As many of you may know, I constantly whine all summer that I don't have any hummingbirds until the end of August. I want to be prepared this year to entice some hummers to the garden all year long. I have summer plants already, or more lined up, but wondering what's in everyones gardens early on.
Can't answer your question, Mrs Ed, but that is such a pretty picture.
From what I've read/seen these are some favorite spring hummer plants:
Native Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis
Red Buckeye - Aesculus pavia
Coral Honeysuckle - Lonicera sempervirens
I need to get some planted myself. :)
Marna, what I have are salvias, lavender, even the forsythias and the flowering pears at this time. The agastaches are a favorite for the hummingbirds and i have them planted and they re-seed vigourously, so seldomly do I have to replant. Later on, as it warms up, I'll plant other favorites of theirs. Lee
thanks All.
I have some columbine and honeysuckle started, both are small now. I have an apple tree, but it doesn't flower for long
I know that yuou are so far north that this plant may not work, but try Mexican cigar (cuphea ignea). It blooms all summer down here in Louisiana. And pineapple sage, minettia, and any native morning glory. My hummers love these.
Johanna
I guess it depends on if they have those available locally. I think they sell the cigar plants for hanging baskets. Morning glories won't be blooming for a while or will sage.
Hi Marna, you could try these grape hyacinth, for early spring. I'll look through my picture to see what else I see them on. Monarda is one for sure, but more a summer flowering. My Crabapple tree attracted them as well.
Hosta flowers, in July.
Fushia baskets are popular with hummers.
Some hummers don't read the books about plants. One year, a hummer flew past the nice red Monarda & went to the hosta. Not what you are supposed to do guy.
haha iris, I was surprised to see one at the coleus last year.
Last year I bought a fuchsia mixed basket, the year before impatiens for spring. I have some grape hyacinths, tulips and daffodils in April, then tulips, chives, lilac and iris in May. Then all my other stuff will get under way in June.
I was thinking this year I'll buy a bunch of annuals like salvia, cigar plant, petunias. But I'd like to get some early blooming perennials.
It's just driving me crazy that I can't get the hummers all season.
I remember as a kid watching them at the red annual salvia so often plant that. I don't have a feeder for them as I don't think I could keep up with them. Now dragonflys will land on my knee & chat while I weed.
The only thing I have blooming right now is the Daffodils and can't think of a thing that blooms in the spring except for the Lilac. I went to Lowe's yesterday and the only flowers they had were Pancies. I always seem to buy tons of annuals as soon as they are available.
Here is a Goldfinch eating a leaf...I didn't know they did that. Hopefully this plant will be in bloom in time for the Hummers arrival. Oh...just happened to think about the Mulberry and wild peach trees should be blooming before too long.
ha. i LOVE that picture, Rose.
So, once you got your hummies, they were just all over the feeder and not on any flowers? maybe my area is free of bugs, LOL.
Thanks Marna...the Hummers were all over the feeders and all over the flowers. I hope to get some pics of them on flowers this year!!
So in May were they on flowers? if so what? I'd just like to have as much around here at the end of April. I only saw a couple here at the end of April and that was it until August. So I need to have something going then. Guess it will have to be annuals.
I'm not sure what you can grow Azalea wise in your zone but they like those here in spring.
Goldfinches drive them nuts at Joe Pye Weed's siberian iris garden. They think the flower petals are salad & wreck the blossoms.
Crocosmia, a rufus (on the bay leaf) is guarding this one in '07
very pretty, but not a spring flower here. I suppose I could start them early indoors.
oh shoot, tried to find an '06 picture of hummers in the Pinks (Dianthus plumarius) and
fuchsia. Once they see red and established they like most flowers, fox glove and mexican mint
and many more. That's why I put red plates on the regular bird feeder to attract the hummers and I
can tell if its a new one because they buzz the other birds then see the feeders and in summer the flowers
and in this picture-'07-
its the salvias of course (the planter-I made it- is a likeness of myself- the other side is a green angel- it fell apart
at the end of the season- seems fitting) but behind is sweet peas that are perrenial, no smell and couldn't kill it with a nuke and
mourning glory- the bad ones but my neighbor loves it- hummers are in all the time.
gotta run.
a bright red planter! that's a good idea!
ok, got back, burned my lunch. this is a bad site to get to if you have stuff to do.
Spring-- in my area PacNW-
right now heathers-- hummers get an inch off the ground and peruse
hellebore-- in and out
prim roses- bright colors buzz them in - put them in the front sunny window box and when
it gets too hot over the house on the semi shade northside.
evergreen huckleberry-- they are almost ready to bloom and hummers check it everyday-
I have to look up what variety I have-- believe from Raintree Nursery out here. (mail order too) -will check
azalea a deciduous hybrid exbury-- blooms before leafing out, has nice (frozen) buds- pretty
mahonia-- almost almost ready need a shot of warmth-
got more- gotta go work--
some people (my cuz) puts a red plastic picnic table cover after winter just for the hummers
in the pic-
mahonia, heather, primrose and on the rockery- candy tuff ,Coral Bells-Heuchera sanguinea
and lupine and pinks
OMG, look at all that rock… drool *puts on ninja gear and heads out in 4xd truck to Dirt's house*
That tablecloth is a good idea too.
Say, you being from Washington might remember this story. I read that a month or so after Mt. St. Helens blew, the hummingbirds were dive bombing the geologists in their bright clothes, thinking they were flowers.
rock hound huh? I grow those better than flowers. Seems every couple of feet I run into a good one-- less now than before.
I'll find some pics.
Hummers attack-- new to me except anything red gets a look over - red hat, shirt and you hear them before you see em.
(One of the pictures that I saw but wished I could take is a hummer buzzing a male Downy woodpecker eating suet-- fleeting but surprised to see.)
Bad enough worrying about lava than dive bombed by hummers. Was fishing that day with my dad.
Its sunny out - cold -- work gotta work--have a good day
Too funny about the Downy.
Snapdragons and nasturtiums-- I started nasturtiums early last year and red snaps--
that rockery was to the north
this one is in front of it and to the east.
somemore to the east
front of the house-re did last year and around.
rocks. love them.
can't leave without a hummer-even though its an anna:
or two.
Good gravy, dirt! Is that soil for real? If I had something like that, I'd have it on toast. Fantastic. (From someone who lives on sandy, impoverished land).
dirt if you would like to start a thread on Western Hummingbirds please do so! We would love it!
Nice property!
DANG! You just posted all those rockeries to make me drool more. Very nice! What's that big purple bush?
more-spring--flowering quince, lilacs and everbearing raspberries and juneberries(service berries)-- the hummers fight over these.
Mrs.Ed- I did post those pics to tease, now I feel bad, its just I like rocks. Please don't drool, I'll let you have them - all or none.
The large shrub is a rhodie-(pic) most on that rockery is rhodies.
Margaret-- lol-toast- ate a couple of dirt sandwiches-- by accident, you have an interesting strange tastes down there-- soil or veggemite - thats a toss up.(kidding). This soil has alot of clay, there's work to make it better,
but with alot of woods around, there is a good layer of topsoil to play with. I have trucked in loads of manure and wood chips and have
compost holes (large) and spread it around. the best thing that grows that will be around when I turn into dust is horsetail-
and horsetail loves clay damp regions-- I am so lucky.
pell- some day I would love to make one about the hummers, even though I don't know much-- would be so cool to see a mixed anna-rufous -- wont have the time now and in few days gone for a good while-- (that's why I should be out and work not type). add a few photos in other places and gone. you guys are great.
:D
My hummers love the Hollyhocks, Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) and the Bottlebrush.
Here's one of my Kniphofias and an Anna's hummer.
Great pic duc!
If you all don't mind a "newbie" getting in on the discussion - we here in the middle of South Carolina have a lot of wild plum trees blooming right now. They can be very much of a problem, but the hummingbirds and the honeybees LOVE them. Also our forsythia, Bradford pear trees and quince are in full bloom right now as are the Judas trees and redbuds.
