Every spring and summer, tiny winged creatures can be seen fluttering around along the edges of forests, over meadows and in gardens in suburban and rural areas. No, they are not beautiful bees, moths or butterflies, but another important pollinator of nature – hummingbirds.
Most of the world’s nearly 340 species of hummingbirds are native to the Western Hemisphere, where they inhabit deserts, mountains, and tropical regions with a mix of tall trees, understory shrubs, and open fields.
Your backyard is also fair game, made even more appealing with hummingbird plants that can help keep their blazing metabolisms going. With their powerful flapping wings and Blue Angel-like flight, hummingbirds burn between 6,000 and 12,000 calories a day and need to refuel every 15 minutes.
With forests and grasslands becoming less abundant due to urban expansion, suburban gardens are playing a larger role in providing food and shelter for these amazing creatures.
Here are five garden planting recipes to help you attract and support hummingbirds. Always include plants that are appropriate for your USDA Hardiness Zone, and make sure your plants are appropriate for your soil type, light level, and moisture conditions.
1. Spring Flowers for Early Birds
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Hummingbirds rely on spring-flowering plants such as perennials and small shrubs to sustain them when they arrive in the spring. A garden bed with the following spring-blooming flowers provides a schedule of alternating blooms that lasts throughout the season:
- Quince Flower (Chaenomeles speciosa) Available in shades of red, pink, and orange, you can even harvest a crop of quinces late in the growing season. Use flowering quince as a small tree or a large shrub. Full sun. USDA Zones 5-7.
- Bleeding heart (Spectacular Lamprocapnos) This woodland plant thrives in shade in early spring, then dies back in summer. USDA zones 2-9.
- Phlox Garden (Phlox paniculata) Hummingbirds love garden phlox flowers that bloom with nectar in the spring, and bonus – they’re fragrant! Full sun. USDA zones 4-8.
- Azalea (Azalea mixture) Many varieties of rhododendrons are available in the color range that hummingbirds see best – red, pink and orange. These shrubs grow 2.5-6ft tall. Partial to full sun. USDA Zones 3-7.
- Lung Tree (Lung species) This low-growing, early spring flowering plant attracts both bees and hummingbirds. Use in the front of the border to highlight its silver-flecked leaves throughout the summer. Partial to full shade. USDA Zones 3-9.
2. Abundance of annuals in summer
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Summer annuals grow quickly and bloom year-round – exactly what visiting hummingbirds need. Best of all, they add color to new or existing garden beds.
- Carnation (Carnation hybridization) With a wide range of flower colors and sizes, carnations are backup pollinators for all species. Use as a rolling groundcover. USDA Zones 9-11.
- Stage (Lancet Pentas) With its star-shaped flower clusters, Penta is an easy-care plant that loves heat and humidity, and is loved by hummingbirds and butterflies. 1-3ft tall. USDA zones 9-11.
- Buckwheat (Salvia spends) Annual sage’s 2-3ft tall inflorescences are filled with tubular flowers all summer long. Use as a low to medium height element in your flower beds. USDA Zones 10-11.
- Spider Flower (Cleome in trouble) Cleome’s tall stems are covered with delicate round flower heads, each with dozens of tubular flowers. Growing 5-6ft tall, use cleome in the back of flower beds. USDA Zones 10-11.
- Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana sylvestris) Tubular flowers grow profusely on this 4-5ft tall annual. Available in a variety of colors favored by hummingbirds, the plant also delights humans with its evening fragrance. USDA Zone 10.
3. Save water and fill with nectar
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For those living in warm, arid environments, hummingbirds prefer a variety of drought-tolerant plants.
- Agastache (Agastache species) There’s a reason this plant’s common name is hummingbird mint! Birds flock to its nectar-filled flowers on spikes that grow up to 4 feet tall. There are many species and cultivars to choose from, all of which are drought tolerant. USDA Zones 3-10.
- Penstem (Digital Penstemon) Also known as beardtongue, Penstemon also has tall flower spikes filled with tubular flowers. Once established, penstemons are drought tolerant and require very little care. USDA Zones 3-9.
- Red Hot Poker (Knifophia uvaria plant) Another tall, spiny perennial, the red, orange, and yellow tubular flowers of the red golf club plant shine brightly in arid landscapes. Grow them in clumps or use them as a focal point in a succulent garden. USDA Zones 5-9.
- Vera (Vera species) This low-water succulent produces 2-4ft tall spikes tipped with tubular orange, red and yellow flowers. They often bloom multiple times throughout the growing season, providing hummingbirds with a double dose of nectar. USDA Zones 9-11.
- Jade plant (Hesperaloe parviflora) Another water-loving desert plant, the yucca comes in a variety of colors and sizes. The tall flowers bloom for weeks and are eagerly visited by hummingbirds. USDA Zones 5-9.
4. Bring them closer together with containers
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Can’t see hummingbirds all over your yard? Attract them by placing hummingbird-friendly flowers in pots around your yard. Plant them in individual pots and group them together or in one large pot.
- Mandeville (Mandeville hybridization) Use this large-flowered tropical vine as a “show stopper” plant on a trellis and center in a pot. USDA zones 9-11.
- Fuchsia (fuchsia.) The brightly colored, pendulous flowers hang down like earrings, providing easy access to the abundant nectar. Small growers use it as a “liner” plant in a pot beneath a mandevilla. USDA Zones 6-7.
- Lotus (A bigger trophy) Hummingbirds are attracted to the yellow and orange colors of watercress, which hangs down 3ft or more. Use as a “spiller” in a mixed container, or place alone in a hanging basket. USDA Zones 9-11.
- Stage (Lancet Pentas) Pentas make a second appearance on our list, this time as “liner” plants in large mixed pots. USDA zones 9-11.
- Geranium (Pelargonium species) The vibrant red color of geraniums will attract hummingbirds, but they do best paired with nectar-rich flowers. USDA zones 9-11.
5. Long-term couple
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The world of perennials offers a wealth of options for hummingbird gardens. We’ve made the choice easier by creating a Native Hummingbird Gardening Kit in collaboration with Plant By Number, available from the Know How Gardening Store.
Designed to fit a 5ft x 5ft garden, the kit comes with a planting plan, fabric planting map, and plants that will attract and feed hummingbirds. All varieties here prefer partial to full sun, grow best in rich, well-drained soil, and are suitable for USDA Zones 5-8. Each kit includes one of the following:
- Honey mint ‘Raspberry Wine’ (Monarda) Its bright red flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds and are sure to attract many people.
- Penstemon ‘Dakota Burgundy’ (Penstemon digitalis) Scores of nectar-rich flowers grow along 2ft tall inflorescences.
- Blue Cardinal (Lobelia syphilis) This deer and rabbit resistant perennial blooms late, ensuring food and fuel sources until late in the season.
- Indigo Blue (Baptism Australia) A bushy perennial that can grow up to 4ft tall over several seasons, its beautiful blue to purple flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.
The second Native Hummingbird Garden Kit, available from the Garden Guide Shop, expands the size of this kit to an 8ft x 5ft garden with the addition of two ‘Dakota Burgundy’ penstemon plants and a ‘Pardon My Cerise’ bee mint, with its many vibrant red flowers that attract hummingbirds.
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