Horticulturalist gives tips on attracting hummingbirds

Photo: A hummingbird feeds on a firebush blossom. (Photo by: Louisiana Master Gardener Norman Balliviero; used with permission)

Some people assume attracting hummingbirds is as simple as hanging a feeder. Then, they’re disappointed when they fail to see a single bird. That tact is largely unsuccessful because many hummingbirds are not accustomed to using feeders. Planting a garden full of hummingbird-attracting plants provides a more reliable means of luring hummers.

“It’s important to be patient the first year,” says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Allen Owings. “A hummingbird garden is an invitation, so it may take some time for the garden to be a destination for hummingbirds. The longer you stay with a good plan, the better it will work.”

He suggests choosing a variety of flowering trees, shrubs, vines, annual flowers and flowering perennials that produce an excellent supply of nectar over time. The flowers’ nectar and insects that live on the plants will provide hummingbirds with a complete, balanced diet. Since they obtain nearly all the fluid they need from their foods, it’s not necessary to provide drinking water.

Hummers are typically drawn to red flowers with a tubular shape and without a strong fragrance.

While roses, petunias, geraniums and zinnias have brilliant red flowers, they lack enough nectar levels to garner the birds’ attention. Low-maintenance plants that produce an abundance of flowers over longer periods are usually the best choices. Annual and perennial flowers for hummingbirds include salvia, iris, red-hot poker, impatiens, cardinal flower, standing cypress, bee balm, pentas and lantana.

Hummingbirds like vines such as coral, Japanese and cape honeysuckle, cypress vine, bleeding heart vine and trumpet creeper.

Shrubs for the hummingbird landscape include Turk’s cap, pagoda plant, Mexican cigar plant, shrimp plant, firespike, hibiscus, bird of paradise, azalea and red buckeye.

Crybaby tree, loquat (Japanese plum), mimosa and citrus trees also enhance a hummingbird-friendly garden.

Owings also cautions against using insecticides in hummingbird gardens.

“If absolutely needed, they should be used sparingly and only on non-flowering plants,” he says. “Use pesticides low in toxicity, such as horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps. Never use systemic insecticides or rotenone on plants where hummingbirds may feed.”

Even if it fails to lure to tiny winged birds, the gorgeous, fragrant landscape will attract compliments from family, friends and neighbors.

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