Hummers in the Rockies 2009

Its that time of year again. Time to start tracking the hummers ^_^ They're on their way. Please post if you see any in your garden.

Yes'm. ;-)

I did get buzzed by that one back last week...... not in the Rockies tho, but still, it was a thrill. hee hee

Okay, durn it, I got buzzed yet again, and so the ladies downstairs who do the feeders have their seed out but I guess they did not get buzzed cause their hummingbird feeders are not yet out so I ordered one. It's me getting buzzed, so...... but it probably won't get here til end of next week the way these things go.

I'll put a feeder back out tomorrow...

I am planting flowers that they will like.

I'm hoping to do that too but my Asclepias incarnata did not germinate and my confidence is shooken a bit by that and also that my hyacinth bean that did germinate apparently was too tender for one of the recent freezes and kind of died before getting anywhere....... so nothing for hummers in the flower department so far but I still have intentions. And many many seeds! thanks to good people here and there. ;-)

I can't put any plants out that they like yet :(

I think Hyacinth beans, aka Lab lab beans, are tropical. They will grow in the US in the summer. If you had it out doors, no surprise that it froze. Don't give up on asclepias. It is a perennial I think and will probably eventually germinate if you keep it moist. Is it outside? It may be too early for it to germinate.

Outdoor germination is a waiting game. Seeds have built in delay mechanisms to get them past winter before they germinate.

Everything is wintersown. That is the only method I have space for. I am soaking more Hyacinth beans tonight and plan to sow tomorrow (well, insomniac confession, it is tomorrow now, but I plan to go back to sleep before I admit it, LOL!) Anyway, I read somewhere that Hyacinth beans do not like it too hot! so we shall see.

and no, not giving up on Asclepius either, no worries. What it was was the more tender annuals just got a hit. I had a hard time figuring out what I could sow when in the WS method but now I think I have it down, just did those ones early is all. This week they get done again! However, other's WS asclepius in colder zones have germinated so I figured I need to start over.

Bsavage! I feel for ya. Late winter blues are the worst.

Don't throw away the asclepias you already sowed. They may very well germinate.

Kula,
Check out this article on lablab beans ( hyacinth beans). Near the bottom it says they should be sown after frost. Don't know when your average last frost date is but I bet it is a while from now.

http://www.wildlifeseeds.com/info/lablab.html

The beans are smart enough to know it is too cold to go outside.

Here is an article on germinating common asclepias seed. There are many other such articles if you google "asclepias seed germination". They all seem to agree that the best way to germinate asclepias is cold stratification for at least a month or two.

http://www.prairiemoon.com/store/template/product_detail.php?IID=191

Thank you. The asclepius is still out there, cold stratifying its little heart out. The beans, well, I soaked some last night and will sow today but keep inside. And thanks for the links!

I do have other things germinated that hummers will probably like, Centranthus ruber, Rose Campion..... there will be more yet.

You might do a goggle search on each seed plus the word germination to find out the different conditions each likes. I bet you will have lots of beauties.

I put my feeder out last weekend. It got down to 22° one night and froze the sugar solution solid but the feeder seems well designed and did not crack. Haven't seen any hummers yet but we had a few butterflies in the yard yesterday. I hope they hunkered down somewhere warm today because the wind has been blowing so hard they'll end up back in southern California before they know it.

We usually don't get hummers this early. Way too cold. I planted agastache canna last year for them. I'm thinking I will plant more this year.

agastache canna? or agastache and canna? Never heard of the first.

I think its Agastache cana with only one n. I have it also. Nice magenta flowers. Xeric. Not a hybrid so you can start it from seed.

Dparsons is right. That's what I meant.

I finally got my hummer feeder I ordered a couple weeks ago (almost) and filled it and hung it yesterday. Now, of course, it's snowing. I trust they will find it nonetheless, later on, sometime. ;-)

It has been my experience that it takes them a while to find you, especially the first year, but once they do -- watch out, they come back every year.

I was on the lookout today (although it is a month early).

While I was outside just now, having decided I had to have a little salad of what I grow myself, cutting spinach and a tiny bit of kale and lettuce........... a hummingbird came to my feeder.

oh wow that was nice

That is just the best Kyla.

That is fantastic, kylaluaz!

*preen*

.....and then, she said, it began to sleet. So, she ran outside *AGAIN* and put the tops over everything. Tomorrow, plant, or die.

The spring greens I'm direct sowing are hybrids that are bred to be cold hardy so once they're in they're on they're own I think. Although I did design this little hoophouse row cover thingy which I might try if it gets really cold. This is my first time for peas EVER. I bought 'Alaskan' peas cuz I have no idea what I'm doing and 'Alaskan' peas just sound like they will be cold hardy. (This is my very technical approach to gardening) I'm really interested to see if my late fall sown spinach seed shows up. O and forgot to say more of paj's chervil is going in tomorrow cuz I can scritch the soil in that patch and I think the first seed blew away sigh.

Has anyone seen or used these "HotKaps" that Martha Stewart had on her show (yesterday, I think)... they are paper hat like looking things that you put over your baby seedlings to protect them early on. I'm thinking they look like a good idea!

Here's a link... http://hotkaps.com/

Wouldn't row covers work better? I would worry that it would get too hot as we get so much sun and it would be time consuming to remove each one during the day. The greenhouse it already getting into the 80s during the day and I would worry that the heat would cook the seedlings? Do they breath?

I dunno. Martha gardens in Connecticut, I think... she leaves them on for the first few weeks before danger of frost is past, you don't have to remove them daily. The idea is to get them in the ground earlier. Discuss...

O well then they would work fabby I spect if the sun isn't too strong to make it too hot for the baby seedlings.

I might try some as an experiment on the things we will direct sow. At $1.00 each if you order 20, or around 50 cents each if you order 100 (including shipping), it seems less expensive than buying soda that you don't drink to use the bottles for the same purpose, LOL! And they say they are reuseable if handled carefully. I'm still undecided...

Reusable is definitely a bonus!

Since hotkaps are waxed paper I doubt if they hold air in as tightly as plastic would, so I suspect they wouldn't get all that hot. If you use them on lettuce and greens it shouldn't be a problem. Don't know about other more disease-prone crops like tomatoes, but they would probably work on tomatoes until the plant is large enough to raise the cap. Also, putting them on early means they aren't on when the weather is too warm. I think I have heard of them before, but never seen one or used one.

I don't suppose the sugar in hummingbird nectar will keep it from freezing, will it? I am taking my feeder in as it is supposed to get pretty cold, one forecast says 23 -- don't want to lose my feeder but if I could leave it out I would..... anyone know?

I've left mine out when we've dipped below. I never completely fill it though. I think if there is enough room for the water to expand it should be ok but I don't know for sure. Mine is a basic plastic one. You can see it on the side of the garden shed.

The hummers won't be looking for it at night. You could bring it in and then put it out again in the morning -- unless it is hard to hang. It probably won't break, but it all depends on how hard the freeze and how strong the plastic. Probably, even the manufacturers couldn't answer that one.

Dahlia, what is that lovely yellow flowered vine? I want one!

hardy honeysuckle. I think it's lonicera 'Manderin' but I inherited it with the house so don't know for sure.