Lary and Deb,
There are salvias and then there are salvias. My garden consisted of 75% salvias and the hummers are all over them. I have two suggestions...Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' and Salvia guaranitica Black & Blue. The salvias that are sold as common bedding plants in the spring don't have a high enough nectar percentage.

Hummers will use lantana but not as much as other nectar rich plants. A pretty good cultivar is 'Dallas Red'

An awsome hummer vine that I suggest to anyone looking for a vine is Coral Honeysuckle. This is not the invasive japanese honeysuckle with white flowers. It is a very well behaved perennial vine and will bloom from spring until frost.

Penny

I ditto those 2 salvias that Penny suggested. This was my first year with the Lady in Red and second with the B&B and I'll never be without either. The LIR has already reseeded and bloomed, and reseeded in another of my pots that was below the windowbox containing the original LIR's. I also have a lantana, but it hasn't been a big hit with the hummers. I haven't had good luck with honeysuckle (I tried, I failed, twice), but my hummers adore the Cypress Vine and unfortunately, "Orange Noah" morning glory. It's a horrid reseeder, but I haven't the heart to get rid of it. It actually reseeded on my neighbors unruly, unpruned Rose of Sharon, and the hummers surely appreciated it ;)
Another vine that my hummers love is Mina lobata; it's normally quite beautiful, but the woodchuck decided he valued it more than anything in my garden...

I have a Cross Vine on a trellis and it has lovely blooms that attract hummers. Blooms similiar to the Trumpet Creeper, but not as invasive. It is red with a yellow throat which I find striking.

I had never heard of the Mina lobata. So I looked it up. Interesting plant. I tried to find out what zone to grow it in and couldn't find any info. Would it do well in my zone (9B)? It really is an interesting vine! Though I don't believe I've ever seen it at any nurseries locally.

Becky
Mina Lobata (Spanish Flag), is an annual vine like morning glories or cypress vine and that is the reason you have probably never seen it at a nursery. but may well be perennial for you in your zone or at the very least a very long time bloomer and reseeder

I do have seeds available if you are interested. You can email me.

Penny

I had never seen it in any local nurseries either, until I shopped a new nursery last year. I've been trying to grow it from seed for years and never had any luck, so I grabbed one plant. Well, it did great. I didn't think I'd have much luck harvesting seed, since it apparently needs alot of time to ripen, which isn't the problem in the warmer zones! I left the vine up until January and began harvesting seed then. I'm shocked, but I actually had gotten alot of seed. I had winter sown some, which was great since the nursery didn't sell the vine this year. Not the best germination, but germination. My plant looks nothing like the poof I had last year, as you know, because of the darn woodchuck...

Tracy,
I have always wintersown mine and they seemed to bloom earlier than everyone elses but the germination time was sporadic. I had my first seed to sprout very early and thought I wouldn't get any more so I planted the one seed around a shepherds hook. It completely covered the hook and grew up into my kitchen window and under the siding. I had seveal more sprout and planted them along the fence and they took off. All were planted on the east side so they got very early morning sun up until 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

Glad you have seeds.

Penny

Hi everyone!!

Thanks for all of the info. However we have a few follow up questions. Where do we find the Lady in Red and the B&B??
Also the Cypress Vine and "Orange Noah" morning glory. In zone 5 would these be annuals and where would we find these plants. If we wanted to stay in the honeysuckel family which would be planted on the North East corner so will get sun from about 11 till 3 and then later sun about 5:00. With this information what honeysuckel plant should we purchase for the hummers, The nice thing about the prennials once started they seem to flourish and not much maintance. We have built some nice prennial rock gardens in our back yard so have some knowledge and fun with those.

Thanks again!!

Lary and Deb

Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' is usually sold at garden centers (even WalMart) in the spring in qt. size pots with probably 3 plants to a pot or they can be grown easily from seed.

Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' is getting easier to find b/c of its popularity but if it isn't available locally I highly recommend ordering it from Rich Dufresne online. He is a salvia breeder and he knows his stuff and is not just a plant retailer. His prices are the best I have found anywhere for salvias and you get healthy starter plants. You can check out his website below.

Cypress Vine and Orange Noah Morning Glory also called scarlet star morning glory (Ipomoea coccinea) are both annual vines. Seeds are usually available in packages at most garden centers. Both are heavy reseeders. They both bloom later in the summer closer to fall.

I suggest staying with coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) the species as they are less prone to powdery mildew or aphids. I believe it is hardy to zone 4 or at least 5. I purchased mine from Mail Order Natives two years ago and it was a beautiful specimen when it arrived and it grew to nearly 10 ft and bloomed all summer the first year I had it. The price with the shipping was cheaper than what I could find locally. The only drawback is that Amy is in Florida and only ships until April because it is too warm after that to ship the plants safely. She then resumes shipping in the fall.
Penny

Here is a link that might be useful: A World of Salvias

I get my B&B's from Lowes; believe it or not, that's the only place I can find it around here! The LIR I found at a different nursery, Metropolitan Plant Exchange, was one and only place I had seen it.

If anyone wants seed for Cypress Vine and/or Orange Noah and/or Mina lobata, send me an email and I'll send them off. I have loads of seed left over from last year, but haven't harvested any this year. I doubt I'll get any from my Mina this year; barely any blooms (thanks Mr. Woodchuck). I also have some Yvonne's Salvia (Salvia splendens) from last year. For those of you that haven't heard about it, it's an annual, looks like the small bedding salvia sold everywhere, but on steroids. It ranges from 3' to about 7', from what I've heard. This year, mine have ranged from 2' to 4'; last year they were 4'-5'.

Penny; I had ordered from Mail Order Natives earlier this year, after reading another post that I believe you had recommended them. I ordered Hibiscus coccineus, Lobelia puberula, and a honeysuckle. Everything was doing great, then the honeysuckle suddenly died. I can't fault the supplier, since it was doing so good. I'm afraid I'm giving up on them (too many honeysuckle failures), but I won't bet a paycheck on that statement ;)

Tracy,
So sorry to hear that you lost your honeysuckle. If you haven't dug it up yet, I would try cutting it back to within 12 inches and see if it comes back next year. I have read several reports around the web where people have lost all or part of their honeysuckles this year. It may have been due to the wet weather many of us have had but can't say that for sure.

Penny

Hi Tracey!

Ok you made me bite - I haven't posted on here in a while, but I was looking for that Yvonnes salvia for next year, I'll email you.

My mail order natives coral honeysuckle planted last May is still alive, but it is struggling.. I had the same experience with the Dropmore Scarlet last year.. It went in looking great, grew a little, even bloomed..then all but one of the vine arms croaked.. but this year, its full and has climbed at least 9-10 ft high over its trellis and into some hemlocks..but as I have learned only blooms for a few weeks around memorial day ;( ..I thought it was ever blooming..

..The mail order honeysuckle is doing the same thing, it went in all green, many arms.. just one cluster of blooms.. grew up the fence about 4 ft or so, and everything croaked but one vine arm..the rest browned out.. I'm thinking it needs a whole season to get established first.. mine isn't in full blazing sun like Pennys though, I think non-stop full sun makes a big difference for these..

d

Last year my honeysuckel was in a pot all season long and was in sun from 10 a.m. until at least 6 or 7 pm. I took it out of the pot and planted it in the ground around the end of Oct. or early November on the other side of the yard that got morning sun until at least 2 pm however the top half of the vine was in sun all day. I did add al lot of compost to the soil this spring and I don't know if that made a difference or not.

Penny

Hummingbirds around here like jewel weed.

Lary & Deb,

I'm also in SE Michigan. As far as annuals for our area, I'm looking forward to the Black & Blue Salvia, as many have mentioned here. I've read so many good things about it online and in books, plus I think it's gorgeous!

For a list of most of the nurseries & garden related stores in this area, you can pick up the Michigan Gardener magazine. You can get it for free at several locations. This link will take you to a list of locations that carry the monthly mag: www.michigangardener.com/where.html
The magazine also lists garden related events, sales, along with advertisements, of course.

I shop locally, but I am planning on ordering from some catalogs and websites for spring planting because I've found I cannot find certain items here. Fall is a good time to plant, but the selection isn't as great either. I don't think it's a bad idea to order some free garden catalogs or peruse the websites of mail order nurseries. For the big box stores, I've had luck at Lowes more so than Home Depot, Walmart & Meijers. For whatever reason their stock seems slightly better cared for too and the big box store's prices for plants & general garden products are usually cheaper than the nurseries. I started going to the Bordine Nursery in Rochester Hills this spring and they have a nice, diverse selection. If you go to their website, www.bordines.com, and do a plant search you can get an idea of what they carry. I think most (but not all) of their prices are reasonable and their plants tend to be healthy. You can call one of their stores to see if they have a given plant in stock too. English Garden is another popular local nursery chain. I think they're overpriced compared to Bordines and their stock, after spring, doesn't always look too great.

I just planted a honeysuckle too, and am going to order a couple more for spring. From the few pictures I've seen, the Harlequin Honeysuckle's leaves look lovely and it's suppossed to have a scent too. Maybe this would work for your trellis.

Happy Planting!
Mika

For those asking about Lady In Red - here was one of mine a few days ago - the result of a seed that dropped from the plants that I put in a windowbox this past spring. The windowbox sits above and to the left of this large container with a variegated redtwig dogwood in it. LOL

I can see how this is going to be like what has happen with the morning glories and their volunteers that I get in almost all my pots every year. LOL I haven't actually manually started any morning glories the past 2 years.

Some other good annuals were listed and I'll add to the list by recommending scarlet runner beans, hyacinth bean vines, AND, believe or not based on reports and possible use by some of my hummers - dill and fennel. Apparently they like to nectar out of (and possible munch insects on) dill and fennel flower heads.

Other possibilities for that container include pentas (one of my hummers at least discovered it and used it), dianthus, and something as ubiquitous as red geraniums (pelargoniums). I've grown some pelargonium almost every year that I've been here except the past couple (got tired of them), but then found out that hummers go to them so that will be one of the first things I try again next spring.

Regarding honeysuckles for the trellis Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) was mentioned as a good one (there are several cultivars of that including what I have - "Blanche Sandman", that has started reblooming:

But there are also others I've actually seen for sale at some of the better nurseries near me including "Alabama Crimson", "John Clayton", "Magnifica", and "Sulphurea".

Also another that they like is Goldflame honeysuckle (Lonicera heckrotti), sometimes seen as a cultivar "Pink Lemonade" (I've grown this in the past but it is a powdery mildew attractant and I lost it 2 years in a row):

{{gwi:4165}}

I have another which is a Mandarin honeysuckle (Lonicera x mandarin), which my hummers seem to buzz around even before the blooms open! I've had mine its container for 4 years and it has so far never had PM and it produces some pretty foliage that is wine-green as it emerges, and going all medium green as they age.

My hummies learned where that one was... LOL

So you have some good choices for that trellis.

Your honeysuckle flowers are gorgeous! Enjoyed your photos! Thanks for posting them!

Jenny
Those are very good pics. i particularly liked the pic of your LIR reseeder. I also have had several of my reseeders to bloom already. In fact I was thinking the other day when I was doing some weeding that I had more now than what I had planted. Even the broken stem of my Black&Blue sports that I put in the ground have rooted and have been blooming for well over a month now. I don't know if you remember the pics of that one (it bloomed red and Sarah said it looked like a coccinea but the leaves smell like B&B). Anyway, I dug up a couple of them after they rooted to keep over the winter so I can see their full potential hopefully next year. The leaves are very velvety compared to coccinea or B&B. I really think this is the last stand though as we are supposed to have a low of 30 on Friday with possible snow showers.

The very first Salvia Van Remsen that bloomed earlier this spring in a 6 inch pot also dropped a seed and it sprouted and grew right on the edge of the grass. MY DH ran over it with the mower twice and it still survived so after the second time I dug it up and potted it and have it growing along with my other plants that I have been taking cuttings of for insurance. i am ready to pull down all the annual vines as they are beginning to look really ratty but the salvias are all doing great.

Penny

Hummers also love butterfly bushes (buddelia). I get quite a few on there all summer.

The hummingbirds that hang around my yard like Four O'clocks and Aloe Vera flowers.

Like others, I've had good luck with Salvia coccinea, which is an annual in my zone, but is said to reseed. Next year, I am looking forward to trying Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue," which by most accounts would be marginally hardy here in zone 6, but is supposed to be highly attractive.

As for vines, I haven't tried it yet, but everyone raves about Lonicera sempervirens. However, a vine not mentioned here is Eccremocarpus scaber, which is supposed to be highly attractive to hummers, ~10 feet tall, with orange flowers. I will definitely try it in 2007, having heard good reports on it. I saw seed for sale in the current Pinetree Garden Seeds Catalogue. Mina lobata is also being offered. This past summer, I tried Ipomoea x multifida, otherwise known as Cardinal climber. It's a close relative to the Cypress Vine (mentioned in earlier posts), but the leaves are less feathery, and the bright red flowers are pentagon shaped, not star-shaped as in the Cypress vine. I started it indoors from seed, having had no trouble finding it on local seed racks. It grew to a monstrous, bushy, 15-20 foot vine, and did draw the hummingbirds in. You might consider it, but mine didn't really start blooming heavily until August. I also tried Cypress Vine, but it didn't do as well.

Another annual to consider might be Ipomopsis. I can't speak from personal experience, but it has a good reputation for hummer attractiveness. I've seen it on seed racks , but you have to shop around to find it, so maybe it would be better to order it by catalogue or on the web.

I grew bright red petunias this past summer, but they did not seem to be of much interest to the hummers. I've heard many other people say the same thing. I suppose it might depend on the cultivar, but they ignored mine as far as I could tell, and greedily dipped into the Agastache immediately next to it.

Californian, that's interesting about the Four O'Clocks. I tried them this past summer, and they were totally ignored. Mine were from Burpee, and I think they were Mirabilis multiflora, but I'm wondering if they like Mirabilis jalapa better. Do you know which one you had? I don't think the ones I grew had any nectar in them.

My hummers love cardinal vine. There are two common vines by this name. The one I'm talking about has round seeds a little bigger than a BB. It has feathery leaves, and the flower looks a little like morning glory, but it's longer and smaller in diameter. I like to plant it on a fence. It might be good on the railing of your deck, or on a trellis. It won't bloom until it can't climb any more, so if you want early blooms, a short trellis is best. It's an annual, and does not 'volunteer' like a morning glory. It's not invasive, except perhaps as it matures. The vines are easy to pull down in the late fall. It blooms mid-summer to first hard frost. The seeds are very easy to save.

It likes water and full sun, and planting it indoors early seems to do no good at all, in terms of making it bloom faster.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website. Many hummer photos.