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ellix

must have plant

ellix
16 years ago

If you could ony have one (or two) plants what would you have as a -must have- plant for hummingbirds?

Comments (20)

  • lanternboy
    16 years ago

    I would have to say hummingbird vine and cape fuschia. They take a few years to get to be good size but the hummers love 'em!!!! The hummingbird vine blooms sooner then the cape fuschia so the timing is important too. Bee balm blooms a little later so I'd throw that one in too!!!
    Add a couple of feeders that you change regularly and keep clean with a 4 to 1 sugar/water mix and you'll be good to go. You have to be patient but it will pay off within a few years. It's amazing all the noises the hummers make too!!

  • hummersteve
    16 years ago

    Without a doubt for me it would be guaranitica black and blue and coccinia lady in red.

  • ankraras
    16 years ago

    My Ocotillo, which are just now ending their flowering but they will usually bloom again in the fall, have been the biggest draw for hummers at our home.

    A little lower clumping plant with red flowers is Red Yucca. Their flowering spikes are tall and still put on abundant blooms.

    Aloe are year around flowering but oops you just asked for two didn't you.....

    Here is a link that might be useful: My Site

  • tracyvine
    16 years ago

    I recently added pink fountains gaura to my garden and have seen 4 new hummers since adding them! I never used to see any in my yard at all before the gaura came.
    Tracy

  • khakitag
    16 years ago

    In central texas, I would have to say without a doubt it is my cuphea, or firecracker plant. It is a nice round bush, grows great in a pot, and roots itself very easily. And best of all my hummers are crazy over it. They linger at this one bush for at least 5-10 minutes at a time. They also visit all my salvia, and my lantana.

  • texanjana
    16 years ago

    Salvia Gregii and Zinnias

  • swct
    16 years ago

    Here in CT, salvia guaranitca and lobelia cardinalis (aka cardinal flower) are my two current hummingbird magnets. A word of advice - plant patches of the flowers. I have a clump of at least 15 of each plant which produce hundreds of nectar rich blooms. Lobelia overwinters easily here in zone 6 (I divide each spring), whereas I dig up my salvia and overwinter in an unheated garage.

  • susanlynne48
    16 years ago

    Hi, I'm kinda new here and find this to be an interesting topic. Since putting up my feeder, I have two lil regulars visit. So far, they love the Honeysuckle, passion flowers (Passiflora ceurulea or Blue Crown), Zinnias, Mexican Flame Vine, and Hibiscus coccinus (Swamp Hibiscus). They don't really seem to have a preference. Is that good or bad? They really seem to prefer nectaring rather than drinking from the feeders, too.

    I put out rotting bananas for the butterflies that feed on them and don't nectar. The bananas draw fruit flies (and other flies, of course!), and I understand that the hummers just love them. I haven't noticed them going after the fruit flies, but the feeder is right next to the passion vine, so maybe the flies are also attracted to the vine, and the hummers are perching there and snatching up a meal??

    I have Salvia guarantica 'Black and Blue', but so far, they have not fallen for it. It is a new plant, though, and not very tall yet. It kind of likes to "sprawl".

    Susan

  • maemae0312
    16 years ago

    I have to agree with the firecracker plant. I hardly have a bird at my feeder but my firecracker plant is a different story. I have a few hummers that come to it every evening.

  • birding_nut
    16 years ago

    For me in the dry side of Washington state (eastern WA) it is hands down Penstemon barbatus and then Agastache (Acapulco Salmon and Pink, and Desert Sunrise). That goes for all three species of hummers that visit me, Black-chinned, Calliope, and Rufous. I have Bee Balm planted with the Agastache and Penstemons, but the Bee Balm is visted last. To my surprise, they literally ignore the Red-hot Pokers.

    Penstemon barbatus is great because the tall spikes of flowers bloom a long time, then if you cut them back just below the bottom most set of spent blooms, the plant reblooms from the remaining bottom for another few weeks of blooms! Gotta love that.

    BN

  • jimmyjojo
    16 years ago

    Lanternboy, you wouldn't happen to have the botanical name for your hummingbird vine would you?

  • christie_sw_mo
    16 years ago

    Ellix - If I could only have one plant, guaranitica would be it. It blooms a long time in summer all the way into fall until the hummingbirds are gone. Very pretty too.

    Susan - I can bet that you will see hummingbirds (and also Giant Sulfur butterflies) going to your Black and Blue and it may winter over for you in the ground. It's pretty iffy here where I am. I've had the species (guaranitica) for several years and it winters over pretty good but not 100% of the time. Last year was a horrible, wet, icy winter and I only had one of four left. I've always left it in the ground but worry every year.
    I planted four Black and Blues this year and I think I will leave at least one in the ground to see how it does and put the others in my garage. I don't know if it's as hardy as the species. It should be an upright plant by the way. I'm not sure why yours would be sprawling.

    SWCT - When you dig up your salvia, do you pot it up in new potting soil or try to keep the root ball in garden soil?

  • silvergirl426_gw
    16 years ago

    Here in my yard in NW CT, it's bee balm and cardinal climber (ipomea sloteri). Both are planted in a back bed near the woods which is the hummers' haunt. I think Lanternboy's hummingbird vine is campsis radicans, trumpet vine in the red/orange variety. This is a big draw to hummers, but it is quite invasive, maybe not so much in your garden zone. So watch where you plant it. But we'll do anything for our hummers.

  • tracey_nj6
    16 years ago

    It's so hard to choose just two! But, based on what I've seen activity wise lately, I'd say Lobelia cardinalis and Agastache "Salmon & Pink". If just one, it would be the Agastache; it just keeps blooming, and is one of my favorite smelling plants. It's also a must-bring-in-for-the-winter plants for me, since it's not hardy in my garden.

  • swct
    16 years ago

    Christie in SW MO:

    Each fall after a hard frost, I cut the stalks of my salvia guarantica and dig up the root balls. I pot the root balls in large plastic pots with ordinary garden soil. No need to be picky about soil as the plants are dormant at this point. I place the pots in an unheated garage and water very infrequently.

    In spring, I move the pots outside and once the risk of frost has passed, I divide the rootball and replant. Salvia guarantica bounces back quickly once temperatures warm up. The salvias in the photos are descendants of a plant I purchased 4 years ago.


  • ellix
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    My cardnial flowers are blooming now and they love them. I have some planted in the bog area of my water garden since they require so much water. I wanted more of them over in the hummers garden (that's new this year) and have gotten some plastic tub like pots and burried them under the ground to grow them. THey are hardy too, but don't remember to what temp.

    My swamp hisbiscus has been blooming and I see them visiting it too. It too needs lots of water.

    Cypress vine is an annual, very 'lacy' delicate looking plant with red tube like flowers and they love it. I found seedlings from last year (my first year) and planted them where I wanted them. They grow so fast - the last few weeks they have already reached the top of my house. You just redirect their path as needed -so easy and so beautiful. I have some on the outside of my screen porch and dosen't block the view at all. I have planted some to grow up the cross vine, butterfly bushes and into some trees.

    Ceder vine is very much like cypress vine with the leaf just a little different. I bought one this year.

  • christie_sw_mo
    16 years ago

    Ellix - You are lucky to have a bog area for the cardinal flowers. That is the first thing I would plant if I had a soggy place. I should watch for some big plastic tubs to bury. How big are yours? My hummingbirds like Cypress vine too but I hesitate to recommend it since it can be invasive for some people. I tear out my vines at the end of summer but still get a few seedlings.

    SWCT - Thanks for the tips on saving salvia. Wish I knew ahead of time what kind of winter we're going to have. lol

    This is my first year to grow cape fuchsia. I am going to try to get it through the winter the same way. I will leave one or two in the ground to see how they do and put a couple in my garage. The flowers have a LOT of nectar in them and I have seen the hummingbirds use them but I think they will use them more when they get a little taller.

  • hummersteve
    16 years ago

    swct

    Thanks for the tips on how to save salvias. This being my first year in planting and growing them , I have been in question. My black and blues have bloomed all summer and have been used constantly, but of late my greggi magenta has been most popular. Over the last couple of days I have witnessed no less than a dozen visits to it and thats just what Ive seen. The magenta seems to be in its most full and lush period, more blooms than all summer.

  • ellix
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Christie- you can go to a water garden store and get them or just go to Lowes/Wallmart and get the heavy duty plastic containers-the bigger the better.

    I found it was easy to transplant the cypress vine seedlings to other areas that I wanted them so was glad to see them.

    I would love to get some cape fuchsia and coccinia lady in red. I have other salvias but not that one yet. Oh, and the firecracker plant will be on my list. Read wonderful things about it.

  • rembetika
    16 years ago

    From Central TX-- Mexican butterfly weed and Mexican sunflower. Both are very dependable (in my garden at least) and easy to grow. The hummers don't seem to pay attention to any other plants I thought they would like. They whiz up to the feeder, then they often go straight to one, and then to the other, and whiz back into the woods. Also the butterflies like both of these, but especially love the sunflower-- which is really pretty-- the flowers are small and incredibly vibrant dark orange. This one is easy to grow from seed too.

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