Hummingbirds and the Plants that Attract Them

Hummingbirds are among us!  They have been very active in our garden this spring and they've made frequent appearances throughout the day, sampling the current blooms of our Galvezia and Salvia. We've laid out a palate of nectar rich plants that provide hummingbirds with a reliable food source throughout the year.

We encourage gardeners to remove the feeders that supply white sugar and water and, instead, plant a few of the many Spring-blooming plants that hummingbirds love.

California has tons of local nurseries and mail order nurseries where you can find hummingbird plants. Here are a just a handful:  Bay Natives Nursery, Capitol Wholesale Nursery, Las Pilitas Nursery, Mostly Natives Nursery, Native Revival Nursery, Yerba Buena Nursery

 

 Galvezia speciosa 'Firecracker' (Island Bush Snapdragon)

Galvezia 'Firecracker' makes for a great vining plant alongside any light colored wall.  Growing this plant on a trellis allows the flowers to grow vertically, making feeding easier for hummingbirds, and keeps them from being prey to the local house cats.

Galvezia 'Firecracker' is an evergreen perennial shrub/vine that flowers throughout the year, but displays its most flowers during the cooler months of December through May.  'Firecracker' is more compact than the Galvezia speciosa sp. and is recommended for smaller spaces. After a year and a half, this 1 gallon plant has grown six times its size since it was planted.

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                      Galvezia speciosa sp. (Island Bush Snapdragon)

This is the larger species of Galvezia.  Care should be taken to prune often and prune heavily to keep this shrub/vine under control, as its growth habit is fast spreading and profuse.  Just (1) one gallon plant can grow up a trellis in less than two years, if allowed. 

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 Salvia greggii 'Raspberry' (Autumn Sage)

Although listed as Summer-blooming, our warm California weather has this Salvia greggii 'Raspberry' perennial blooming from March through November, giving hummingbirds a source of nectar for months. This photo was taken on March 19, 2014 and is one of the first available sources of nectar for hummingbirds this season.

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 Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) ~  Photo by Las Pilitas Nursery  

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Mahonia nevinii (Nevins Barberry) ~  Photo by Las Pilitas Nursery

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                 Ribes sanguineum glutinosum (Pink Flowering Currant) 
                                Photo by Las Pilitas Nursery

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Plants that bloom during the hotter seasons such as Agastache 'Raspberry' (Hummingbird Mint), Buddleja (Butterfly Bush), and Salvia clevelandii (Cleveland Sage) are drought tolerant with flowers that are long lasting.

                              Agastache 'Raspberry' (Hummingbird Mint)

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                                       Buddleja (Butterfly Bush)

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                              Salvia clevelandii (Cleveland Sage)
                                    Photo by Las Pilitas Nursery                                                         
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Las Pilitas Nursery in Santa Margarita, California has a great collection of photos of hummingbirds that visit their garden, with a list of plants that hummingbirds frequent during their daily route searching for nectar sources.

Visit this link to the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, California for more hummingbird specifics.

If you would like books and field guides for even more comprehensive information paired with beautiful photos, visit our bookstore BrandTaproot @ http://astore.amazon.com/9393418-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=1 .