I'd guess there may be s suitably sized humminbird pollinator in their native habitat, but not in the USA.______

I realize that some plants are better for hummingbirds then others. I use to worry about planting for them but not anymore. I have seen them try metal flowers and bunny tail ornamental grass. The grass not only is no good to eat you can't sit on it either! The buzz buddies are out there trying everything. Plant it and they will figure it out.
I have 4 of the flat topped hummingbird feeders, they are easiest to clean because the whole lid comes off. Luke Lid Walker lands on the roost and then walks around on the top of the feeder to the different access holes. I think it is rude that he has his dirty feet on the table but DH thinks he is his 'own bird'.

Luke Lid Walker! Too funny, Peggy.

We have Attila the Hum.
Renee

I am looking to create a privacy screen which will: rise to 6 ft (no less but hopefully not much more either), provide excellent color much of the year via flowers even after pruning, be a moderate to low water user once established, and look good within a somewhat English style garden as opposed to a palm oriented tropical garden or a desert scape.

I couldn't find a plant that would do all this and stand on its own, so I am thinking of using a Distictis Buccinatoria or Laxiflora to grow up a wide, 6 ft tall trellis for structure. My theory is the distictis will provide lots of desired flowers without too many being lost to pruning.

I am curious if the laxiflora and/or buccinatoria will be dense enough when grown to fill in and hide the trellis structure... making the plant appear as a 6 ft high hedge. I was also considering the Escallonia but it sounds as if pruning to maintain 6 ft tall and 3 to 4ft thick hedge will knock out virtually all of the blooming.

I would be grateful for any replies... sooner is better as I need to get this privacy screen up to make my neighbor happy.

Thank you

This post was edited by widmark on Sat, Feb 8, 14 at 21:39

Widmark,
I chose Rhaphiolepis 'Jack Evans' that grows 4-5 ft. since I couldn't find an Escallonia in that height.
It requires no watering and every 2 yrs. or so some side growth is removed. Other cultivars grow taller. But also wider. They are easy to prune.

A neighbor had a Red Trumpet Vine that grew along the ground, up the orange trees, everywhere. I prefer Trachelospermum jasminoides (Star Jasmine).

My parents had a red trumpet vine in Texas when I was growing up, and hummingbirds loved it, as well as many varieties of butterflies. I would sometimes pull off a flower and taste the nectar myself - don't know whether that was safe or not, but I was just a small child. I enjoyed the butterflies more than the hummingbirds back then, but I liked both.

I had a trumpet vine that made purple flowers at my house in Venice, and it was very invasive and needed lots of pruning. It did a good job of covering a fence, however. I also had a Golden Chalice vine, which I liked a lot better and which was easier to control. I'm allergic to jasmine and have avoided planting vines where I live now (Westchester L.A.). The house came with a creeping fig, and I am fine with that, since it does a great job of covering the cinder block walls.

To keep hummingbirds happy, I agree that having a couple of feeders is the best idea, and the birds will stay with you all year.

Lars

The neighbors have one RTV growing into my yard. The fence is aligned such that the neighbor's side faces northeast, and mine faces southwest. This results in tons of growth and flowers on my side, and very little on my neighbor's. Something to keep in mind!

Yes, they can get very dense given enough water and fertile soil. There can be a lot of trimming involved to keep them out of neighboring shrubs and trees, however. They can take over a considerable area if not kept in bounds via trimming.

I've never seen a hummer at them. Bees aplenty.

I have one and have never seen the hummers drinking from it. They prefer my sages.

One thing to bear in mind with Distictis Buccinatoria is it takes a few years for it to get going. Mine sorta squatted there for five years. A mature DB can get a very stout trunk. It's an excellent permanent addition to the landscape.

I have mine trained into one side of my chainlink gate. The branches stay flexible even when they get as big as my wrist so I can still open the gate. I let the stem 'elbow' out a bit to give it more length to flex. I Get lots of compliments on my flowery gate.

Hummers prefer the right size and color...but I've seen them get lost entering a Brugmansia. Here's my Stan theory: In habitat,a hummer that does that is not aware of his surroundings,predators pick them off. Hence,larger billed hummers evolve. California exotics are a free meal to native hummers.
In California where nothing is hummer fast, those little guys do as they please when hungry. Iochroma is another big hummer favorite. Aloes are like hummer heaven!

Thank you for the input! I have planted several distictis riversii ('Rivers') along a north to south running chain link fence with its western exposure facing us. We thought the Rivers looked most symbiotic with an English style garden, and we are already seeing blooms, although I was surprised how short lived they were. We had a bit of a heat wave so that may have caused the quick bloom drop.

So far none of the blooms are showing on the eastern side of the plants, although they are very recently planted. I would like to plant these distictis vines in the location I described in my earlier post, where we would see only the northern exposure. So my question is... would we see many blooms? I am wondering if distictis is a bit like bougainvillea, where those looking at the southern exposure see virtually all the blooms.

This post was edited by widmark on Fri, May 2, 14 at 15:46