Gardening for the birds (1 Viewer)

[sunriseworkshop]

Hello! I saw the most wonderful hummingbird today! Some of my flowers are starting to bloom so the rubythroated hummingbirds are back. I try to keep flowers blooming the whole season long so they stick around. I always have so many flowers that I don't bother to put out feeders. I was wondering about which flowers the hummingbirds like best. Have any suggestions for planting in Zone 4? Thanks! Kate

 

[sunriseworkshop]

I have lilacs, a variety of bulb flowers, a couple types of primrose, sweet william, columbine, milkweed, liatris, azaleas, and will be planting others soon. What do you grow for your birds in your area? Thanks! Kate

 

[dolphinbride]

Hi Kate,

I have very little sun here in the summer (loads of trees) but I've got fushias and petunias out there now by the feeder and I'll put out flowering tobacco when it is in bloom.
(Just looked at the feeder and there's a downy woodpecker taking sip, we call her 'sweet beak'! Poor Rubythroats!)
Good luck with the garden!

Kristina

 

[sunriseworkshop]

I've got several roses that they seem to like as well. I'm always looking for plants that would draw them into my yard.

 

[dolphinbride]

I have some rodo's, azaleas, some fairy roses, lilacs, and a few more flowers and shrubs in the garden. I've never seen the hummers feed on them, but I suppose it does help to draw them in. I hadn't thought of it that way before, but I'm sure it must help!
Good point Kate.

 

[Tz'unun]

Roses might lure hummingbirds into your yard, but they're worthless as a food source except in attracting insects. Try this list for ideas:

Hummingbird Nectar Plants for Maine

 

[sunriseworkshop]

Thanks for the list!!! Gave me a few ideas!

 

[craig whitmore]

Hello! I saw the most wonderful hummingbird today! Some of my flowers are starting to bloom so the rubythroated hummingbirds are back. I try to keep flowers blooming the whole season long so they stick around. I always have so many flowers that I don't bother to put out feeders. I was wondering about which flowers the hummingbirds like best. Have any suggestions for planting in Zone 4? Thanks! Kate

H1
Kate: I've had good luck with Salvia

Craig

 

[sunriseworkshop]

Thanks Craig! I'll check for some the next time I'm shopping.

 

[Beach Bum]

In my yard the big red Cannas seem to be their favorite.

Bob

 

[LindaD]

Several years ago we planted a native honeysuckle (Lonicera). It's covered in nice tubular red flowers right now and continues all summer. The hummers love it. If you have an arbor or a nice place for one, consider honeysuckle. While they also love the Japanese honeysuckle, they are so invasive that it's not good to plant one of them. Our woods is filled with the Japanese honeysuckle that we are trying to control, but the hummers love them as well.

Linda

 

[djb2007]

I bought some plants called "bee balm" as the gardening staff said they are very good for attracting hummingbirds. They really seem to come around my plum tree a lot though.

 

[wings]

Roses might lure hummingbirds into your yard, but they're worthless as a food source except in attracting insects. Try this list for ideas:

Hummingbird Nectar Plants for Maine

_______-
Ahoy Sheri! I am most surprised to see salvia not listed anywhere. This plant, in my opinion, is one of the most popular ones for hummers in Northern California. Up in Mendocino where the climate is so mild, purple salvias (Salvia Leucantha) thrive and so do the hummers. I planted a red salvia in my home in Santa Rosa and the birds do go for that too.

 

[Tz'unun]

I'm a little short on first-hand cold-climate gardening experience , but annual salvias such as splendens and coccinea would probably do reasonably well in Maine. I'm a bit soured on salvias right now because in my garden at the edge of the desert the carpenter bees slash them open to steal the nectar. :C Thankfully, hum-gardeners at both climate extremes have a wide variety of other plants to choose from - though not as wide as you lucky California gardeners! I just put two Agastache X 'Desert Sunrise' and a Penstemon baccharifolius in the ground yesterday - here's hoping they're bee resistant.

 

[Gillian_M]

I've had good luck with salvia (aka scarlet sage), too, and I live in Ottawa. They're easy to grow from seed so I start them early indoors and plant them outside after the last frost. Mine have been blooming for about two weeks now.

I'm also trying bee balm (which is just starting to bloom) and Scarlet Runner Bean (which has a couple of flowers so far) this year, and hope that they'll attract the hummingbirds too. I haven't seen many hummers yet this year, and the one I saw yesterday was sipping from the feeder rather than the flowers. Hopefully that will change once all the flowers start blooming...