Hummingbirds
Annuals for Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are a gardener’s delight and many try to attract this tiny bird to their yard by strategically planting certain flowers. Hummingbirds eat a variety of insects, but in order to supply their high energy needs, they also consume around half their weight in nectar (a sweet liquid found in certain flowers) daily.
Hummingbirds are drawn to flowers that bloom EVERY DAY, and they enjoy many of our Wisconsin perennials. To attract & feed as many as possible, you must have annuals. Hummingbirds have the capability to create “flower maps” and remember flowers that they have previously visited while foraging. If you want to enjoy their company year after year, make sure you maintain your flowers annually. And try and feed them “from frost to frost” – they’ll thank you for it!
Some of our favorite annuals for hummingbirds:
- Annual Salvias
- Lantanas
- Verbena
- Agastache
- Mandevilla Vine
- Cannas (occasionally – not as heavily preferred as the others)
Food for Thought…
We have found that the hummers that visit us here in Waukesha are NOT attracted to any one color over the other. Most popular literature insists that hummers love red above all else, but that’s not what we observe. It’s a perfect example that “birds don’t read books” – two of their early favorite flowers here are bluebells and catmint, and they enjoy the dark purple salvia as much as red salvia.
