plants to attract hummingbirds

I also have Tobino *sp?* that the hummers really like. The ones I have this year are purple

My scarlet hedgenettle will not bloom, maybe a very very few blooms, not enough to even count, can anyone help with this problem. Thanks

I have very limited experience but so far I've found on my deck they like Lantana, Scarlet Nicotiana, Pineapple Sage, Tangerine Sage, Penstemon, Cape Fuchsia and Bee Balm.

I just spotted one inspecting the Crocosmia I've placed on my deck too.

Agastache is popular here because it blooms when the Hummers are migrating through.
I tried annual Salvia (Lady in Red) this year. It has worked well because I can put it in a big pot right next to the back door.

I have trumpet vine climbing a black walnut tree. Both were here when I moved in. I am thrilled with anything that survives under a black walnut tree. You could grow the vine in a pot if you are worried about it spreading. The vine hangs over the fence here, until I cut it back. It would probably make a nice hanging basket plant. The hummingbirds really like it.

They also like the morning glories and coral nymph sage. I don't grow many red flowers, but the hummers find the others. They love when my lilies are in bloom.

pollengarden I've had lots of people suggesting Agastache. I didn't get a chance to see for myself since the seeds I planted in Spring didn't germinate until about a week ago. I think I over potted the pot they were in so next year I'll get them their own separate pot.

I guess we should have warned you - there are two different agastaches. You want the the one with the longer orange/pink flowers that likes warmer drier conditions. The one with the shorter blue/purple flowers tolerates colder moister conditions and is a terrific plant for beneficial insects, but not as good for Hummingbirds.

There are a lot of nice perennial plants, mostly native to the Southwest, for Hummingbirds. Another annual that most people don't think of is Scarlet Runner Beans - a pole bean with red flowers, and very easy to grow.

I planted Apricot Sprite and Raspberry something or other. I'm going to leave some in the pot and see if they surprise me.

I totally agree about Scarlet Runner Beans. The local hummingbirds really liked it. I just found a hummingbird nest a few feet from my home :D

tikipod now you've gone and done it! You mentioned a plant I haven't heard of LOL Tangerine Sage it sounds nice I'll have to check that one out! I figure it won't be a perennial for me but I grow a lot of sages that aren't :)

I planted Scarlet Runner Beans a few years back but didn't have any luck with them for some reason will have to try that one again.

I have Cinamon Sage and Purple Sage. The hummers really like those too. I was surprized! I've even seen them in my rose moss. Can't wait until the cypress vine a friend gave me some of gets big enough to bloom. Don't know if it will this year. It's just coming out of the transplanting.

Cypress vine is an annual here in Zone 5. After sulking all summer, mine just recently decided to shoot up and grow. It hasn't bloomed yet. Now I know that transplanting doesn't make it bloom any sooner, so next year I might as well direct seed it after the weather warms up.

I noticed this evening mine is vining up and looks like it has little baby buds starting.

I have had a few hummers visiting my zinnias all summer. And the flowers make awesome bouquets too.

Here are some of my favorite "easy to grow" hummingbird plants for Ohio zone 6a (and probably good for IA too).

1. Red buckeye~~~Blooms early in April/May and attracts the early HBs passing thru flying north, hopefully they will stop here and nest. I also planted a few red azaleas, weilegias, and red buds for the same reason. Winter hardy here.

2. Red honeysuckles~~I have recently read that the hybrid honeysuckle "Major Wheeler" is full of nectar and has good resistance to mildew, etc. But I plant 3 different red honeysuckles including the old-fashioned 'species' and then the honeysuckle bloom time is staggered thru the season for constant bloom. Winter hardy here.

3. Red Cannas~~The old-fashioned red ones with small flowers are good~~try 'Robert Kemp', 'Omega' or 'Skyhawk' or old pass-alongs from neighbors. I find that here in zone 6a if I plant mine on the south side next to a wall they will often overwinter and I can avoid digging the tender rhyzomes in the fall to over winter. In any case, you can often find cheap common red canna rhyzomes available at Home Depot in springtime to replant every year.

4. Red/Orange Trumpet Vine aka Campsis. A range of Campsis varieties (including new hybrids) are available online. Not all are as nasty as described above but do be careful. The old fashioned 'heirloom' native ones are very agressive growers and you need a big pergola or old tree snag and a big sunny space to grow it. These old 'heirloom' natives generally have high quality nectar in the blossoms and are popular with the HBs. Newer hybrids are less agressive growers and may sport more blooms and may be a better choice. Some Campsis are native to Asia~~I haven't grown those~~but I have heard the nectar may not be as plentiful. It may take three years for a young vine to come into bloom.

5. Monarda, Red kinds, especially the cultivar 'Jacob Cline'. This is a hardy perennial that has some vigor in our garden so I give it some space. Spreads by runners. After it blooms, mildew is a problem, so I cut it down, but the Hummers and also our Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies adore it so I grow it anyway.

6. I grow several kinds of tender salvias, cupheas, mannetia, and other tropicals, for the HBs but I think I am going to phase those out because they require too much attention and water here in 6a and my HBs seem to fly right past them for the feeders.

7. Zinnias, tithonia, verbena bonarienses. All three of these are easy to grow annuals from seed in Zone 6a and make nice nectar blooms in late summer (when most of the garden is finished) for both the migrating ruby-throateds HBs and the late butterflies in our garden. I grow bright colored (red, orange, magenta) zinnias with an open blossom (not the full pom-pom types or cactus type). I like Z. 'Benary's Giants', Z. 'Cut and Come Agains', and Z. 'Lilliputs' are popular this summer too. Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) is a huge plant for the garden but the Monarchs and Hummers are attracted to it here in Ohio. The verbena bonarienses reseeds in our garden and blooms all summer. Some gardeners consider this verbena a pesky invasive annual but I just pull out the ones that are in the wrong place. Our butterflies adore it.

Good luck with your Hummingbird garden. I hope you will keep us posted on how its growing. t.

Hi, everyone, You all have some really good info here, I did not know about the red buckeye. That is great info... Does anyone know if you need to divide Scooleys Coral, Thanks

I'd like to try to grow coral colored honeysuckle. Are there any particular cultivars that you recommend? I grow the native white variety. I also rooted a light lavender cutting from a shrub that was growing in the nearby woods. Honeysuckle grows as a shrub here unless carefully trained as a vine, but that may just be the native variety.

I love pastel colors, especially peach, apricot and coral, but the hummingbirds don't seem to mind. I think that they are drawn by the trumpet vines and the red hummingbird feeder and sample the other plants. They were drawn to my purple morning glories and pastel lilies before I even put up a feeder. I have limited garden space. Too much red would overpower my pastel roses and clash with my purple flowers. (Although, a red and purple garden would be striking).

I had crocusmia bulbs that didn't survive. I managed to wintersow some seeds, but they haven't bloomed, yet. I divided the seedlings between the garden and a pot. I will baby the pot inside over the winter. Hopefully, I'll get blooms next year. The hummers liked them last year.

I started cannas from seed. They aren't big enough to bloom, yet. Another plant to baby thru the winter, or store dormant.

Joys of pushing the zone here in zone 6a.

I'm not familiar with honeysuckles but I saw one on vacation in Oregon. I'd like to place an orange, red or pink one on my deck by my hummingbird feeder and I'm just wondering if this is possible? If so, which one do I want to use?

I'm so happy. My cypress vine is starting to bud already. The earlier 'buds' I saw were new leaves, but now I see RED, and that is a good thing! :-))
My hummers are really enjoying the zinnia's, as well as the cinamon and purple basil flowers. I let them go to flower because they are so pretty. Also the hibiscus and even the rose moss! I just put up 4 more feeders *total of 8 now*, because they were dive-bombing each other to get to the ones I had. Once in a while I would see 2 on a feeder, but it seems that each one has a "bully" that guards it. I figure the more I put up, the harder they are to guard! LOL

tabasco, do you have a source that you get your zinnias from. The only one you mentioned that I have heard of are Lillipots.

Also I planted crocusmia for the hummers and they didn't bloom this year. Does anyone know if this is normal??? Bulbs were a fairly good size. I just hope it survives my winter. I did plant them quite deep. I intend to mulch also.

tikipod - Honeysuckles (Lonicera sempervirens) are a perennial vine that can get big - which means a big root system, too. You could plant it in the ground and train it onto your deck. But if you need it ON your deck, you will end repotting it into a larger and larger pot until you end up in a huge monster pot.

The more docile hummers get along very well!

Thanks for the info pollengarden. I'm on the second floor and the condo won't allow us to plan into the ground anymore.

I've found the hummingbirds really like Walker's Low Catmint. They visit several times a day.