Hummingbirds are beautiful, fast, fascinating and elegant all at the same time.
Generally, hummingbirds like flowers that have a downward hanging “spout” type flower shape. So if you plant these type flowers you’re sure to attract these lovely birds.
Here’s a short list of more varieties of flowers and flowering shrubs in zone 7-8 that will draw many hummingbirds from all around to your garden and from the neighbouring trees.
They are tough perennials that can withstand just about all you can throw at them from dry conditions to poor soil to the restricted environment of a container.
Agastache (Texas Hummingbird Mint) – This plant is probably considered a weed in many areas but it certainly draws the hummingbirds
Aqueligia (Columbine) – This is a uniquely beautiful flower that comes in several different colour combinations and appearances. It is herbaceous and dies back each fall, but until then it’s a hummingbird magnet.
It’s available in single and a very different looking double variety.
See the Black Barlow Double Aqueligia Here
The single looks like a piece of Origami art work, the double looks a little like a tiny downward hanging Dahlia. They can be susceptible to worms that skeletonize the leaves.
Buddelia (Butterfly Bush) – Fast growing, self seeding, can become invasive under the right conditions. It will have a tendency to grow leggy but with pruning back each spring you can control it into a smaller, more dense shrub.
Centurea – This is a unique perennial that is available in several different colour combinations. Each is very beautiful and with strikingly contrasting colours. The star like flowers begin to emerge from a tight ball. The ‘fringe’ of the flower is actually comprised of little tube-like flowers that the hummingbirds love.
Crocosmia – Lucifer Crocosmia is vibrant red and just what the hungry hummingbird is looking for. Also available in yellow and orange, the crocosmia will grow in a variety of different environments and is the only plant I’ve seen grow happily under and throughout a cedar hedge.
Dicentra (Bleeding hearts) – It will emerge in early spring and be one of the first first flowers to bloom. The early blooming, long swooping arms of the heart shaped Dicentra flowers are a welcome sight for the hummingbirds that are struggling to survive winter.
After the flowers are done and the foliage is yellow, usually about early June, cut it back leaving only a few inches of the stalk. This plant is herbaceous and will return next spring.
Hosta – This is a tough plant that will bloom for a long time through the summer with tall stalks of bell shaped white or purple flowers that the hummingbirds love. Herbaceous. More about the Hosta here.
Penstemon (Beard Tongue) – This is a tough one as well and will keep on growing in many different zones.
I had one that bloomed three times in one season and was still blooming through the snow. This plant grows more like a flowering shrub rather than a herbaceous plant.
There are several other downward hanging type blooms that just beg for the hummingbirds to visit from all around. You’ll be amazed at the number of hummingbirds that are now coming to your garden that you never saw before.
When you incorporate more flowers that hummingbirds love into your garden you invite them to call your garden home, you’ll be helping the mini eco-system that exists in your yard. Pollination increases and food plants yield more at harvest time.
Please leave a comment and tell me about other flowers you know to be great for hummingbirds.
