Here are the ones that I have found are very attractive to hummingbirds. Most of these are drought tolerant (xeric) and mostly apply to my experience with western hummingbirds (Rufous, Calliope, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds)

Penstemon barbatus
Penstemon pinifolius
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Monarda (bee balm)
Zauschneria garrettii (hummingbird trumpet)
Agastache cana
Agastache rupestris
Agastache 'Acapulco Salmon and Pink'
Agastache 'Desert Sunrise'
Salvia coccinea
Salvia splendens
Salvia 'Maraschino' (greggii hybrid)
Salvia 'Wendy's Wish'
Salvia 'Fuhrman's Red' (greggii hybrid)
Salvia 'Ultra Violet'
coral bells (Heuchera)
Arizona columbine (Aquilegia desertorum)
Gladiolus (perennial or tender)
Lonicera sempervirens (scarlet honeysuckle)
cypress vine
scarlet runner bean

BN

BN, thank you so much for your entry! This will help lots! :) Arum

Cannas!

Does anyone have a list of hummer plants for the southeast?

We've seen them lots of times on torch tithonia (tithonia rotundiflora iirc). Bonus is butterflies love it, too. And of course anywhere I see a monarch, bees are all over it as well.

Not sure which salvia, I have a red one that was billed as texas hummingbird sage, and a blue one, can't recall it's name, and I'm not at home to check the seed packet.

In my yard the top contenders are:

-Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii)

-Cigar Plant, Bat Face Cuphea (Cuphea llavea)

-Black & Blue Salvia, Argentina Skies Salvia (Salvia guaranitica)

-Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) ... blooms in the fall

-Cat's Whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus)

-Flowering Maple (Abutilon)

-Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) blooms spring and again in the fall

-Red Rocket (Russelia sarmentosa) blooms late summer/fall

-Agastache

-Firecracker Vine (Manettia cordifolia)

-Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) I grow it for the winter migrants we host.

-Firespike (Odontonema strictum) blooms in the fall

WOW! What an excellent list! A few years ago I developed "garden burnout", I thought gardening was over for me, and unfortunately I removed many of my plants, some that I regret. Now I'm just zero-ing in on the plants I can put back to temp these little birds. They've been here, it must be working! Thanks for the input. :) Arum

Two more I haven't seen mentioned yet:

Fuchsia triphylla - "Gartenmeister" is one of many named varieties. I have a basket in bloom and the hummers fight over it.

They also keep investigating my "Bonfire Scarlet" begonia. I don't know if it has nectar, but they come and check.

Note that I'm in the Northeast, so only have ruby-throated hummingbirds. Both of these plants are tender here and have to be wintered indoors, or bought new each year.

I'm in Oklahoma and here the hummers love the following:

Verbena bonariensis
Passiflora cearulea or Blue Crown Passion Vine
Salvia "Lady in Red", an annual that reseeds
Salvia darcyi, large red flowers, hardy to zone 7
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii aka Flame Acanthus
Stachystarpheta jamaicensis coccinea aka Dwarf Red Porterweed (annual)

An oddity I've been watching this summer, are hummers nectaring on my sunflowers! Never seen this before.

Susa

Susan, they could be going after insects on your sunflowers. That's as much a part of their diet as nectar.

I thought about that, and if that's the case, I'm glad they are getting their protein as well as nectar! These are the old fashioned sunflowers that branch a lot, not the huge monster flowering ones, not the "ornamental ones". The Finches are loving them, too, as well as the bees, etc.

Susan

Also butterfly bush, red Texas Star Hibiscus and Mexican sunflowers. I have noticed this year they are frequently feeding from four o'clocks and cactus flowered zinnias. Never noticed this before. I have even seen them at yellow knockout roses. I have had a very active hummingbird season this year.

The initial Trumpet Vine comment caught my attention. I grew mine up a 7 foot trellis against my garage. Most of the new growth and blooms were from near the top, and messy. I removed it. A neighbor a few blocks away has one trained to a long metal signpost in his front yard. It's trained to a single stem and is kept at about 6 feet. It's very well controlled, blooms well, and looks good.

I dislike the aggressiveness of Trumpet Vine. The main vine grows massive, and if you don't remove the humongous seed pods it will reseed everywhere.

Susan

A few Rubythroats came through here a couple of weeks ago, apparently on their way South. One seemed to like the Verbena "Obsession Red With Eye" in our mixed planters. The tag is below.

I caught the hummers going crazy over my trailing geraniums and petunias from my window boxes last year. I had hot salmon pink and an orangey/red geraniums and purple petunias.

I'm in SE Pennsylvania and these are my top hummingbird plants right now:

Black and Blue Salvia
C. INDICA Canna
Rose Bud Salvia
Salvia discolor - this one is new this year and wildly popular
Cardinal Vine
Scarlet Runner Bean
Salvia Chiapensis

Earlier:
Native red and yellow honeysuckle (lost the tag)
Red hot poker

Others that are popular:
Gladiolus Atom - http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display.aspx?cat=Gladiolus
Fuchsia triphylla
Pinapple sage
Monarda (bee balm) - Jacob Kline and the purple (also lost tag)
...and, oddly, my tomato flowers. Can't figure that one out.

Bellatrix

Salvia Evolution. It is a large plant and I surrounded it by smaller varieties of Salvia and it is helping support the Evolution in the center.

My hummer was attracted to my window by a silk plant I had on the coffee table next to the window.

I like doing the Native bog/wetland thingy, these 3 hummer plants are in that category:

Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)
Pontederia cordata (Pickeral weed)
Mimulus alatus (Sharp-winged Monkeyflower)

I'd like to add my $0.02 about a plant that has been mentioned. If I could grow only one hummer plant, or had to recommend only one hummer plant, it would be Salvia coccinea "Lady in Red". They're beautiful plants with beautiful flowers, maintenance free, self sow like a bad weed, extremely long bloom period, and are my hummers' favorite plant. A few years ago, someone posted a list of the nectar sugar content of various flowers, and LIR had one of the highest concentrations, about 1/3 sugar. That's probably why the hummers love them so much.

I live in So. CA and 7 years ago when we moved into our house I planted about 5 mexican sage, which I bought very small at Home Depot. Within the first year we started seeing a couple of humingbirds daily on the sage. I see them fighting over it, even though there is plenty. I read somewhere that they get territorial over it. I also have a mature avocado tree in the front with the sage, and the last three years I have found a hummingbird has set up a nest in the tree. Twice I was able to observe her sitting on the eggs, the 3rd time I just found the nest with the empty egg shells. We always have a hummer that will come daily and sit in the tree and just chirp away.

Top 10 would include
1.) Coral Honeysuckle
2.) Red Beebalm
3.) Black and Blue Salvia
4.) Red Bush Salvia "Hotlips" (or any other red cultivar)
5.) Cardinal Flower
6.) Buckeye Tree ( Red or Bottlebrush)
7.) Catmint "souvenir andre de chaudron" (or something like it)
10.) Agastache (anytype)
- Use as many natives as you can to fill in any gaps. This will lure in insects for the hummers to feed on as well.

Goodness! Has any plant been overlooked? Looks like I'm going to have a busy winter trying to gather some of these "Hummer loving plants",or seeds rather. :) I could really do for some red reseeding salvia. My feeders only draw ants. Anyone else with this problem? :) Arum

Porter weed, porter weed, porter weed, porter weed - I have many of the same plants on all your lists. Living in Central Florida we can grow just about anything. But I am here to say that all of our hummers and most all of the many butterfly species can not resist the Porterweed (blue) native Florida variety, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis is a short stature plant but any porterweed will do. I actually am growing the tall non-native variety and this is the one plant no hummingbird has ever passed up in my garden.

A second third and fourth YES to any form of salvia. Though I have about ten different speicimens many are pink, peach, red, or white and the hummers and butterflies visit them all as well. Good luck with your plantings.

I will add Gartenmeister Fuchsia.

One that I don't think has been mentioned is 'streptocarpella'. My hummers love love love it. If I could only have one plant, it would be my blue fairies. (That's what my daughter calls them.)

I let mine have plenty of sun in the spring and then move them to shady spots when it starts to get really warm. They stay outside until we start to have near-freezing temps then I bring them inside. Be warned, they will look fairly awful after a winter indoors.... leggy and not at all happy but they perk back up in the spring. I give them a fairly good pruning once they seem to be recovering (you can root the cuttings), fertilize them, and the hummers are fighting over them in no-time.

I have wild flame azalea growing around my property. The hummers all but desert my feeders when it's in full bloom. I've also seen them on my various types of sage, stock, hostas, butterfly bushes, bee balm, petunias, self-heal, and fushcia. They visit my creeping thyme, but I'm not sure if it's for necter or bugs.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out. I live in the southeast mountains, if that helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: streptocarpella

I didnt see them mentioned so I thought i would throw in my successes.Firebush does very well,and pink or red powderpuff bushes also are very active.both the powderpuff and the firebush have hundreds of blooms per plant.good luck

My recommendations for top hummingbird nectar plants would be:
1--Agastache hybrid 'Heat Wave'--my current favorite. Hot pink flowers that glow like neon. A. rupestins is winter-hardy and attracts hummers like its cousin. Easily grown from seed.
2--Beebalm aka Monarda. Jacob Kline is the most mildew resistant. Coral Reef, Blue Stocking and Purple Rooster are somewhat mildew resistant. Spray those with a fungicide once or twice a season. Split mother plants, pot up babies and give away to friends for their gardens.
3--Penstemon 'Dark Towers', a native cultivar, is a must have. Winter hardy. Babies sprout up readily. Tall flowering spires are adorned with cotton candy pink blooms. Down below the crown has dark green and burgundy leaves.
4--Black and Blue Salvia is winter hardy. The blooms are electric blue.There are other cultivars of S. guaranitica with purple and magenta blossoms, but, they are impossible to find for sale in local nursery centers. Order seeds and grow yourself. The Elizabethean Garden, Roanoke Island, North Carolina has at least a half dozen different cultivars growing in their display flower beds. Their plant shop sells a nice selection.
5--Indian Pinkroot Spigelia marilandica. This is woodland native that is exclusively hummingbird pollenated. Blooms for two months. Blooms look like red and yellow firecrackers.
6--Salvia coccinea aka Texas Sage reseeds easily. S. 'HotLips' is winter hardy. S. leucantha aka Mexican Bush Sage is a guaranteed hummer magnet. The blossoms are a striking bicolor, pure white and royal purple.
7--Coral Honeysuckle aka Lonicera sempervirens is an amazing, continuous blooming native flowering vine. Control by regular pruning. There are several cultivars which seem to be just a attractive to hummingbirds.
8--Red Buckeye Tree, a native understory tree, has big, dark green toothed leaves in palmate clusters overtopped with vertical panicles of reddish orange blooms which are exclusively pollenated by hummingbirds. Grow it, collect the nuts, and plant more around your yard. A treasure!
9--Lobelia cardinalis, L. syphilitica and L. hybrids. 'Fried Green Tomatoes' grows 5 ft tall!!! Perfect woodland shade garden choice. Around a pond the flowering bloom spikes of L. cardinalis will gleam like rubies.
10--Cardinal Climber Vine. Native to the tropical Central and South America. Hummingbirds will find this vine and methodically drain blossoms, one by one.
11--Trumpet vine aka Campsis radicans is exactly that--radical. Huge, monstrous, reseeds everywhere and long-lived. Hummingbirds will find this vine and defend it vigorously. Dig up a wild seedling growing in a highway ditch. Plant carefully and stand back!

I live in the same town as Zoosue. I may have missed it but the tall old fashioned Red Pentas are a favorite in my yard as well as the Purple Firespike that blooms in the winter. Our winter hummers love it. I have also seen them on our native tropical salvia, the Red Shrimp plant and Sqirrel's Tail, which is also in the Shrimp family.
Winter hummers also like the Cape Honeysuckle and Coral Honeyscukle. We get mostly Ruby-throated and my friend and I have also had Rufous spend the winter in our yards.

I have found that they hang around in the cape honeysuckle. Almost any salvia will attract them. Flowers that are tubular are the ones they drink from, especially red, pink, or orange. I have had a hummingbird nest in a crape myrtle, and they like to rest in my valencia orange tree.

If you look at the silhouette of a salvia, you will see the outline of a hummingbird's head. Think negative space.

Here is a link that might be useful: What's Growing On?

They also love Nicotiana's and Pineapple Sage. Only for zones 9 and 10 I believe, though.

They love Carolina Jessamine (very early nectar here) and penstemons in the spring. Later Turks Cap and Flame Acanthus (still blooming, BTW)later in summer to fall. Salvias any time they're blooming.

In my yard here are some I didn't see listed.

I only see them in late summer in C. Oklahoma so they miss my penstemons and some others they would like but these plants are blooming then:

Hesperaloe "Red Yucca"
Salvia Greggi
Ipomopsis rubra-Standing Cypress

Stachys Coccinea is the best plant I have in my garden. Even though I have about 30 various salvia , this is the one that gets the most activity . We got down to 16 degrees last year and it survived, also had no problem with 110 degrees .

I haven't seen anyone mention hyacinth bean vine--they seem to like it a lot in my yard. It is an annual vine with purple pea-type flowers.

I forgot to mention earlier, I planted a Dicliptera suberecta last year. The blooms are deep orange color, and the hummers LOVED it!

They also loved the Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica.

Susan

Morning all! Just found this forum. This is just the list I was looking for... thank you! I live in central Saskatchewan and never saw a hummingbird in my life until I started growing scarlet runner beans. Now they've taken up residence. :) They're brave little birds, too. One came to feed about three feet from my elbow last summer while I was picking the beans and he wasn't frightened away by my motions or presence and continued to go from flower to flower right beside me. It was such an amazing experience! We've spotted babies in the trees by our girls' swingset, but I haven't seen nests; they seem to be up high in the tree, judging by the flight pattern of the youngsters. They play in the spray from our occilating veggie garden sprinkler, too. They perch on the tomato stakes or the pea fencing and just let the water fall on them while they fluff their wings.

Back to the topic at hand, though (sorry for the rabbit trail)...

Are there any bulbs with flowers that are attractive to hummers? I have a 2 by 50-foot flower bed that is constantly invaded by grass and thistles; I have to dig it and pick out the roots twice a year or the area becomes overwhelmed. Bulbs that are planted in the spring and need to be dug in the fall might be just the ticket for this bed. Currently there are lupines there which the hummingbirds thoroughly enjoy. I want to replace them with flowers they can still feed from, but that allow me to clear the bed completely in the spring and fall.

Hi macky, welcome to the forum!!

Crocosmia grows from corms, my hummers like 'em.

This little boy was using a spent Crocosmia flower stem as a lookout point...

Thank you, ctnchpr. I'm looking up everything listed here as I have time today. We're primarily veggie gardeners, so I'm woefully unfamiliar with flowers. I recognize glads from the list, though, which I know my neighbour grows and digs up for the winter. Does colour or variety matter a lot? I have to admit that I'm really not fond of red flowers; if there are other choices the hummers would drink from, that would be great. They're already attracted to the yard in general by the runner beans.

Macky, I suggest you start a new thread to make sure you get lots of answers to your questions. I suggest you consider annuals as well as bulbs. They'll still allow you to clean out the bed. Many annuals bloom earlier and/or longer than bulbs.

You'll find as you look up the recommended plants that they are attracted to many flower colors. I see "Black and Blue" sage mentioned over and over. B&B makes tubers so can be treated like a summer bulb. Some people grow it as an annual and get new plants each year. I've grown it before but just moved to an area with hummingbirds late last summer, so I have yet to have the plant and the birds in the same garden. Can't wait for them to come back and see all the goodies I'm planting for them.

I am new to this site. I love Hummingbirds and Butterflies. This is a nice thread and will be investigating many of these plants for my garden. I do want to advise you not to get discouraged if Hummers don't seem to like one plant because the following year they may go bonkers over it. I guess they are like humans, we all don't like the same food equally. One year they seem to fight over the trumpet vine. The next year they are just mildly interested in it. Two years ago they were crazy about the Hyacinth Bean Vine I planted for the first time, last year they could care less. Maybe the weather affects the nectar the plants produce. My trumpet vine is over 30 years old & I just continue to mow over the "suckers" that appear. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions.

Elephant garlic and leek flowers.
I'm glad hyacinth bean is popular because I just planted a bunch of them.

I live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. The only time I have ever seen hummingbirds in my yard was when I had a Blue Sage (not Blue Salvia) plant. Right now we get twice-daily visits from 3-4 Ruby Throated Hummers, male and female. They don't seem to be interested in any other plants I have planted to attract them, only the Blue Sage. HTH

Did anyone mention Summer Poinsetta, Texas Star hibiscus, which is the same thing. :) Arum

In my gardens, I've observed hummers nectaring on all these, hope these aren't all repeats:

- Monarda didyma and all its cultivars
- Lobelia cardinalis
- Salvia coccinea Lady in Red & Coral Nymph
- Salvia splendens 'Yvonne's'
- Salvia 'Black & Blue'
- Cardinal Climber
- Lonicera sempervirens
- Zinnia elegans
- Tithonia rotundifolia
- Silphium perfoliatum (Cup plant)
- Dicentra spectablis, D. eximia
- All species of Aquilegia/Columbine
- Cleome
- Digitalis grandiflora, D. purpurea
- Phlox paniculata
- Hostas
- Heuchera sanguinea
- Allium cernuum - nodding onion
- Petunias in the hanging baskets!

The hummers in my yard love my Mexican Petunias.

Salvia, Summer Jewel Red attracted a pair in the same week they were planted.

Not that I would plant it, it was already here, but I was surprised to see the early returning ruby throats fighting over my Japanese Quince. I also saw them checking out the choke cherry when it was blooming. I believe Hostas and Butterfly bush were already mentioned. I haven't seen any on my petunias in the window boxes, nor the fuschias, a few have made brief stops to the pansies in the hanging baskets.

ctnchpr

Loved your shot of crocosmia. Hummers mostly use mine to perch on and Im still waiting for it to grow up from corms as I have moved mine to another location.

If I could only have one plant in my garden It would be without a doubt this big guy "salvia guaranitica blue ensign" this one is now over 60" tall and its early in the season. No wonder hummers love this many stemed giant.

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