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Garden Club Articles by Ellen Sager |
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| "Build it and they will come." Put a hummingbird feeder up and hang a fuschia plant up and the hummingbirds will come. Hummingbirds have a long bill and to match this hummingbird flowers are usually large and tubular. Also hummingbirds perceive red and yellow well so they are attracted to red and yellow flowers. The flowers need not have any fragrance to attract the hummingbirds. Because the hummingbird hovers while feeding, flowers that are horizontal or hanging down are liked by them. Hummingbirds are heavy feeders, so the flowers they feed on produce ample nectar. Pollen is carried on the head feathers of the hummingbird. Fuschia and hibiscus are examples of hummingbird flowers. Prepare the nectar for the hummingbirds by mixing 4 parts boiling water to 1 part white sugar. Do not add red food colouring to the mix. Two web sites that give information on trees, shrubs and plants that attract hummingbirds are: www.pavlov.psyc.queensu.ca/~davids/hummers.html#humdesign www.birds-n-garden.com/birdgarden.html The following are a list of some plants that make hummingbirds happy: flowering crab apple, flowering quince, locust tree, honey suckle, morning glory, trumpet vine (hardy in zone 4 but they love it so much I'm willing to try it here even though it is zone 2), canna, salvia, sweet william, zinnia, hollyhocks, impatiens, trumpet honeysuckle, bleeding heart, bee balm, columbine, coral bells, lupine, verbena, geranium, fuschia, phlox, begonia, nasturtium, petunia, hosta, yucca, foxglove, four o'clocks. Happy Gardening. |
See
http://www.hummingbirds.net/rubythroated.html
for more information on hummingbirds.
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Hummingbird Friendly Gardening
