I WS'd them in '07, had four sprouts, planted them out that spring, and as others mentioned they didn't seem to do much that first year. 2nd year, I decided I didn't have them in the right spot, so I dug them up and moved them ... twice. As a result, I lost two of them. The two remaining ones finally put on some growth this past year, and I got one bloom stalk. I'm giving them one more year to prove themselves. Where I used to live (other side of the state) there was a house that had them planted in a strip between the sidewalk and their backyard fence, mulched in river rock. Very hot and dry location, and they were HUGE, and gorgeous when in bloom. I think it may be a matter of finding the right spot for them, where they can really shine. Bonnie

I'm a Hummingbird newbie. I live just north of Buchanan, MI along the St. Joe river (Berrien County). We moved here May 18, 2009. Although there were no flowers of any type or a feeder, we had them coming up to our porch daily, from the first day. Guessing the lady who had our trailer before us, had feeders. It also looks like she may have had some planters. We went and got a feeder and within a few hours, we began seeing them steadily. They begin feeding around 7 am and continue until after 9 pm. I'd say we see one at our LONE feeder every 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the time of day. All we're giving them, so far, is a pre-mixed 'red' nectar, made by Garden Treasures, that we bought with the feeder that we attached to our trailer window. We're totally captivated by them, and have begun to put in plants we've read that they like, and are going to add more feeders, just as soon as we can afford them (We're on a limited budget). Our biggest problem is that we don't know what we're seeing. Seems we have two different types, and several of each. We can only judge by their size and length of their bills. Some are very tiny and have what appears to be a black cap. Sometimes we think we see red at their necks, but when we move it goes away, leaving us feeling it's just a reflection from the red feeder, or red nectar in the feeder. The others appear to be pretty much gray; a little lighter on their chests, although sometimes we think we see some green on their backs. Some of their bills are very short, and some quite long. I have been looking at all the sites on the web, and none seem to look like ours. Ours don't seem to have the color of those I find pics of. I'm wondering could that be due to the fact the feeder is in the shade? All I know, is we never have to wait too long to see one, and we LOVE them! Our Camera quit working, but as soon as I can get my hands on another, I will be taking some pics. Would love to know where others, especially locals, gather to discuss their little 'loved ones' and any website we can get more info on local sightings. We can't afford to go out and buy books. Getting all our plants through 'Freecycle'. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and, of course, used to benefit our 'babies'!

Most years someone comes by and asks us if they can pick up the black walnuts out of our yard and we let them. In years that they don't, I pick them up and put them in a big flower pot under the shed and the squirrels get them out for food when they want them. However, I don't want the squirrels on my bird feeder because they can empty it in one day. At first I had some plastic tube feeders and they would eat big holes in them or chew the perches off so the birds couldn't sit and eat. I finally found a big heavy duty feeder which makes them 'eat like a bird' out of the tray. It hangs on a heavy metal shepherd's hook and I have to move it far enough from a tree that they can't jump on it. I had one squirrel that would climb this little metal pole on the shepherd's hook. One day I mixed hot, hot pepper in some Crisco and coated this post and waited. Here came the squirrel and tried to jump up to the first branch of the hook. He started sliding down the pole. He would try again and slide again. Finally he realized that he had something slick on his feet and it must have been burning a little because he would stand upright and shake both front paws in the air like he was trying to shake it off. Then he decided to wash his paws, and starting to shake his head to get the heat out of his mouth. I laughed till I cried. I'm not sure if it kept that one for coming back but it was sure entertaining. There were so many more to take the place of it that scaring one off didn't make much difference. In the last few years we haven't had as many so someone is probably giving them more that spicy feet. There are so many walnut trees in our neighborhood that they have plenty of food and my neighbor keeps corn out for them. Also, they aren't as bad about getting into attics here because there are so many huge trees. In southern Oklahoma they drove us crazy by getting into the attic. My biggest problem with them is digging up all the walnut trees they plant.

I think I planted them about 3 times, before the last one survived. But it's not flourishing. At the local nursery, they always had beautiful healthy ones growing, and I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. Don't give up though. Do you find that they are hard to find? I haven't seen the native ones around anywhere. You'd think they'd be popular.