known name is Campsis radicans!

My flowering quince shrub is the first to bloom in spring and I always look for my first hummer there feeding. Then next are the columbines. When the quince is about to bloom my feeders go up.

I started to plant trumpet vines once when my oldest daughter in Salt Lake City told me absolutely not to. I have been tempted to but I haven't so far. Ladygardener1, we have feeders and hummingbirds all year around...just different species. I hope our columbines come up near the first; they are so beautiful. We got a good RAIN today!! I am trying to hold my tongue and not say it's about time...LOL.

Thanks,

Chuck

Yes Chuck, we only have the Ruby Throated hummers. I watch the hummer migration map for the Eastern US. That is fun. http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html

Here is a picture of my columbines.

Thanks, Ladygardener1,

The columbines are beautiful. I have earmarked the link to look it over better later on this evening but it looks really informative.

Thanks again,

Chuck

I love that picture, hard to believe all that beauty is under all this right now!!

ladygardener1 - Love your photo of the Columbines and also your snow photo! Looks like you were having a beautiful snow day in the photo because it is sunny not dreary. I haven't seen real snow since I was a very young child. Must be fun to play in! LOL! That's the kind of snow I would love to see!!! Thanks for posting both photos! Your yard is interesting in all seasons! ;-)

Dear Ladygardener,

The beauty of that snow is apparent. You are fortunate to have that.

Dear Beckygardener,

I know what you mean about having limited experience in snow. I only lived in snow for two years while I was stationed in Germany in the Army.

Both of you, thanks for sharing!!

Chuck

IowaAnn - I've been trying to attract hummers half-heartedly for years. I would see one or two each year, never at the hummingbird feeders .... those attracted Orioles. LOL

I would see my very infrequent hummers at my Rose of Sharon mostly and a few times at the petunias. I have columbines and annual salvias and have never seen them at those plants. I could have just be missing the few times they go to them.

But, someone kept insisting for me to get a Black and Blue Salvia, and even though this salvia will not overwinter here, and I had never seen one for sale at any of the local nurseries before, I came across one last summer.

*****Bought it and OMG, as soon at it bloomed, I had a hummer!!******

I think I shared him with someone else. I didn't see him everyday. He seemed to come back every couple of days to see if there were new blooms on the black and blue salvia. He did go to several other plants, but if you are serious about attracting a hummer, I would have to say this is the plant to get.

I am having a heck of a time overwintering the salvia. It drops leaves like crazy and got whitefly ... took a while to get rid of it. I spray it with messenger now, it seems to be helping it survive. It is in the sunniest window I have, facing west. Hubby has tried to convince me to chuck it in the trash, but that is a big, NO!

If anyone overwintering Black and Blue Salvia has any suggestions for me, I would REALLY appreciate it.

I too, thought about planting a trumpet vine, but my Dad convinced me not too. They had one that took over their yard once.
However, there is a yard near my work that has a great set-up for a trumpet vine....
Let's see if I can give you a good description:
***The trumpet vine is planted in the area between the sidewalk and the street. This is divided even more with a self-made sidewalk/path on one side from the sidewalk to the curb. The other side is her driveway. So she has planted the trumpet vine in a rectangle of approx. 4x3 ft. and it is surounded by concrete. In this rectangle is an electrical pole with wires coming off at an angle to the ground. She uses the wires as the trellis for the vine. I guess the electric company doesn't care, since it has been growing there for about 10 years. She plants annual salvias and petunias at the base of the trumpet vine. Looks nice and I do see hummers there once in a while. I can't talk to the gardener, she is very non-social ... she won't talk back to you. She either ignores you or walks away. But I have complimented her on her nice gardens anyway. :o)

toofew~

I have seen hummers at my columbine. And when the columbine goes to seed the goldfinches and warblers love it too.

I also have penstamon, royal catchfly, cardinal flower and purple coneflowers. I have seen hummers feeding on all of those plants.

There is a great nursery in Northeast IA - that you can get great plants, native to the midwest. A perfect place to order plants or seeds for someone in IA. I have ordered from them and been very pleased.
http://www.ionxchange.com/

I would stay away from rose of sharon, butterfly bushes and trumpet vine, all are invasive in the midwest.

Just a quick word on my hummers, they love my tall red cannas, rose of sharon and butterfly bushes. I keep my ROS and BB cut so they don't get invasive and the trumpet vine is native to this area so everyone has them and I have no problems with it. At least I don't think there's a problem. I love them.

Great! I got some tall red cannas last summer ... can't wait to plant them this year to see if the hummers come to them too.

First time I heard Rose of Sharon was invasive. People plant them all over. I've never had a problem with mine, never any babies to pull up. Maybe that is because Michigan is considered the Northeast. LOL

I don't know if anyone has mentioned Verbena Bonariensis - Candlestick purple top but I had some in pots this year and when I would take the pots to be watered the hummers had a fit, I had to fight them off so to speak lol

Crocosmia "Red Lucifer" is a great hummer attractor. You can find the little bulbs at Home Depot now.

Alabama Crimson and Coral Honeysuckle are good attactors to and are easy to control. Another vine is the crossvine. I have not seen cleome mentioned. Hummingbirds love this flower. Any color of porterweed too. I have coral, red, and purple. Firebush (hamelia patens) as mentioned before is great. It should do real well in Florida. Mine gets killed back during the winter. Salvia greggii is good (any color).

Anyone living in the lower states can use Mexican Bush Sage and Pineapple Sage. Both bloom late in the summer and they will catch the hummingbirds as they are migrating south.



Check out:

http://almostedenplants.com/index.htm

http://www.mailordernatives.com/servlet/StoreFront

Both offer some very good hummingbird and butterfly plants. Mail Order Natives has several host plants for butterflies. I have ordered from both and always gotten good healthy plants.

twofewanimals, you may have a sterile cultivar of Rose of Sharon? But both trumpet vine and ROS are invasive and there is an invasive species forum on this site to discuss in more detail.

The key to attracting hummingbirds to plant red pink or orange, nectar- rich flowers plants in groups, so they can see the color from a distance. Its also a good idea to plant red plants that bloom in succession, so something red or pink is blooming all summer long.

joepyeweed, I did go to a michigan site for invasive plants and yep, rose of sharon was there.
When the hummer kept coming back last summer for the black and blue salvia, I would see him at my red geraniums alot too. I've been growing 3ft tall red annual salvias for the last couple years, hoping they would attract the hummers, but have never seen the hummers at the salvias.

I'm hoping that now I have a plant (black and blue salvia) that they seem to love, that they will frequent the other plants that I plant for them.
toofew~

They say that the red attracts the hummers but I always see them at my purple bloomers. By far their favorite is the Black and Blue salvia. I have a large one in the center of my back yard in full sun, one on the right in the shade, and one on the left in part shade. They will dart back and forth from one to the other. I also plant purple Hyacinth Bean vines and they love those too. When the Mexican Bush sage is in bloom they can always be found on it too.

I've got tons of red salvias that they do use but I have never seen them at my tall red cannas. ? They do like the red Cypress vine tho.

My parents had a Trumpet vine for years, even after they cut it down. It spread underground for years after and comes up in other plants so it's very hard to remove. It's pretty but not worth it.

Oh, I forgot that the hummers also love my Indigo Spires. It's very easy to grow from cuttings. You could grow it then bring cuttings in thru the winter to put back out in the spring.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 5:34 PM

Black and blue are really good. Here is a picture of one of mine from last year.

I've been searching for some black and blue salvia seeds and can't find any...do they only sell them as plants?

Now that you mention it, I've never seen seeds sold or had any plants come up from seed. My plant is 3-4 years old too.

I got some black & blue salvia seeds from a trade on here a month or so ago, try requesting them you might find some. I think I read somewhere on here that they are hard to collect?

LeBug, you'll have to keep us posted and let us know if you get your black and blue salvia seeds growing.

I have Black and Blue Salvia, too. I've never seen seeds on mine. But then again, my are young plants. Maybe they have to be well established and mature to develop seeds? Though I can honestly say that I have never seen B&B Salvia seeds for sale anywhere.

http://thehummingbirdgarden.blogspot.com/ My blog archives have pictures of a lot of my hummer plants. I'd recomend black and blue salvia, red bee balm, cardinal flower, red tropical salvia & honeysuckles to name a few.

I have lots of different salvias, Turk's Cap, Red Yucca and penstemons for hummers. The hummers take it kind of hard when the Red Yuccas stop blooming for the year. Last year I kept dead-heading them to prolong the blooms.

LindaTx8, Do you by chance have any Black and Blue Salvia??

I was really happy to hear about the Crocosmia Red Lucifer, does anyone know if any other of the crocosmia have nectar for the humminbirds. Also I have had scarlet hedgenettle for years and it just will not bloom. Does anyone have an answer?

From what I understand all of the Crososmias are good plants for the hummers :)

In the plantfiles CBernard made the comment that the hummers loved these:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1292/

Mine like my hibiscus. I have red and a double bloom peach.

I think the trumpet vines are pretty, but I have seen them totally take over an old abondoned farmhouse, and some houses that were still being lived in! A friend told me they are poisionous to my horses, so don't plan on putting any in. I also have tuberoses, butterfly bushes and zinnia's.

Thanks for the info.

I planted some Crocosmia Red Lucifer this spring and although they are growing nicely, I have no blooms. Does anyone know if that is normal for the first year???