Gardens
Plants That Attract Hummingbirds to the Garden
By filling your garden with plants that attract hummingbirds, you’ll entice these delightful “flying jewels.” Here are five flowers that get the job done.
By Shelley Wigglesworth|May 18 2021|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanPhoto Credit : Dreamstime
Photo Credit : User Submitted
5 Plants That Attract Hummingbirds
Bee Balm
A staple in most herb gardens, this plant is a member of the mint family, and, as the name suggests, it also attracts bees and butterflies as well as hummingbirds.Petunia
An annual plant with waves of continually blooming flowers, these are particularly appealing to hummingbirds. Hanging pots dripping with petunias secured to a porch rafter can provide the ideal spot to watch hummingbirds gather to dine.Azalea
A flowering shrub typically sporting deep pink flowers, this bush is related to the rhododendron, which also attracts hummingbirds.Foxglove
The repeated bell shape of the foxglove flowers is ideal for providing a concentrated food source for hummingbirds.Morning Glory
The twining blue flowers of the morning glory will attract hummingbirds to its opening blooms for their morning feed and throughout the day as well. When planted to grow around a lamppost or porch post near a window, great views of these fluttering feeders can be expected. Do you know of any other plants that attract hummingbirds? If so, we would love to hear which ones worked the best! This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.SEE MORE:
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My hummingbirds love fushia, and are crazy for my hosta flowers. In August they seem to be crazy for almost anything that blooms. I think they are stocking up for their flights south.
*** Do remember to keep the feeders clean. “My” recipe for feeders is 1 part cane sugar 3 parts water, NO coloring. Boil the water and melt the sugar in. I make a concentrate and store it in the fridge. I clean the feeders twice a week in the heat, a boring job but necessary. The black mold can kill them.
I adore having them around. They are fearless and friendly.
Hummingbirds are attracted to the lilies and cannas in my yard.
I was so happy to see the Hummingbirds feeding on my Gladiolus. I also have many Petunia plants for them too.
Funny you should ask. My family has been having this conversation most of the summer…the hummingbirds have been loving my red ivy geranium. Don’t know why. Not much nectar. I have moved the plant from one of our houses in another town to our permanent one and they have found it wherever it has been. So fun to watch!
I am blessed to have many hummingbirds visit my garden, and they especially like the small pink flowers on my many Coral Bells which bloom all summer long. It always brings a smile to watch them feeding on various flowers and also on a feeder on a porch off of my kitchen.
A few years ago, jewelweed showed up in my garden. These seem to be the favorite of the hummingbirds. They come every day to these gorgeous flowers! 😉 They are attracted to the red spots and nectar. It is a small tubular shaped flower. It can become quite invasive. I pull it out where I don’t want it taking over and leave a goid supply for the hummers to feed on in July and August. They also seem to like the flowers on my hosta plants as well.
My hummingbirds also like honeysuckle–I don’t have the invasive kind—and salvia, red and blue. I have a feeder suctioned to our big kitchen window, so we can watch while we are eating. ( :
My recipe called for 1 cup sugar and 4 cups water. Am I hurting them with this mixture?
Living here in Connecticut I await each year the arrival of the hummingbird to welcome in Spring. We have a thorny Flowering Quince bush that has dark red flowers. When the Quince blooms, that’s my signal to put out the two hummingbird feeders for the summer!
I use my Quince to time putting up hummingbird feeders, also orange halves on nails in my oaks for the orioles. They both take to the quince, first big attractant .
Above all, plant Bee balm, preferably ” Jacob Cline”. Give it some room and you will have a spectacular display of bright red flowers from June til late August. They seem to prefer that to all other flowers. Columbines will attract Hummers early in the season before Bee Balm, and Jewel weed seems to be a staple in their diet later in the season. I will try some of the other suggestions from some of the posters here, as I would prefer to feed and attract Hummingbirds with natural food sources.
Our hummers *love* black-and-blue salvia (salvia guaranitica). We discovered it a few years ago and plant it as soon as the hummingbirds return. It blooms from May through mid-fall, so they have a great source of sugar for the whole season!
Yes, fushia is a favorite with my hummers as well. I have found that they truly enjoy red snapdragons. It’s the tubular shape, I’m guessing.
I have some of the short heavy Aloe plants . Each spring they throw out a bunch of red tubular blooms , just this week I watched as a baby ruby throat danced around it feeding from one flower after the other
Hummingbirds love Hummingbird vine
My Hummers love my coral bells and black and blue salvia, among other plants in my garden and hanging baskets.
I have seen a hummingbird enjoying the red flowers on my weigelia bush.
I have a pot of garlic chives that I keep indoors for the winter and put outdoors for the summer. It eventually puts out beautiful tall pink flowers in the mid to late summer. My hummers love that plant! I have it on my deck where I can watch them enjoy from my window. Plus I have a great source of herbs for cooking all year.
Butterfly Bush is a favorite here!
I the tall phlox. It attractives hummingbirds and a hummingbird moth every year!
I didn’t think that Rufous Hummingbirds spent any time in New England?
Red Geranium flower. Just saw one swoop in and out here on Martha’s Vineyard deck!
Black and blue salvia and our mimosa tree!
Isn’t foxglove Highly toxic to pets and humans if somehow consumed?
Trumpet Vine also attracts hummingbirds, bees, and insects.