Perennial Flowering Plants that Attract Hummingbirds

Theme gardens are all the rage. From butterfly gardens to hummingbird gardens, designing a garden area around plants that will attract a certain type of creature can be difficult. For hummingbirds, you want plants with plenty of reachable nectar hidden in those flowers. All these examples listed here will be great for providing hummingbirds what they need, and you'll see more of them in your garden landscape. Plant some near windows or beside patios to have a lovely place to watch the hummingbirds in flight.

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

The wild columbine is an easy to grow plant from the buttercup family of plants. It has nodding yellow and red flowers and its foliage is evergreen when temperatures are above zero. It will grow about two feet tall and spread about a foot wide. The fern-like leaves and bell-hanging flowers make for a delicate-looking plant. It will self-seed if you let it. The wild columbine is very easy to grow, from full sun to nearly complete shade and in dry to moist soils. The only thing it truly doesn't like is an area with flooding issues.

Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea)

The coral bean is a perennial that is easy to grow and attracts butterflies as well as hummingbirds. It has a woody base and compound pointy-tipped leaves. The plant grows to about three feet high and will have late spring or early summer flowers. Blooms are red, flat-tubed, and are in clusters. There will be pods that have red seeds around late summer and fall. The coral bean likes growing in broken shade with good moisture. It can be propagated by the seed in the pods.

Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa)

A drought-tolerant perennial, this easy to grow plant from the evening primrose family can attract songbirds as well as hummingbirds. It has green hairy leaves and hairy stems. Flowers are yellow in racemes. The entire plant grows one to three feet high with a one to two foot spread. It likes to grow in acidic soil with a full sun to partial shade lighting condition. It can be propagated by seed, stem tip cuttings, or by division.

Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata)

This fast growing drought-tolerant plant can also bring butterflies as well as hummingbirds to the landscape. It is a member of the mint family, having square stems and opposite hairy leaves. Flowers are small but are in showy flowerheads. There will be an oregano-scent to the leaves of the plant. Spotted horsemint prefers to grow in full sun or partial shade with a moist environment. You'll be able to propagate the plant by division or by seed.

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Source: Floridata