The variety of plants for attracting hummingbirds is so great that, in the process of building hummingbird gardens, you could also be building a landscape that will be the talk of the neighborhood. You are not limited to using red flowers either, although red is famous for catching the attention of these winged wonders. In this list of nectar-rich plants commonly used for attracting hummingbirds, you will see lots of red flowers, but also purple, white, orange, pink, and blue hues, too. The selection of plants for your hummingbird garden should not be based solely on flower color. Aim for a mix of different sizes, textures, forms, and bloom times. Take advantage of the diversity of plant types available at your local garden center to achieve a well-rounded landscape. You can choose from annuals, perennials, vines, shrubs, trees, bedding plants, and hanging plants.
Flower Factors to Consider
In addition to being attractive flowers for hummingbirds, the following criteria should be considered when selecting plants:
Diversity in height and shape to increase landscape design options Showiness of bloom Ease of maintenance and planting Color choices within the species Attractiveness of foliage Early blooming or long blooming period
Vines, Bushes, and Herbaceous Perennials
Vines and bushes are important to include for those who want to combine effective landscape design with the hobby of watching hummingbirds or butterflies. Bushes can be used as structural elements to form a border to separate two properties. They can be similarly employed within your own property bounds to define distinct outdoor spaces. Even a driveway can be transformed from a humdrum component of a landscape to an aesthetic achievement if bordered by attractive bushes. A vine-covered arbor can likewise be an important structural element of a landscape, furnishing it with a focal point. Here are some of the best annuals, perennials, vines, and herbaceous plants to serve as hummingbird magnets for perennial flower beds. If you need a further incentive for pruning butterfly bush, take into account that you get more and bigger blooms on butterfly bush’s new growth that hummingbirds can feed from. Treat butterfly bush as if it were an herbaceous perennial rather than a shrub. Blooms on butterfly bushes can be purple, pink, white, or red, and they usually have an orange throat in the center. Grow this shrub in zones 5 to 10. It can be invasive in some areas, including the Pacific Northwest. A new cultivar, ‘Blue Chip,’ is touted as a non-invasive alternative. It grows best in zones 4 to 8 and in partial shade. Blooms can be white, lavender, rose, or the red that hummingbirds love so much. Catawba can reach a height of 6 to 8 feet, with a spread of 4 to 6 feet. A bigger rhododendron is the ‘Red Walloper’ cultivar, named for its big, reddish-pink flower heads. It becomes 10 feet by 10 feet and takes full sun to partial shade. It isn’t as hardy as Catawba, being suited only to zones 7 to 9. A rhododendron display is most effective when bushes are massed together. Lonicera sempervirens is sometimes called “trumpet honeysuckle,” so do not confuse it with trumpet vine. Both may have “trumpet” in their common names, but, as you can see from their scientific names, they are two totally distinct plants. Hall’s Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’; zones 4 to 9) is a 15-foot-tall vine hardy to zone 5 and valued for its tricolored (yellow, orange, red) floral show. Do not confuse cardinal vine with “cardinal flower” (Lobelia cardinalis), a perennial (zones 2 to 7) that also attracts hummingbirds. Because it likes moist soil, Lobelia cardinalis is an excellent choice for the rim of a water garden. It reaches 2 to 4 feet tall, with a spread half that.
Vines: The vine plants selected should be allowed to grow on arbors for the best impact. Position the arbor so that you will be able to watch the hummingbirds from a window inside your home. Shrubs: Mass the shrub plants in a border or on a landscaping berm to form sheltered areas. Breaking up a large, flat expanse is important, not only for visual effect but particularly when trying to attract secretive wildlife. Hanging plants: Sketch a patio into your plan to house the hanging plants selected. If your patio will be shaded, use Fuchsia hangers, not Lantana. It is often convenient to combine patios with pergolas or arbors since the latter will give you a place from which to hang your patio’s hanging plants. Flower bed and hardscape: Perennial flower beds are the finishing touch, to be implemented at the very end. You would want to work on hardscape elements first, such as arbors and patios. Next comes the planting of the larger plants, such as the silk tree and the shrubs. It is only after all this heavy work is done that you would want to plant your annuals or perennials in beds or install your Fuchsia or Lantana hangers. Otherwise, you unnecessarily expose fragile plants to the risk of damage.
