Today a hummingbird visited my red velvet baby sage, dont like the petunias very much. I wouldnt be to upset, maybe he was just after bug,my hummmingbirds like the feeder over the flowers . I guess maybe sometimes the sugar maybe tastes better? I even have WASPS drinking out of my feeder.What do I do about that? Also my hummingbirds are getting really chubby, they need to be put on a diet. Is this normal?

I also have wasps at my feeder, but I don't think they get much. One will usually go to the side where the lid sits. Probably just what spilled over when I change it. My feeder is supposedly designed so they can't get to the nectar.
About the chubbiness, if they're girls, maybe she's a momma!
I figured out what he likes in my neighbors yard. Hosta! I heard they like hosta but I didn't know if their were certain ones. Whatever kind my neighbor has, he likes them!

Just a few days ago, they were all over my Monarda "Gardenview Scarlet," but that's pretty much done now for the season. Today I watched a single bird feeding at my Agastache "Pink Panther," and Agastache "Big Bazooka." She (I think it was a she, or maybe a juv male) then visited my Salvia coccinea. I've also got Trumpet vine blooming, and they like it pretty well. They've also shown interest in my Fuchsia "Billy Green," which has been blooming continuously for weeks, now. Others have had much success with Fuchsia "Gartenmeister Bonstedt." I don't have any Black and Blue Salvia, but I understand they're nuts about them.

I've heard great things about Lobelia cardinalis, but mine aren't blooming quite yet. Earlier in the season, the native columbine Aquilegia canadensis worked for me.

I haven't noticed them on my red petunias, Verbenas, white oriental lilies, or Impatiens, but maybe I'm just missing visits. My Cardinal Climbers and Cypress vines are just starting, so it's too soon to say. The Four o' Clocks and Hardy Hibiscus will also be coming soon, but don't know yet if they'll be visited.

So plant some hosta! I would`nt be to upset maybe the hummer just wanted something else to drink ,your bird will come back.They also like alot of other things to, who is to say what they like most? Your little Hummer will come back.

They have been using my morning glories the most recently. I still have a couple bee balm flower heads blooming and some Black and Blue salvia that they are also going to, along with the Salvia coccineas that I have (Lady in Red and Hummingbird Red, although both are sortof in between blooms, with new bloom panicles coming up and old ones with only a couple flowers left on them).

Kristen how long did you have your trumpet vine planted before it bloomed? I planted one this spring. It was in a 3 quart pot. I've heard they don't bloom for a lot of people. Some say they've had them for 7 years and they still don't bloom. I have it in a spot that it gets about 7 hours of sun. I am just curious what your experience with it is?

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!

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed! I would say it gets about 8 hours of sun, from 8am until 4pm. I planted it on one side of a trellis and lonicera sempervirens (native honeysuckle)on the other. The lonicera is on the shadier side, it has a few blooms on it now. I planted them together just in case the campsis radicans didn't bloom for a while.

That sounds like a good plan, planting the reliable blooming Lonicera on the shadier side of the trellis. I hope it's a big trellis, though, because trumpet vine is a monster. It grows rampantly, and tends to spread all over the place. Unless you beat it back, I think it might eventually smother the Lonicera. If you can get them both to bloom on the same trellis, though, you will have yourself a little hummingbird heaven. Good luck!

This week, the hummers are on the salvia guaranitica, turks cap, tobacco tree, chaste tree, shrub althea, firecracker vine, anisacanthus wrightii, shrimp plant, cherry sage, firebush, abelia, justicia, canna species, cigar plant, dicliptera suberecta, and even the rosemary. Haven't caught them on the zinnias yet but expect it at any time.
I have tried many times growing monarda in my area but have failed for the same reasons that you mentioned. Ditto cardinal flower, caterpillars eat it up shortly after planting.

Oops! I wrote trellis but it's actually a big iron arbor. I picked it out with the intent of growing the thug on it. Plus I planted it in a 5 gallon nursery pot, so it's roots won't spread. We'll see how it works out. I plan on root pruning it if needed to keep it in it's alotted space (in the pot that is). Thankfully they are supposed to bloom on new wood. So I plan to give it a heavy pruning every year. The good thing about it being in a pot is, I can move it someplace else if needed.

I am jealous of all the hummer flowers jim has!
I have one cardinal flower starting to bloom. I ordered two, from an online nursery to make sure they sent quality plants. The other grew well, but something happened to it's stem, and it's just now starting to grow back. I wish I had more, I don't think the one stalk is enough to draw them. I wonder if these too will be eaten.

I dont have a lot of flowers, just hostas and portulacas. My hummers all summer just seem to come to my feeders and ignore the flowers but recently Ive seen them dive down to the portulacas, they are pink and red. I have two window feeders and they spend a lot of time chasing one another away from the feeders. Usually there is 3 or 4 playing tag.But occasionlly there will be 2 on the same feeder briefly or 1 on each. Is it just me or are the hummers more active this past week or so?