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Hummingbird Garden

planting for the hummers

15 years ago

Hi, everyone. I need help selecting a shrub or flower for the hummers that will grow well in shade and very hard clay soil. Not used to this type of soil since coming from NJ. I really find dealing with the soil here difficult overall.Anybody have suggestions?

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Comments (10)

gardenjunkie4life
15 years ago
Here in my yard they love the lobelia and weigelia wine and roses. They love the gardenia. I am in virginia also.
kr222
15 years ago
I have clay soil here in PA too. Impatiens seem to do well here in part shade. Mine only got about two hours of direct sun and thrived. Hummingbirds loved it. Mine were bright pink and red. I would definitely suggest red if you have to choose. To top it off they are cheap and never stop blooming.

If you don't want to amend the soil in entire sections of your garden, I would suggest mixing some compost into each plant hole you dig to aerate it more and to allow for better drainage. You can buy compost at first. Then consider making your own. It's great for your plants.

Kim
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You're right aprice, it's not too early to start planning - or Winter sowing!! Nasturtiums do well in hanging baskets, and with regular feedings, will trail and bloom 'till frost. 'Empress of India' is a nice red variety that my hummers love. The blooms tend to shift to orange late in the season, probably due to intense sunlight/high temps. Dwarf cannas also do well in containers. Their upright growth habit and dark green foliage should be formal enough to satisfy any landscaping guidelines. I had white, yellow, and rose varieties on my deck this past Summer, and my hummers showed no preference - they loved 'em all!
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Hi everyone! Got my Bouvardia ternifolia in the mail the other day. I love its color! Steve, Thanks for the info and the beautiful pics! I guess the red petunia will probably be a bust but we'll see. I like bees as well though. :) Funny you should mention pentas. I've been reading Hummingbirds and Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides/Bird Watcher's Digest Backyard Bird Guides) and they recommend pentas with dark eyes or something like that (the book is at home). I might find a spot for some! Susan, Same with me. I'll spot a few males for a day or two in late March or earlier April and get super excited hoping some will stick around but they never do. I won't see any regular ones until early July. I'm considering putting up a feeder next week just in the hopes of trying to get one to stick around longer! Laugh. I've only been to Bustani once. It was cool. I'm hoping my Erythrina x bidwillii (Coral Bean Hybrid) made it through this brutal winter okay. Surely it will sprout from the base if all of the top is dead from the cold. Can't believe your hummers don't dig David Verity! Mine absolutely love it though I did see that the one in a pot on the back deck got way more attention than the ones I had growing in the ground so you might try one in a pot on an elevated spot to see if you get any action. Oh, I noticed hummers coming to our sunflowers last year but didn't realize they were eating insects. I'll have to pay closer attention this year. :) Sherry, Yea. I went way, way overboard this year. Who knows how many plants will make it or will actually be started from seed since I've no room inside at this point! Thanks for the Malvaviscus drummondii recommendation. I've grown them before. Sometimes Home Depot will carry them so I'll grab one this year if I see any and I'll let everyone know which plants were the biggest hit this year. :) -Robert
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Comments (12)
Penny, I looked and looked for Spigelia seed and was never able to find any from the large numbers of online wildflower seed suppliers. It's supposed to be easily grown from seed, so I can't understand why it is so unavailable. What I mentioned in a different thread was that I had ordered 3 plants of Spigelia marilandica for spring planting. I said I would be willing to collect seed and send some to you, but I never heard back from you until now, so assumed you were either not interested, or had missed my post. So, if you've got your heart set on Spigelia in 2007, it looks like you'll have to do as I did and order some plants. There are quite a few sources listed in Dave's Garden. If you'd like me to try to collect seed from my plants and send it to you, I can probably do that. I've read that it's tricky to collect because it is shed very suddenly. One day it's not ready, and the next day it's fallen on the ground. I guess I'll find out if that's really true. I have no idea how long it takes to flower from seed. All I can say is that if you're interested in seed, I'll do my best to pay attention and collect it and send it on to you. No promises, but I'll try. I imagine it would become available in June or July, some time after flowering. Would you like me to try and save you some seed?
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Comments (3)
The bird statues will not scare the hummers. Unless they come to life and attack. Hanging baskets will not scare hummers away...in fact, if they're planted with hummingbird-friendly flowers, they will do the opposite. But even with your bridal veil, they'll be fine. They're just a little late coming up for everyone, from what I read on here.
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ctnchpr
15 years ago
Create a bog: Dig a shallow basin - line it with pond liner or heavy duty plastic - backfill with the clay to within 1" of the surrounding grade - fill with water - press the roots of Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) seedlings into the mud. You can spiff up the edge with stones or ferns & mosses. Your clay most likely won't have many nutrients, so every 2-3 weeks, let the water level drop down to the mud, and refill with dilute Miracle-Gro (1/2 teaspoon per gallon). When the flower buds begin to form, switch to a 'bloom-booster' food.

Lobelia cardinalis. I have seeds if you want 'em.
digginforu2
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks to gardenjunkie4life, kr222 & ctnchpr! I appreciate the feedback from all of you.

Jackie
breeze69
15 years ago
Try tilling in peatmoss. It should change your clay into a loam. My hummers love my butterfly bush,passion vine, and mandevilla. All do well in the shade.
butterflymomok
15 years ago
ctnchpr,

I have been trying to find how to get in touch with you. Can you email me at butterflymombixby at yahoo dot com? I'd like to talk to you about trading some seeds.

Thanks,

Sandy
tsmith2579
15 years ago
For soli treatment, try composted sawdust and composted horse manure. These will make a world of difference in how friable your soil is in one season.

For plants, try Miss Huff lantana, pink and yellow angel trumpets, red bee balm and Turks Turban malvaviscus.
ptp813
15 years ago
We have TN red clay too and I saw a hummer at the Rose of Sharon bush/tree. It is a lavendar color.

I have been amending my soil with grass clippings and shedded leaves and making raised beds using the lasagna gardening method. I put cardboard down & watered it, picked up some coffee grounds free from Starbucks and put them on the cardboard, added kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings, shredded paper and dryer lint and put more leaves on top. (the list of ingredients weren't in any particular order other than the cardboard on the bottom and leaves on top) :-) It turned into a nice garden soil area.

I planted agastache, salvia lady in red and some foxglove in it that are doing really well.
Mark Fellman
15 years ago
I'd love to get some lobelia seeds...
Thanks,
mark
ctnchpr
15 years ago
Mark, e-mail your mailing address to me and some will be on the way.

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