Best humming bird flowers

I'd like to know what are the best humming bird attracting flowers? Also I've heard that stachys coccinea is a really good one, is that true?

Hibiscs are great plants, specially Turk's Caps (Malvaviscus spp.). Justicias and other Acanthaceae plants are great too. These are only my sugestions. You can identify good plants for hummingbirds using this set of characteristics:

-Red, orange, or yellow flowers, or flowers with red spots in the middle, that show the way to the nectar.
-Tubular flowers, with billateral simetry when you look at it from the front. The petals are usually short, or folded back. Usually, flowers where the petals can´t be used as landing surfaces are used by animals that never land, like hummingbirds.
-The long tube is usually narrow and a bit resistant, since the bird is stronger than insects, and the charge of the beak could damage the flower if it wasn´t specially build for it. Whide tubes usually don´t work.
-The flower opens during the day, usually on mornings, and rarely has any kind of odor.
-The tube lenght is nearly the size of a hummer´s beak.

This "syndrome" works for most flowers, but it´s not a rule. Hummers are commonly nectar theves, stealing nectar from flowers they are not supposed to visit by open a hole on it and sucking the liquid from there. Smaller hummers will do that too with flowers that has a tube that is too long for them to reach the nectar.

However, using these characteristics, you can choose the best flowers for hummingbirds by yourself.

I always try to grow some flowers with those characteristics, too. That said, our hummers seem to like common annual impatiens during the summer and our camillia japonicas during the fall. Go figure.

pins2006, do they really visit your Camellia? That´s an information that interests me, because I study the Camellia family. What are the colors of your flower. Is it tubular or open? The hummers soar in front of them, or they actually get into the flowers?

I´m asking this because, as far as I know, there are no Theaceae that produces nectar, or at least, there´s no one with any kind of structure that could produce it. A confirmed exception would be very welcome :^)

By the way, I did make a mistake in identifying the camellia. Its not a Japonica, its a sasanqua. I was very surprised by the hummer's visit, too. However, he visited several times and went to several flowers. The flowers are a stong pink and while they're not singles, you can definitely see the yellow stamens. I'll check and see if the tag is still on it when I get home.

Thanks for the info. I have hibiscus and Turk's Caps but I'm not sure I've ever seen any humming birds. perhaps in a city and in this part of the country there aren't very many.

This message was edited Jan 9, 2004 7:04 PM

Garden Meister Fuchsia worked the best for me in my garden here in MI. They are loaded with nectar. I'm sure you can get them in Texas. Monadara's are also one of their favs.

any kind of sages, there are kinds that bloom from spring to frost, are great. also a bottle brush plant is most excellent, and shrimp plants, they will bloom through light frosts as will bottle brush. i saw rufous hummers at turks caps this fall, after RTs had left. the autumn sages will bloom down into the 20s without dying.... i guess they are called greggii, come in many colors. they only live 1-2 years for me here. and they really like petunias!!!

Cape fuchsia(phygelius)is a magnet. In my trips to nurserys I always see them (my backyard too)all around the plant.I think almost any of the Malvaceae family will draw them also.This is a shot of a hummer by a row of phygelius.

Thanks SandyD, arlene, and monterey. I'll look into getting some of those plants.

Yes the hummingbirds love my red salvia. I have also seem them on impatiens as stated above. Here the red salvia is their favorite.

I've planted things that are suppose to attract hummers, but they seem to like the petunias the best. So I guess you dont' have to get the unusual or the exotic for these little birds.

The hummingbirds here seem to like mimosa tree flowers and Cape honeysuckle the best.

I see them a lot on my salvias. They especially like the Cleveland blue sage, which the hoverflies and bees also go mad over. I should plant more goodies for them; I've been thinking about manzanita, because it's a native, the hummers love the nectar, and other birds love the berries. I'm not entirely sure where I can fit it, though!

I've been trying to get some milkweed going, for the monarchs, but it's not loving my garden at all. Time to try, try again.

I am getting a Fuji S5000 10X zoom camera, so I have a bottle plus hanging plants all around. I think (hope) I'll see alot. I have Cape Honeysuckle, Cape Fuchsia, Abutilon,Lavatera,etc. I am ready,bring em on!

Come to think of it, the UCSC arboretum has a hummingbird garden. I should try to get up there and see what they have planted. I'll take my camera along and get lots of, um, fuzzy shots. :)

Hello, hummingbird lovers. I cann't wait until they return. It is snowing here today. I love to watch most birds, but the hummingbird is my favorite. I just wish we had more species in the East
Teresa in KY

Paulwhwest, I grew tithonia {Mexican Sunflower} for the first time last summer and it was covered til frost with hummers and butterflies!!!!! I had no clue that it attracted hummers. I grew the tall 6-8 ft. kind. But I've never seen them on my petunias, salvia or impatiens. Go figure. BTW,my late fathers' name was Paul, so I am always noticing that name.

They do love impatients, canna, and red salvial here. Mostly they love the feeders!

Thanks for the replies everyone. :)

Paul, there are plenty of hummers here in East Texas, 90 miles east of you. They seem to love my lantanas and the little red flowers of Cypress Vine. I can send you some seed of the Cypress Vine, if you would like, send me your address. The lantanas grow like crazy in our area.
Bill

Don't forget agapanthus. Even though it's a blue flower, the hummers here love them. They were also all over my firecracker fern (russellia equisetiformis) and honeysuckle.

Paul, Hummernut has this salvia that is about the best I have ever seen for hummers. It is dark blue and is beautiful. Might want to check with him to find out more about it.

What time do the hummingbirds start to show up in the coastal southern states? We never have any before April!
Is it true that the males return first?
Teresa

Has someone mentioned Lantana? Lantana flowers are LOADED with nectar, and at least for me are Hummer magnets.

Oh, I hadn't thought that this had a lot of nectar (it has fuzzy flowers and not a great deal of scent) but Mexican bush sage is well-loved by the local hummers.

Scent is actually not at all important to the hummers. Lantana is so loaded it actaully drips with nectar.....my hummers (those in my yard I mean) actually fight over who gets to eat/drink first from the lantana shrub.

I got mine from a quilting store but the hobby store should be fine. Make sure that none of the feathers are dyed as thay can harm the eggs.

Rikerbear is lantana shrub different from the hanging basket lantana? I quessing that it is.

Thanks, everybody. I'll be looking into some of those plants. I already have lantana and the butterflies love them but I haven't seen any hummers yet. We've planted more hummer plants and got a feeder this year so maybe we'll finally see some.

Bluegrass, they are probably one in the same, it just depends on your zonal growing conditions. My lantana is in the ground, dies back to the ground each winter, but comes back to a three foot shrub every spring.
In Texas we had shrubs of the stuff nearly 7 feet tall.
But however the grow in your area,they sure should attract hummers.

double posting.............

This message was edited Mar 8, 2004 8:30 PM

We have two different types of lantana: one is more shrubby and the other tends to grow closer to the ground; although they both get to be huge I believe the lower growing one could be kept smaller in a pot or hanging basket. I think one may be L. camara and the other L. involucrata, but that's just a guess.

I use the lantana available at the nurseries for both ground planting and hanging baskets. The ground planting gets huge in Texas and the hanging basket plantings fill the basket and cascade over the side, but do not get too big. Maybe its all in how much room the roots have to grow.

Paul, its too early for the hummers here. I see my first ones in early April.
Bill

Hummers seem to like my Epidendrum orchids. I´ve seen them visiting the flowers recently (although I don´t know how they can get anything from such small flowers)

My hummers love my red yuccas and my rosemary the best.

My best plants for hummers are Black & Blue Salvia, Pineapple sage & Lantana. The hummers & Butterfly's just buzz all over these plants.

Thanks everyone. I didn't know that hummers liked all those flowers.

dixiechick, you're definitely right that the butterflys like the lantana; right now they're going after the verbena over here. BTW that is a beautiful photo.

My early swallowtails are happiest on my dianthus right now. I am so glad that they like the red yucca. I put in three last year, and can't wait to see the new growth!

Peter