hummingbird heaven

User

13 years ago

never seen so many hummingbirds on one bush.....

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Comments (8)

annafl
13 years ago
Beautiful, Wallisadi. Mine are blooming their heads off too. It was definitely my hummingbirds' preferred nectaring plant last year. Too bad they haven't arrived at my place yet. I absolutely love this plant. I've planted it on three sides of my house. Can't get enough of it!
juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
13 years ago
I'll ask. Please ID the beauty in your picture and the growing conditions. My guess is Mexican honeysuckle (justicia spicigera) but I'm not sure. My eyes perked up when I read "hummers all over it". - June
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Coleoptera - Madera Canyon
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Comments (8)
Sandy, I agree. Typically most folks can't see the forest for the trees. A favorite pastime has always been to take a break from whatever I am doing in the outdoors, sit quietly and just watch nature unfold around me. It's amazing how much you see and hear that you've missed while engaged doing other things, and the longer you sit the more you'll discover. In part why I always get a chuckle when somebody says how desolate and lifeless a desert is. Might appear that way doing 75 down the highway, but in reality it is the most diverse habitats on earth if you'd take the time to sit and watch and let it unfold for you. Sherry, I've written about Madera Canyon and other S-SE AZ top locations many times on this forum, including about the hummingbirds, so I guess you just missed them. No doubt Madera is a hummingbird heaven with 14-15 species visiting from as far away as South America (same as Ramsey Canyon farther SE, but Madera gets dozens more species of birds than Ramsey does. Box, Sycamore, Pena Blanca, Sawmill, and Garden Canyons, and Patagonia-Sonoita Creek are just a few of the other places in the area well worth a visit. Your pretty blue "bug" is not of the order Coleoptera, but rather a Hemiptera, or the so called true bugs, and in the superfamily Pentatomoidea (and probably the Pentatomidae or maybe Acanthosomatidae family). But with the 100's of genera and 1000's of species in those families, I wouldn't even try to determine the one in your picture without all my "bug" books (buried in storage someplace). Larry
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Past the point of being discouraged.
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Comments (8)
Maybe you just need to see the Glass Half FULL. Like you, when I first started attracting the Hummingbirds to my yard, I wanted them to come right to my sliding glass doors so I could observe them up close and personal. But just like us, they don't take kindly to being watched while they eat ! I moved the feeder out in the shade of a big oak and what do you know, I observed a Hummingbird visit the feeder. Then I planted some of the native hummingbird nectar sources for my area and found I could have them in my yard without having to work cleaning feeders ! I haven't put a feeder out in many years and yet have hummingbirds every year ! Now I may have 2 or 3 hummingbirds that I can tell , year after year, after year as I am not located in the center of the migratory route, and I have accepted that. I still feel like my efforts are rewarded and rewarding to the Hummingbirds that call my yard and flowers "theirs". Think of your efforts of maintaining clean feeders with fresh nectar and planting Natural nectar sources that are native to your area as HELPING the Hummingbirds that come to visit your yard. If you can, take your cup of coffee outside at first light one morning, maybe even wear a red shirt and be still while enjoying your coffee and you just may find the hummers are hitting your yard while you would otherwise be elsewhere. Same thing applies to the last light of the day too as the Hummers fill up before the night falls. Don't give up on the Hummers, you may only have a couple regulars, but as each one of us take care of a couple of "regulars" we build up the numbers of the whole species and help keep them around even if only for the occasional glimpse and the smile that accompanies it ! Good luck, Lee
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Hummingbird "homes"?
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Comments (3)
I don't think you're being silly, but I would try to have a little more faith in their genetic programming. Those little guys are programmed with everything they need for survival. Do you have any trees, everygreens, tall bushes, thick vines in your yard? If so, they might use those. I guess it's worth a try, and if you decide to get one, I hope you'll tell us how it worked out. Here's what June Osborne (The Ruby Throated Hummingbird, p. 43) says makes an ideal nesting site for a hummer: 1. A small down-sloped branch for better drainage when it rains (your branch) 2. Umbrella like protection overhead (the eaves) 3. A water supply 4. A source of food nearby. She says they do nest in gardens with lots of hummingbird plants. Be sure to let us know how this works out.
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Hummingbird Flower Visits This Week
Q
Comments (12)
Flutterbug, I wish I could remember the exact number of years, but it was so many that I was beginning to think it would never bloom. It must have been at least 6 or 7 years, and I'm even tempted to say 10. It was ridiculous! Worse yet, I don't think I can give you any smart advice because I don't think I did anything special to get it to bloom. Maybe it would have bloomed sooner if I'd fertilized it, but I didn't. I just kind of ignored it and as the years dragged on, wondered how the darn thing could look so healthy and yet not produce a single flower. Finally, my impatience was rewarded with blooms last year, and the hummingbirds just loved them! Part of the problem could be that it just doesn't get that much sun, and Pittsburgh also tends to be a very cloudy place. Although blooming, it doesn't bloom as heavily as specimens I've seen in other people's yards. I think mine gets sun from about 7am until 1pm, but some of it might be filtered by a silver maple tree--not a tree that causes dense shade, but it is still somewhat shady. This could well be the problem for me. It's also the variety called "flava," having pale golden orange blossoms instead of the usual bright pinkish orange. I assume you have the common type. Maybe flava is a more reluctant bloomer than the species, and you'll have better luck with yours. I will say, though, in spite of the non standard bloom color, it's an excellent hummingbird flower, and well worth growing if you can get it to bloom. I hope this helps!
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ginger_2010
13 years ago
Yes, please what is this? I try and plant all things for hummers, but I don't have this.. btw, your garden is just beautiful!
Ginger
annafl
13 years ago
June and Ginger,

I got mine with the name Justicia Golden Flame. I have also seen it under justicia Orange Flame and justicia sidicaro. It is a wonderful plant. Carefree, no pests, needs little. Very drought tolerant. Blooms on and off during all the warm months. Does well in full sun (yes, really), and moderate shade. Did not lose a leaf this past winter. Would easily do zone 9b, I don't know whether it would do 9a, but I suspect it might. It propagates pretty well from cuttings. If either of you come this way, I can supply you with cuttings!

By the way, saw my first hummingbird today since last spring!

Anna
juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
13 years ago
Thanks so much for the name, Anna (and thanks for posting your picture, Wallisadi). Drought tolerant, does well in full Florida sun, and the hummers love it. My kind of plant!

A Texas poster at Dave's Garden says it will return from the roots after a hard freeze in 8A & B, so it should be fine in my 9A garden.

So happy that you finally have a hummer, Anna. Mine have been around for quite a while but I still stop and watch when I see one at the feeder. - June
Tom
13 years ago
I have one and the hummers like it. I was told when I purchased it that it preferred partial shade. I'd be interested in the conditions that the ones you have are growing in.
christy2828
13 years ago
Woo Hoo!!! Just put two of these in 2 months ago. Can't wait until mine look like that and the hummers find it :) I have one is front and one in back and it has been flowering non-stop since I planted them. Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture!!! Christy
User
Original Author
13 years ago
have it in semi sun, gets a couple hours of sun, rest of the time it's filtered through the oaks. have cuttings in full sun and they are not blooming now.

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hummingbird heaven

Comments (8)

annafl

juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl

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ginger_2010

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juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl

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hummingbird heaven

Comments (8)

annafl

juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl

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ginger_2010

annafl

juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl

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