Hummingbirds are always a welcome visitor to any garden. They are both beautiful and entertaining to watch. They are also great pollinators. It is not always easy to attract hummingbirds to your yard. Try planting some of these flowers to attract hummingbirds. Once you have a few of them stop by, you want to make sure they come back though!
There are many different things you can do to try and get the hummingbirds to come to your yard during their migratory season. You can learn more about creating the perfect habitat for hummingbird by reading :
How To Attract Hummingbirds
Characteristics of Hummingbird’s Favorite Flowers
One way to do this is to have a diverse variety of flowers blooming in your yard throughout the seasons.
Oddly enough, most of the plants that attract hummingbirds best, have very tiny flowers. You would think that they have no nectar in them at all. This has been what I thought in the past, but once you add these plants to your garden, you’ll see that the hummingbirds are more interested in them than the larger flowers.
Another characteristic of the plants they enjoy the most is a tubular shape. If you can find any plants shaped like a trumpet, give them a try.
Over the years, through experimentation, I have a come up with a list of flowers that hummingbirds like.
The added benefit of having these plants that attract hummingbirds is that they will also attract butterflies as well.
This list of flowers that attract hummingbirds is very diverse. They cover a range of sizes, colors, and shapes. The flowers can come in different colors, such as the salvia, so you can adapt them to your garden. They also cover a multi seasonal bloom time to keep the hummingbirds fed throughout the season. The following plants are some of the best plants to attract hummingbirds that I have grown in my garden.
AGAPANTHUS
With their beautiful purple hues, agapanthus are a low maintenance perennial that produces globes of trumpet shaped flowers in various shades of blue, purple, or white.
Blooming from Summer through to Fall on long stems that rise up from evergreen patches of wide green leaves. Hardy in zones 7 to 11 and can reach heights exceeding 4 ft tall!
CIGAR PLANTS
Cuphea, also known as Cigar Plants, are versatile perennials in zones 9 to 11. They are literally covered in bright orange and yellow blooms throughout summer and well into fall. You can read more about Caring For Cigar Plants.
Average size is about 4 feet by 4 feet when fully grown. In my experience they do well in full sun if watered well but do much better in a partially shaded area. Learn how to propagate cigar plants :
How to Propagate Cigar Plants
CAPE HONEYSUCKLE
Cape Honeysuckle, although not even a close relative of a honeysuckle, has a long trumpetlike shaped flower. It comes in bright orange and sometimes yellow depending on the variety.
Hardy in zones 9 to 11, it is an evergreen vining plant. Cape Honeysuckle can be pruned into a hedge or allowed to grow in a vining habit to cover a trellis or any garden structure.
Butterfly Bush,or Buddleia
Butterfly Bushes can’t be beat for flower power! They are known for their bright long panicles that attract all types of pollinators. Some varieties are capable of getting huge in one season, up to 6 feet tall and as wide.
More varieties are being developed these days that maintain a small compact growing habit so you can enjoy these beautiful flowers in any size garden landscape.
Hummingbird Bush
The Hummingbird Bush is aptly named because hummingbirds absolutely love it. They will even bypass a feeder to get to this plant! A true hummingbird bush can get up to 12 feet tall! Wouldn’t that be amazing to see?
Bright orange, or red trumpet shaped flowers adorn the plant in small clusters. Blooms in late summer through the Fall in zones 8 to 11.
HOSTA
Hostas are super popular plant that grow well in the shade. Hostas are known for their striking foliage colors and leaf size but have beautiful flowers as well. Many people do not even know a Hosta blooms!
They will bloom in late spring from a tall stem in the center of the plant. They can be extremely fragrant and hummingbirds love them! Hostas grow in many different climates and come in many different sizes. The flowers are white or different shades of purple.
HEUCHERA
Heuchera is another plant know for its foliage. The flowers of a Heuchera can come in green, orange, burgundy, purple, and even black! Most Heuchera are grown for their tidy bunches of colorful leaves.
When bloom time comes, in late spring and early summer, they have beautiful bell- shaped flowers rising up on tiny wands. Heuchera are also known as Coral Bells and there are many varieties that thrive in zones 3 to 11, so almost anywhere!
SALVIA
Salvia is planted as an annual in most gardens but will reseed itself if left alone. Most varieties will be perennials in zones 5 to 9. They blossom into bunches of tubular shaped flowers along a square stem.
Salvia grows to around 2 feet by 2 feet but there are also types that grow up to 6 feet tall. Deer tend to leave it alone but you will almost never see it without some type of pollinator flitting about on its flowers.
CLEOME
Cleome (pronounced “klee-owm”) is a striking annual that blooms into wispy tall pink, purple, white, or lavender flowers. Cleomes are grown as annuals but can be hardy in zones 10 and 11. They grow to about 4 feet high. They self seed readily and some consider them a nuisance.
Hummingbirds always tend to love the flowers that look the most delicate. Cleome have a strong taproot and although they are very tall, they can usually stand up as a focal point in your garden bed surrounded by smaller plants.
BOTTLE BRUSH
Bottle Brush looks exactly like its namesake! Bottle Brush are a hummingbird magnet! They bloom through the hottest part of summer into what looks like a bristly red bottle brush.
These “brushes” are actually clusters of about 30 or more tiny flowers with extremely long stamen. Bright red with a yellow tip give them a distinct look. They can grow for 5 to 30 feet high. Hardy from Zones 8B to 11.
Hummingbird Watching
Coming up with a list of flowers that hummingbirds are most attracted to was a bit of experimentation and just keeping your eye open to a fun past time of hummingbird watching. All of these plants are in my garden but I’ve seen over the years that these particular shapes and colors are the ones that they frequent most.
The NUMBER ONE plant they stay around is the Cigar Plant, the Cuphea. I do not know if it’s the size of flowers or if they provide the most nectar per flower. It could very well be the color and the sheer number of flowers on a cuphea.
Try planting a few or all of these flowers in your yard and you’re sure to have a hummingbird stop by for a visit!
