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Hummingbird Garden

Attracting Hummingbirds

8 years ago

I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and am trying to attract hummingbirds to my yard. I would like to have flowers around the yard that attract them. Any suggestions? I have a lot of shady areas and a few sunny areas throughout the yard. I was going to purchase a Trumpet vine until I realized how big they get. We only have .67 acres and live in a neighborhood.

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Comments (3)

junco East Georgia zone 8a
8 years ago
You need plants with tubular flowers--salvias, agastache, cuphea. Look for varieties of these that are hardy in your zone. Or, you can grow them as annuals. A wonderful vine is the native coral huneysuckle--it is not as invasive as the Japanese species, but it can still get pretty big. You can keep it trained on a support of some kind though, such as an arch or a sturdy trellis.

Most of these plants do best in full sun but some will take partial or dappled light so you'll have to experiment. There are many lists available on-line also.

Plants for hummers

Good luck!
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
While tubular flowers are good nectar producers, you don't need to be limited to just those - hummers are attracted to any flowers that have adequate nectar. Some that they frequent in my garden are bee balm (monarda), foxgloves (Digitalis and Digiplexis), columbine (Aquilegia), red hot pokers (Kniphofia), bleeding heart (Dicentra), pinks and carnations (Dianthus), Lobelia cardinalis, heucheras, lupines, daylilies, delphiniums, garden phlox, abelia, weigela, nicotiana, agastache, penstemon, hosta, butterfly bush and of course salvias.

Most of these are perennials and some are quite shade tolerant. Plus there are scores of annuals that will offer the same features - cleome, petunias, nasturtiums, lantana, fuchsia, geraniums (Pelargoniums), impatiens, pentas, abutilon, cuphea.......the list is almost endless :-)
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How short? Salvia coccinea is a hummingbird favorite and might be a good choice if your window boxes are on the sunny side of your house. It will grow over a foot tall but it's somewhat airy so it might be nice to have those sticking up where you can see them from inside the house. There's a named cultivar of it called 'Lady in Red' that's very nice. Then you could plant something like annual red verbena in the front part of the window box so you will have something hanging down over the edges. Those both like sun. Fuchsia, like someone already suggested is a good choice if it's on a shadier side of your house. Hummingbirds like lots of flowers that aren't red but when you're first getting started, the bright red flowers will get their attention and help attract them to your yard.
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rsenor Im guessing that in the summer your temps sometimes reach triple digits maybe often. Hummer nectar can spoil rather quickly in that kind of heat and it is said hummers will not eat it as so. If the mix looks cloudy change it. The usual hummer nectar mix 1-4 sugar to water. Also yes I would imagine migration would be a longer season for you and you should have hummers at least into sept. Also some good hummer attracting plants are : salvia coccinea -- lady in red, coral nymph , subrotunda salvia guaranitica-- black and blue lobelia cardinalis-- cardinal flower cuphea-- david verity, shumannii bee balm agastache--- rupestris, tutti frutti I mention these just to name a few hummer staples , there are many more that attract hummers.
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A few off the top of my head that haven't been mentioned: Spigelia marilandica, Indian Pink Phlox paniculata Heuchera (any of the larger red or pink flowered ones, they love my Raspberry Ice) Hosta (supposedly, I've never really seen them at mine, and I have quite a few and have read they like them, but I hadn't paid much attention either) Monarda didyma Agastache rupestris, Sunset Hyssop Lobelia cardinalis, Cardinal Flower (okay, it's been mentioned, but the hummers love this plant and fight over the right to sip from them) Silene regia, Royal Catchfly Karen
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The favorite in our yard last year was the Scarlet Runner bean, which bloomed most of the year (the fresh beans are a bit "sticky" for my liking, but the dried beans were tasty, which is a nice bonus!). There was almost always one or two hummers out there, even while I worked in the bed (they let me know of their annoyance that I was keeping them from their plant). Since it can be trellised, this one is great for smaller spaces. They were also fond of the borage plant which bloomed profusely all season long (it was also a major favorite of bees, that thing was constantly humming, if you're looking to help some other pollinators), unfortunately that one might be a bit too gangly for you. A close third was the rat tail radish- again maybe a bit too gangly for you, but the hummers loved those and all their flowers (plus you get tons of edible pods if thats your thing, just from a single plant). We don't have a feeder, or at least don't put it out much, but the long bloom plants keep them around most of the year. They especially seem to enjoy a fine ledge to perch on, such as a clothes line or garden fencing mesh (I've seen some perch on the garden fence to have a shower from the sprinkler before), so that might help encourage them to kick around if possible.
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Jessica
Original Author
8 years ago
ok, this is great advice and sounds like I have a lot of options. I need to layout a garden plan for the house. We have a lot of areas that could use some flowers. I just lack skill in knowing how to organize beds.

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