I thought this list would be helpful to you.

Vines and Other Plants Attractive to Hummingbirds

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)H
Buckeye (Aesculus) H
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) H
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) H
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) H
Canna (Canna) H
Cardinal Climber (Ipomoea x multifida) VH
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) H
Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) H
Chilean Glory Flower (Eccremocarpus scaber) VH
Cleome, Spider Flower (Cleome hasslerana) H
Columbine (Aquilegia) H
Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) VH
Delphinium (Delphinium) H
Fire Pink (Silene virginica) H
Foxglove (Digitalis) H
Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica) H
Geranium (Pelargonium) H
Gladiolus (Gladiolus) H
Heuchera, Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea) H
Honeysuckle (Lonicera) VH
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja) H
Ipomopsis, Gilea, Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis) H
Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) H
Lily (Lilium) H
Maltese Cross (Lychnis chalcedonica) H
Monarda, Bee Balm (Monarda) H
Monkey Flower (Mimulus) H
Penstemon, Beardtongue (Penstemon) H
Pentas (Pentas lanceolata) H
Phlox, Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata) H
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia) H
Sage, Salvia (Salvia) H
Scarlet Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus) VH
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) H
Trumpet Vine, Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) VH
Weigela (Weigela) H
Zinnia (Zinnia) H

The "H" means the plant/flower is attractive to hummingbirds. The "V" means its a vine.

I spend a lot of time in summer at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the hummers there go wild for salvia guaranitica, which I think gets called "black and blue" salvia and is probably widely available. Tender perennial for some, annual for most of us, it can get fairly tall in a season, and it's very pretty with its dark blue flowers. For what it's worth, if you have a cold room, you can usually dig it up and keep it alive inside during winter.

You know what would look STRIKING in a large pot is Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal Flower - pidgeon blood red) in the center of the pot and Butterfly Weed (flourescent orange) all the way round the perimeter. They are both perennial but since you don't want to care for them over winter you can either plant them out in your yard OR offer them as a gift to a neighbor who might enjoy some very colourful perennials. I do this with my pots but I have an ulterior motive as well. Our neighbourhood is brand new and not many people have landscaped with trees, shrubs and flowers yet so attracting birds (hummers esp) and butterflies is very hard when you are the only house with landscaping finished. By offering the free flowers to the neighbours at the end of the year I ensure that my house is not the only one with flowers that are attractive to the birds, the bees and the butterflies. It's also a nice way to get to know your neighbours and for elderly people who can no longer do their own gardening, it's a nice treat to have someone come along and plant a few things for them.

The rich velvety red of the cardinal flower is VERY difficult to capture on film but as you can see with the photos side by side the combination of cardinal flower with butterfly weed is fabulous. What would even add more kick would be something in a rich purple or blue like a purple verbena around the very edge or a purple speedwell between the cardinal flower and the orange butterfly weed.

Boy I love those HOT HOT Hummingbird colours... now you've got me wanting to make a Hummer Pot for MY DECK too ;o)

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA

Barb, I like your suggestions. Cardinal flower is indeed beautiful as well as the purple/blues you suggested.

The problem with the cardinal flower and the butterfly weed is their short bloom season, compared to annuals that would probably bloom all summer. My cardinal flower comes out quite late in the summer. I'm not sure about the butterfly weed. I don't have it, although I have wanted to get it.

For those of you who see hummers in the yard around here, do you see them all summer, or do you find them passing through seasonally? I see them occasionally around azalea season and then in late summer--and not in between.

I have only seen one hummer and it comes back every year and pretty much sticks around all summer. Not sure if it's a male or a female, but I had to laugh last spring. I was out on the driveway organizing all the annuals I had just bought when I turned around and not 12" from my face was my hummingbird. It's like it dropped by to say hello and see what I had bought for it! I always buy a dark pink fuscia hanging basket and hang it from the underside of a deck we have so that I can see it from our downstairs computer room sliding doors. I can see it's reflection in the computer monitor and it's always nice to see movement and turn around to find my hummer busily working away at the fuscia. I've had some luck as well with impatiens we keep up on an elevated covered porch. I had a fuscia on that porch last year as well but the hummer preferred the one down below.

tess

I would suggest Fuschia 'Gartenmeister'. It is a bush type (not trailing), quickly growing from a small 4" pot to a 24" bush with purple leaves, bright coral flowers and all season bloom. It's readily available at many nurseries in the their container plant section. It prefers a bit of shade from mid-day heat, but as long as you keep it watered, it's very adaptable. The hummingbirds LOVE it. I've used it for years on our back patio and the hummers buzz right up to us to feed. This year I brought the pots inside to try overwintering -- I'm curious about how large of a specimen I can get when starting from a woody structure in the spring -- like a monster poinsettia, I hope!

Good luck.

If you love hummingbirds and would like to know more about them and what plants attract them. You're all invited, U.S. and Canada members!

Here is a link that might be useful: Everyone is Welcome!

Another great one that has a long bloom season and hummers love is Cape fuchsia (Phygelius spp.). It's a perennial in zones 7-8 but might be sold to use as an annual in zone 5. It's another great one for hummers, and I second the recommendation of Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt" -- the hummers love it no matter where I've grown it. Both do well in pots although I have to watch out for spider mites.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cape fuchsia photo

I've got a Phygelius capensis pink that produces so much nectar if you move the pot too fast it falls out like rain. I have a friend on the west coast vancouver and she says you can't brush up against hers without getting soaked and sticky.

I've had the best luck attracting hummingbirds with cannas and bright red pentas. Both of these grow in pots on the patio.PM

yes fuchia in a pot would do well for a hummer.
I was really successful with scarlet runner beans. But the vines are 10-12 feet, that could be too tall for you. I grew mine around the base of my deck and let them climb up the trellis and railing- worked out great for me
diggerb