Female ruby-throated hummingbird (I'm told) on pineapple sage. :o)
Grow it and they will come!
Great shot!!!
Live in south Texas where the heat is 104 or higher most days and nothing is blooming - cheat and hang out a feeder and they will come too :o) hee hee
~ Cat
Yeah!!
104? wooo weee! I think I'd melt.
I'm trying to find some... and found this info
Pineapple sage or Fruit Salad Sage can be used to add extra flavour to a fruit salad. Or thread onto skewers between meat and vegetables to add flavour to kebabs. The flowers can be added to drinks, jellies, jams, desserts and fruit salad.
Use the fresh leaves to add an interesting flavour to teas, fruit drinks, fruit dishes and salads. Use the sweet flowers as an edible garnish, in salads, sandwiches and desserts. Batter leaves, fry and serve with cream. Good with chicken, cheese and in jams. Thread leaves between meat and mushrooms, onions or capsicum on kebabs.
Use branches for wreaths and leaves in potpourris.
Thanks for the suggestions! I'm still trying to get a feel for how I want to use it - besides feeding hummers.
I gave some to a friend of mine who can reeeeallly cook and she said she used it with pork. A roast, maybe.
I bought a Pineapple Sage plant at a sale this spring-it didn't do anything for me. I wanted it to bloom, but I think it had too much shade to be happy. Your photo is gorgeous-I may try again next year.
It thrives in full sun, and it doesn't bloom until late in the summer. Mine just started blooming a week or so ago. The one I had last year didn't bloom until late August, early September. Wonderful plant.
Mine must have died before it had a chance to bloom. It was pretty even without flowers . . . .( it dried out while we were on vacation . . .) Our growing season is so short (we can have frost in Sept), maybe I'll have to try getting some going earlier than the plant sale in May next year.
Good luck!
Hmmm. I'm wondering if I can take cuttings even though it has bloomed and try to start some indoors. Does anyone know if it's too late? I don't know much about cuttings.
Great to know my pineapple sage is due to bloom - I'm so excited the hummingbirds will have some real flowers to browse! They do check out my other flowering herbs, but don't seem to hang out there.
I've been cheating since the hummingbirds showed up... with my feeders. I started with one feeder last year because there were about three hummers flitting around here, then came Hurricane Ike..only two made it out! I was so upset!!
So of course at the first sign of a hummer this spring, I put the feeder out. Now there are dozens of them out there all the time, I tell you!! I went and got another feeder to accomodate them and now I'm filling them twice a day, that's 10 cups of nectar a day!!! I'm going to town tomorrow just because I'm out of sugar and need another 10lb bag....I think I'll see if I can find a bigger bag!! I wonder if I got another feeder if I would be refilling it too!?
Anyway, I am looking forward to the pineapple sage blooming for them. I'm also looking for more flowers that are fav's of the hummers because I have a feeling they will be back next year!
And I don't see why you can't take cuttings of the sage and root it. I'm gonna give it a try.
They're so charming. I was pruning my basil about two feet from my pineapple sage (a few days after I took that picture) and she flew over to have a drink. She was startled at first but when she saw that I wasn't moving much, she just went about her business. She has the cutest little bird belly. I can see why you guys like them so much.
These salvias are so easy to propagate - go ahead and take cuttings - I don't do well with water rooting, but have great luck with soil rooting. Just make sure you don't let the soil dry out and if possible mist them daily. If you have outside, be sure to put in a shady area. If you do inside, you may need to be diligent on the misting every day. :-) Enjoy !!! Salvias/Sages are my favorite plants of all.
Judy
I "melted" the other day when the truck over over-heated and we had to be without A/C for a while pulled over on the road. It wasn't even as hot as 104°...but it was triple digit. Finally remembered the ice pack thingies in the little ice chest. Beautiful shot! I have a feeder out...very little blooming, so the hummers were only going to the Turk's Cap. The insects here have been disappearing, too...don't know what they'll find to eat insect-wise.
I had no idea I would have such a special fondness of these little birds but I sure enjoy them. My dh is starting to worry about me (LOL).. so I talk to them a little!! What's wrong with that? Smile.
Ruth, those are some great ideas for cooking with pineapple sage.. I'm trying the leaves with kabobs for sure!
Hi LindaTX8, it has been a hot summer but I guess not as bad my way (north-east) as most of Texas, we're in the 90's right now (well it's 73 this morn). I keep finding bugs crawling on the feeders, they look like ants but they're not ~ a little bonus food for the hummers! LOL
I don't have a zoom on my camera...here's my feeders I just put out this morning...there are a dozen hummers flying around them already!
"so I talk to them a little!! What's wrong with that? Smile."
I talk to mine all the time-actually, I talk to some of my plants, too (but only when they're good . . . .)
Sometimes the plants talk to ME. Or do you think I'm imagining that?
Well hum... that may depend on what they are saying, Linda. LOL
I have read that studies have been done to show that plants react positively to soothing voices and music. Plants are living on a higher vibration, that's why they can be beneficial and healing. I don't really know what I'm talking about...but I try.