A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Butterfly and Bird Gardens plants that attract hummingbirds

I am interested in plants that attract hummingbirds, I know of fuschias and lupines does anybody know of more as I love to watch the birds and look at the pretty flowers

Hi! I've heard that the hummingbirds are attracted to anything red and they love yellow too. There is a good place to start. My neighbor has a trumpetvine or honeysuckle vine (are those the same thing?) and the hummers just love it. I think they may even be nesting in it. I have some tall phlox that they seem to love. I hear their favorite colors are red and yellow, so that is a good place to start. I know they love my neighbors honeysuckle vine. I am creating an entire garden based on reds and pinks, just for the hummers. You know what they say, if you build it, they will come. I hope this helps answer your question.

A FABULOUS source for hummer plants

I have heard that Pentas are good for drawing Hummers---I planted red ones for years---then heard that they prefer the Lavendar ones---I am trying that this year.

The lady at the nursery where I go said that a perennial called 'Karalee Petite Pink' (Gaura lindheimeri) would be good. So I have that new in my flower bed this year as well.

Any Columbine is good too.

Good Luck!!

Any nectar producing flower, vine, bush.
In my yard they love: petunias, bee balm, bleeding hearts, hyacinth bean vine, flowering quince, penstemon, coral bells, columbine, balsam aka touch me not, impatiens, snapdragons, lupine, foxglove.
They are attracted to the reds first because bees see red as black and are attracted to red last. They compete for food at the flowers and bees/wasps will sting hummers.

Junie, I also have the gaura this year. I've heard it called butterfly plant due to it's butterfly attraction. Now, I'll keep an eye out for hummers too!!

My hummers are attracted to my red Cannas.

Thank you all so much I am really trying hard to get my yard all fixedup.I have seen a rufous hummer and some beautiful finches.Again thanks for your advice.

Sarah:
Thanks so much for the Hummer information--I went to the site and have bookmarked it.---Little by little I am converting my back flower beds to be perennial and Hummer friendly. The information I found at the site helped me so much.

Junie, I'm glad that you found it helpful. I'm assuming you mean the second one, because the first one is all screwed up for some reason. That second one is actually part of this site, some of Bill's information. The garden helper is a great source of info and there is a lot more there!

Sarah:
Yes the "Garden Helper" site thing--very helpful---and I had forgotten that---I will have to try to remember that---

My #1 magnet is the B&B salvia& the cannas.My cypress vine will be up for them soon.They sit and perch on plants too.yucca, orange mexican sunflower,Red ti plant,castor bean.

I've got quite a few gaura in my yard--I thought they were called butterfly bushes because the flowers were shaped like butterflies, and they flitter around on the long stems and look like butterflies. I can't tell that they have attracted that many butterflies or hummingbirds. Neither have my petunias, bouganvilla, or salvia.

It just occured to me--could the bees in my lambs ear be running off the hummingbirds? Also, if I coax butterflies into my yard, does that mean more caterpillars on my plants?

The most butterflies I've ever had came when I was growing lavendar penta.

Hummers like any red trumpet shaped bloom including petunias. I'v had great success with butterfly bushes but they do grow quite large and perform best when heavily pruned every early spring. Butterfly bushes can be propogated using the new wood root hormone trick, just plant 4 times more sticks over your needs as many wont make it.

I have several Feeders that seem to keep them happy. I thought was really strange and couldn't get to my camera fast enough. Was a Hummer hitting all the blooms on my Tomato plant right after a rain. Guess they looked like the ones on the feeders.

i have several phlox that the butterflies love.....

Gorgeous photo faerywatcher, I love your garden art too!

thanks! that phlox has bloomed itself out, i deadheaded it, maybe it will bloom again!

I have been seeing quite a few hummingbirds in my gardens. I have honeysuckle 'alabama crimson', bee balm, crocosmia 'lucifer'-they LOVE this stuff, and columbine. Oh yeah, they have also been on my butterfly bush, also. Hope this helps. For me their favorite is the crocosmia. The flowers on it are flame red. This is my first year with it and the hummers LOVE it!

mine like my yellow butterfly bush. along with the petunas.

Hi,

In answer to your question regarding plants that attract hummingbirds. Cannas are a real favorite. My husband at one time, before he and I were married, had a lot of cannas (red is the favorite color for hummers). He told me a story of while he was in his woodshop working, he kept hearing a buzzing noise. To make a long story short, he went to the noise and found several hummingbirds in his cannas. The buzzing was their wings.

We plants cannas this spring in pots. They start to flower recently and lo and behold, I was standing about 5 feet from the pot and in comes a hummer.

They also like my orange, yellow, and red nasturiums (annual that I plant every year). We have planted angel trumpets this year and hope the hummers will like those as well.

Hope this is helpful and enjoy your hummers.

We have had only one hummingbird as far as I can tell. He loves the bee balm- I don't care for it but will keep it if it attracts the hummers! We also have big and fragrant (at least to me and the bees and butterflies) butterfly bushes (purple) and for some reason the hummer flies right past it!