Hummingbird Plants
Attracting hummingbirds to your yard can be as easy as hanging up a hummingbird feeder. Once attracted, chances are they will continue to return as long as the feeder is clean and filled with adequate nourishment.
While the bright red color of a hummingbird feeder often attracts hummingbirds, a properly landscaped yard, filled with a hummingbirds favorite plants, often serves as a better attraction.
Consider, for example, that a yard filled with flowering plants provide much more color than a feeder, and therefore a more eye catching environment.
Keeping hummingbirds in the yard throughout the season means choosing hummingbird plants that bloom from spring through fall, the traditional hummingbird season in most areas.
The West Coast of the United States has the greatest hummingbird diversity. The hummingbird species that live in the area have naturally evolved to time their spring and fall migrations to match the availability of food sources.
The first five flowering plants in the box on the right, Bleeding Heart, Claret Cup Cactus, Chuparosa, Indian Plum and Red-flowering Current bloom from early to late spring and have been tested as tried and true hummingbird favorites.
Honeysuckle, Lilac, Scarlet Gilia, and Western Columbine are summer flowering plants and shrubs often visited by hummingbirds.
When fall approaches, hummingbirds flock to Bee balm, Dahlia, Fuchsia, and Spotted Jewelweed.
The list is not comprehensive, so check with your local extension service or favorite nursery for additional suggestions.
© 2008. Patricia A. Michaels