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loratw619

newbie needs help on planting

loratw619
13 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I'm still kinda' new to hummingbird plants...only been trying to draw them since last year, so please excuse me if this sounds silly.

I finally managed to find what I hear are some of their favorites, Red salvia & the black and blue variety. But the red looks pretty small to me, and the black and blue are only in one gal pots right now.

My question is, what's the best way to plant these? In hanging baskets or as garden edging plants? I've only seen hummers at my feeders, so do they ever feed low to the ground like that? I should probably tell you also that I have cats. They wear bells, but I'm worried about that too.

Thanks for any help.

Lora

Comments (6)

  • ctnchpr
    13 years ago

    Hi Lora,

    If your red Salvia is small, you could have Salvia splendens "Scarlet Sage", a common bedding plant. You need Salvia coccinea "Lady in Red".

    Both Lady in Red and Black & Blue grow to 3', more or less. Both do well in containers, but not hanging baskets.

    If you're worried about your cat, you could grow them in containers, and put the containers on a plant stand to get them out of reach.

    Hummer at LIR...

    ...and a lazy one at B&B...

  • loratw619
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks ctn, and those pictures are just gorgeous! The red salvia I bought wasn't marked with anything other than just "salvia," so it's probably the wrong kind. Guess I'll just have to keep looking for that one because I'd sure love to get lucky enough to see a hummer feeding like the ones in your photos.

    Very kind (and helpful) of you to reply. Thanks again.
    Lora

  • hummersteve
    13 years ago

    It was always my opinion cats[outside cats]and birds dont mix. Although when august migration is going on cats going thru here seem to ignore them and go straight to the field across the street.

    Im guessing you have the salvia splendens that you can see at most any side market or store and they dont last long nor draw many hummers. But there are also taller plants that are good hummer draws. Agastache tutti frutti gets to 4 and 1/2ft tall and so does salvia guaranitica blue ensign. The ensign looks just like black and blue only it has a green calyx opposed to the black but hummers dont mind and they too get 4 and 1/2ft. You will need to order the latter from Richard de Fresne at world of salvias. Heres a few more shots. You may enjoy the hummer on the tutti frutti , check out the link.

    lady in red
    {{gwi:987735}}

    lady in red-- these are still small from this years seedlings

    {{gwi:987737}}

    salvia blue ensign - notice the smaller black and blue in the background

    Here is a link that might be useful: hummer on tutti frutti

  • hummersteve
    13 years ago

    IM leaving another link to a plant I have that hummers enjoy here. Its called "cuphea shumannii" or orange cuphea. It is simply loaded and they cant resist it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: cuphea shumannii

  • loratw619
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the help, and HummerSteve...that was a GREAT video!

    Could anyone please tell me if any of these plants easy to start from seed? I live in a rural area, so the kinds of plants I can find here is rather limited. Delivery charges on seed is much easier to swallow than on plants, so maybe I could go that route instead? Any suggestions on attractive plants I could sow myself to draw the hummers would be greatly appreciated.

    And thanks so much for being such a helpful group of folks.
    Lora

  • ctnchpr
    13 years ago

    Lora,

    I have seeds of 4 hummer plants that I could send to you. If they're started soon, they could be in bloom during Fall migration. Send me an email.

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