hi, maureen, welcome! I think it is more important that the feeder be kept meticulously clean and the nectar fresh than which feeder style you buy. some feeders are easier to clean than others, and you may have to try a couple til you find the one that you are most comfortable maintaining. often, the most decorative feeders are the hardest to clean. less is more. the simpler, the better for cleaning.
linked below is the page from which I have ordered replacement bases for the perky pet brand model #210 that I bought at ace hardware.
hummzinger (aspects) makes an excellent saucer-style feeder. droll yankees and nature's best are also supposed to be very good. www.fatruby.com is a good website for ordering feeders and parts, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: perky pet glass nectar feeders

linked below is a recent thread in which we all discussed our favorite hummer plants. come back and visit often!

Here is a link that might be useful: hummer plants thread

Maureen, Standard has given you some good information. I got my perky feeders from Wal-Mart and the hummingbirds have never refused them. I bought a really "artsy" one this spring but have not seen a hummer at it.

We have a memeber named Penny who lives in New York. She is usually real active on the forum but due to her husband breaking his leg she has been real busy and not able to visit with us. Hang in there and she will be back and can help you with plants for your area.

someone posted a link recently with hummer plants listed by state instead of zone. I thought I had bookmarked it, but I can't find it now. does anyone have that?
I like:
jacob cline beebalm (monarda didyma)
salvia coccinea lady in red (annual)
salvia guaranitica black and blue (perennial here)
robert kemp cannas
cardinal climber vine
and pineapple sage (salvia elegans)
the best.
you can be bold and go outside the labelled zones, but what you may want to consider is when is your hummer season there compared to bloom out of a plant. I love crossvine, but it blooms before the hummers will come downtown here. a lot of folks up north don't bother with pineapple sage because it blooms out after their hummers have departed for the fall. it blooms around september 1st here, and I have hummers til oct. 20th, so it's a favorite here.
one can get a hummingbird garden going as easily as scattering seed packs of cardinal climber vine and red zinnias.
jump right in, and your second season will be way better.

Another great hummingbird flower is lobelia cardinalis. Any salvia, greggii is great. salvia ugliosa. Did standard mention coral honeysuckle? Lonicera sempervirens alabama crimson is a good one. In the spring red buckeye and any of the native azaleas and rhododendrons wild jewelweed attracts them too obedient flower and trumpet vine Although here in suburbs of Philadelphia it's been so rainy my largest trumpet vine has a fungus and hasn't bloomed much the past two years.As far as feeders go I don't use perky pet except for the one with the litte sun/rain cap I use humzinger natures best best one with newer safer base I hope this helps. Sarah

Mexican bush sage is a good one. A fall bloomer.

Standard65 - Thank you for the information you supplied me with. It is really helpful. And thank you for the link to the former thread. I printed it out and perused it while taking a rest in the garden this afternoon. It was nice easy reading.

Mimidi - thank you too. I hope Penny will be back on the forum soon.

Standard - regarding the seeds, do I plant them now in the garden?

Sarahbn - thank you for the list of plants. I'm on a search for some of these.

Thanks again, what a helpful bunch,
Maureen

Hi Maureen, I live on Long Island too. Hummer favorites that I grow are Heuchera, Columbine, Monarda Jacob Cline, salvia coccinea lady in red (annual), Obedient Plant (I have read this can be invasive), hostas, hollyhocks, trumpet vine, Mexican sunflower (annual), Lobelia cardinalis, Crocosmia Lucifer, red impatiens and million bells.

Last winter I overwintered in my unheated garage two potted Salvia B&B. One survived which I planted in the ground in early June. I posted a photo of it in the Gallery.

I have also seen them go to Canna Red King Humbert which is not known to be a good nectar source, but maybe they were juveniles.

I have seen the hummers only in August through October here.

Good Luck to you.

Pam

maureen, I don't know if it's too late to start annuals from seed there or not. what do you think, folks? at what, $1.99 a pack, (?) it might be a worthy experiment. I look at buying plants late as seed stock for next year. I bought 3 salvia coccinea lady in red (annual) last fall and let them go to seed, and have over 2 dozen volunteers of it transplanted all around now. didn't buy a one this year.
I thought of another one that is great for a hanging basket there: gartenmeister fuschia.

sarah, is your feeder with the sun/rain cap a little 6oz clear plastic with 3 red perch/flower ports and a red canopy? I have one like this, and I can't find them anymore.

pam, is that mexican sunflower called tithonia? I have 2 here for the first time this year from winter sown seed (and I mixed up some of my containers after label fading,) and one opened up yesterday, and it is unexpectedly very orange, and much smaller than a sunflower. looks like a big orange zinnia blossom. does that sound like it? the plant is over 5 feet tall.
also, do you think hummingbirds fly from RI and CT over water to long island, and then over water to NJ? in other words, can and do they fly from new england to new jersey without going through mainland new york? my folks live on the southern side of lake ontario in rochester, ny, and I've often wondered if hummingbirds fly the 35 miles across it to ontario, canada.

Stardard, yes it is tithonia, and does look like zinnia. I often wonder about the hummingbird bird route regarding Long Island, and I think it could be why I don't see them early...because they skip going over the water and go up the mainland on their northward migration, but there was someone here who posted last year who saw them in the spring. Also there is a sanctuary on the east end of Long Island and they have hummers in May and they nest there. Thinking like a hummmer, LOL, it would be easier just to skip Long Island.

Standard here it is I bought these several years ago because I hang that feeder in the sun I found it at Pet value a pewt shop where I buy the rabbit's food (we have two house rabbits and two turtles) Here I found a place on line hope this helps Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: 6oz canopy hummingbird feeder

that's it, sarah, thank you. guaranteed not to drip, huh? lol that thing is a leaky dripper but the birds love it. I don't see how they made that picture, with the nectar level above the port level. if I do that, it all pours out until it is below the port level. with the nectar level low like that, it is a good feeder to see their little tongues going in and out, lapping up the nectar and making little ripples in it. it really is easy to clean thoroughly.

good theory about the seasonal difference in migration regarding long island, pam. very interesting.
here's my tithonia. penny said it is a nitrogen-fixer, beneficial to the soil, when she sent the seeds.

That's a beautiful flower standard Do the hummers use it? Sarah

Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) is a great flower! I've had Hummingbirds and Butterflies both use it. The taller varieties seem to get the most attention. It likes full sun, and is somewhat drought tolerant once established. It takes a while to grow to blooming size, so for me is a late bloomer treat for our flying friends. Unfortunately you don't see it much in nurseries, so it's best to start from seed.

Thanks I'll have to look for that next year. Sarah

thanks, ray, for the good info. I didn't know if hummers would visit them or not.
does it make only one or two blossoms, or does it make a lot? I want to let the last ones go to seed to share here. I'll send you some if I can collect them, sarah.

Thank you all for this information. It's been very helpful.

It's is strange, tithonia used to be readily available in nurseries. This year I misplaced the seeds and needed plants, but could not find any. I've always had one gripe about this plant. At first it shoots up 4 or so feet, sends out side shoots, then flops over. My point is, don't plant them next to anything you value, and they are twice as big as you think they will be. That being said, I love them.

you're right, ward, I found mine lying down on top of the hibiscus after the rains from dennis blew through here. I staked it with a broken shovel handle, which it promptly pulled to the ground, too. that plant is heavy. I put the handle back up and put a rock the size of a shoebox at the base of it, which is working.
give this thing some swingin room, folks.
ward, can you teach me how/when to collect seed from tithonia?

Thanks Standard. Sarah I can send you some iris fulva seed pods. Sarah

Hey Maureen,
Well they don't like our roses much. I can't get 'em to try my feeder either. Here the hummingbirds seem to prefer:

Monarda (Bee Balm)
Agastache
Salvia Black and Blue
Coral Bells

Harry

ooh, yeah, sarah, is iris fulva that native copper iris? that would be great! pencil me in. let me find out how to collect the seeds correctly. thank you.

sure will.