My red columneas attract hummers. Even the plants on the porch.
Linda

I think a number of gesneriads were 'designed' specifically to be pollinated by hummingbirds. I know I've seen pictures of hummers in gesneriads, but I don't remember seeing any in mine. Had been planning on making a point of adding some more they should like this year, tho' I have a number of salvia species, and abutilon, and the shrimp plant I never can remember whether it's Justicia or Beleperone (sp?) guttata, which they really love, so I may just not see 'em.

Thanks Linda and Greenelbows,

I appreciate the info:0

isn't red the key color? Someone was telling me the other day that the attraction to red is a learned behavior. And someone else was saying that they moved their red salvia to a spot visible from the street to lure hummers from their neighbor's.

Komi:
I believe you are right. I know when I wear a red shirt to fill the hummers' feeders, I am sometimes mistaken for a gigantic, mobile salvia :-)
Linda

Yep, y'all are correct, hummingbirds love red. Usually plants that are red, pink or orange, long and tubular in shape and from the Americas are nectar producing hummingbird plants. Some South African plants also produce nectar too, even though they don't have any hummingbirds over there.

If you're interested in some hummingbird plants, you might want to check out the thread on the link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummnigbird Plants

Two proven hummingbird gesneriads are Sinningia 'Apricot Bouquet' and Kohleria 'Ruby'. Realistically, just about any gesneriad with tubular red, pink, or orange flowers is going to attract hummingbirds (and they will often visit white, yellow, or purple flowers as well).

Sometimes my hummers will choose the yellow or blue salvias over the red ones, depending on which species/variety is in bloom at the time. There's definitely a difference in the flavor of the nectars, or so they tell me. (I think I first got interested in salvias because they looked so much like some of my gesneriads.)

I found out last summer that the little guys up here in PA love Streptocarpella. The flowers are blue, but they don't mind! I grow it in a hanging basket, and I saw a Hummingbird nectaring on it quite often during the summer months. Very easy to grow as well.

They LOVE nematanthus (Goldfish plant) and Streptocarpella - the problem is getting them back into bloom from last year -

Here in Northern California the hummingbirds love to visit outdoor nematanthus. When they are active, they often pollinate many of the flowers, resulting in many bright orange seedpods, which, from a distance look like flowers. One of our club members, Celine Chase, showed us her Nematanthus gregarius, with "berries"* at nearly every node. It was beautiful. Not all nematanthus make orange seedpods, N. fissus makes these interestingly shaped and large yellow fruits, with undulate ridges, like little hands.

*As the late and much loved Maryjane Evans pointed out to me, Nematanthus do not make berries!--they make fleshy capsules (they have seams). Columneas, however, make true berries. ;)

Jon

I've got a Mitraria coccinea in full bloom right now, yesterday I watched a steady stream of hummers visiting it, sometimes their visits overlapped each other. It was pretty amazing, I just hung out and watched (3' away)as they visted each flower.

Do they ever! I have many Kohlerias bogotensis (although this is disputed)growing in my garden and planters in Costa Rica. The Little Hermits' comes all day as well as the 'Roufous backed' hummers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohlerias