Hummingbirds are a species of bird that comes in handy for your garden. They pollinate flowers, making your garden more brilliant.
We asked experts about plants that attract hummingbirds. Suggested flowers include:
- Bee Balm
- Salvia
- Zinnia
Read through our article to know more plants that attract hummingbirds and how to take care of them.
Owen Mosser from TheGolden.com
Plants that attract hummingbirds
One important thing you have to know about hummingbirds is that they do not have a keen sense of smell. Instead, they rely on bright colors to look for food.
To be more specific, they are fond of the color red and are interested in tubular flowers since these hold the most nectar.
Some specific plants that you can include in your home garden to attract hummingbirds include the following:
- Zinnia
- Salvia
- Bleeding Heart
- Butterfly Bush
- Petunia
Some ideas about other benefits of those plants
These plants are usually easy to grow and are drought-tolerant, so you won’t have difficulty growing them if you’re a beginner.
They also produce fragrances that will make your home smell good. But most importantly, they serve as valuable food sources for wildlife.
Each of these plants mentioned above has its benefits too. These are:
- Cardinal Flower is emetic, expectorant, and nervine. Its roots have been used to treat epilepsy, typhoid, syphilis, stomach aches, cramps, and many others.
- Salvia has antioxidant properties. It can improve memory and delay age-associated cognitive decline.
Tips on taking care of them
Some of these plants are known to be invasive plants, so you have to make sure you check with your local zoning guidelines before you decide to start caring for them.
Here is a short guide on how to take care of these plants:
- Zinnia – Requires full sun; humusy, moist, well-drained soil
- Salvia – Requires full sun; dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil
- Bleeding Heart – Requires part shade to full shade; rich, moist, well-drained soil
- Petunia – Requires full sun; medium-moisture, well-drained soil
Bryan McKenzie from bumpercroptimes.com
My wife’s obsessed with photographing these beautiful birds, so we keep planting each of these plants for over 10 years already.
Bee Balm
It needs rich well-moisturized soil. Add mulch around it to preserve moisture.
As a bonus, you can make bee balm tea with dried petals. It’s tasty, relieves nausea, upset stomach, and prevents gas issues.
Cardinal Flower
It needs full light or partial shade location and moist/wet soil. Use mulch to keep it.
The flowers have medical effects, but I can’t recommend you this tea unless your doctor does, as allergic reactions are common.
Salvia
It loves full sun and dry/medium-moistured soil with good drainage.
Scientists proved salvia antioxidant, brain boosting, and brain anti-aging capabilities. You can make sage tea but consider the side effects.
Trumpet creeper
It needs moderately fertilized and well-moisturized soil and bark mulch every spring. Fruit, flowers, foliage, and sap are toxic but used in herbal medicine too.
Ed Wike from Garden Grow Guide
One reason I like growing things is they provide so many benefits for free or almost free. If you’re looking for something simple that adds interest and beauty to your garden, you might want to consider Sage.
Sage can be attractive for more than just their flowers and greenery. For many, having the scent of Sage in their garden is a reason of its own to plant them.
You can even grow them indoors or, like others, bring branches inside for the scent.
They are perfect hummingbird food, and when the hummingbirds are done with them, sage is an excellent herb for cooking and making teas.
Erinn Witz from SeedsandSpades.com
Hummingbirds aren’t just fascinating, colorful creatures; they’re also friendly pollinators that can help your garden flourish. So the more hummingbirds you can attract to your lawn and garden, the better!
Bright blooms that produce lots of nectar are proven hummingbird magnets. And not only can your local hummingbirds enjoy your colorful garden, but you also can too!
These are some excellent options to consider:
Zinnia
They come in a literal rainbow of bright colors, including pink, red, yellow, and purple. They’re essentially a bullseye to hummingbirds and other pollinators!
Depending on the space you have to work with, choose either dwarf zinnia varieties that stay short and produce small blooms or tall ones that tower over other plants and yield blossoms up to 5 inches in diameter.
Besides that, zinnias are incredibly easy to grow from seed. This is a good thing since their annuals that you’ll need to replant each spring.
Columbine
Columbine comes in a variety of colors, including a yellow-pink combo and soft purple. Their elongated blossoms are easy for hummingbirds to sip nectar from.
Columbine flowers in the spring and early summer, so they’re a great idea for giving your hummingbird friends some nourishment before most of the summer blossoms show up.
Also, columbine is a low-maintenance perennial that readily self-seeds if you leave the spent blooms on the plant. So even if you start with one plant, you can have an impressive, hummingbird-friendly patch in just a few years.
Care Tips
Most brightly colored flowers are sun-lovers, but always make sure to check the light requirements for any new plant you’re thinking of adding to your garden and make your plan accordingly.
Fertilizing your flowers is your best bet for the brightest blossoms and longest blooming window. Look for commercial formulas specialized for flowers or use composted manure.
Nikki McAteer from Perfect Plants Nursery
Our favorite must-have hummingbird plant is the Butterfly Bush. Not only do they attract butterflies and bees, but they also entice the lively hummingbird.
With long bloom periods and easy care, they are a no-brainer to add to any garden. They can even be grown in containers for small garden spaces.
We can give the best care tips to keep them thriving would be to plant in full sun and well-draining soil.
The more sun the plant receives, the more flower stalks it will push out.
Conclusion
Hummingbirds will make your garden more lively. And attracting them with bright-color flowers is not too difficult.
Our gardening experts have suggested the best plants to attract hummingbirds to your garden. Try it out and let us know your experience.
