Hummingbird Gardening

Gardening to Attract Hummingbirds

Who wouldn't want to attract hummingbirds, nature's flying jewels, to their yard? Hummingbird feeders will help bring them into view, but to really sustain them it is necessary to plant for them. Planting a Hummingbird Garden full of nectar rich flowering plants will also attract butterflies and other pollinators. The suggested plants will do well in the Lower Gulf Coast region where the weather is hot and humid.

Hummingbird Facts

Hummingbirds are marvelous and interesting little creatures.

We never tire of watching their antics. The Hummingbird.net lists 17 species of hummingbirds in the United States. The largest on the list is the Blue-throated weighing in at 8.4 g for the male and 6.8 g for the female. The second largest (and some people think it's a tie) is the Magnificent Hummingbird weighing in at 7.7 g for the male and 6.4 g for the female. The smallest is the Calliope Hummingbird weighing in at 2.5 g for the male and 2.83 g for the female.

The most common hummingbird in Louisiana and most of the Eastern United States is the Ruby-throated. It is a medium sized bird measuring 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) long and weighing about 1/8 ounce (3.1 g). These are the only hummingbirds that breed in the Eastern United States.

Hummingbird nests are tiny, about the size of half a walnut and are very well camouflaged with lichen, spider webs and plant down. The female builds the nest on a branch of a small tree, very often over or near a body of water. She rears the young all by herself, while the male does important stuff like defending his favorite patch of flowers or feeder.

In Louisiana we begin seeing the first fledglings in early June. They are as big as the parents (bigger than the male who is the smaller of the pair). You can tell fledglings from the adults by the way they act and also by the yellow "gape" on the corner of their mouth. All the immature hummingbirds look like the female, but the young males have a "5 o'clock shadow" like stippling on their throat and often a few red feathers will also be present. Soon the young males are staking out their own territory containing a patch of their favorite flowers or feeder.

The adult males are the first to leave in late summer on their trip to their wintering grounds in Central America. The females and the immature birds leave later and by October most of the North American Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left N.A.

Not all hummingbirds migrate all the way to Central America. In Louisiana and in other states along the Gulf Coast, western species of hummingbirds like Rufous, Allens, Calliope, Buff-bellied, Black-chinned, Anna's and an occasional immature Ruby-throat spend the winter. We call these our "winter hummingbirds". We leave our feeders up all year long and some of the plants that we have in our garden are planted especially for these little visitors. From August through the winter months, the hummingbird lists are buzzing with sightings of "winter" hummingbirds in people's yards. A hummingbird that stays after November 15 is officially counted as a winter hummingbird. There is even a tally kept of the first observed and the last observed sightings.

Some hummingbird gardeners go to great lengths to accommodate their winter visitors and have been known to construct "greenhouses" of plastic on a large roll that can be rolled out over the blooming plants when a freeze warning is out and then rolled back up when the freeze is over. We plant winter hummer plants close to the house and in protected areas and we also enclose a little carport on the south side of the house in plastic that can be raised or lowered depending on the temperature. Yes, we love our hummers.

Hummingbird Nest - from Egg to Fledging Vid

Hummingbird Nest Documentary - High Quality

Hummingbird babies growing up in the nest, from "Eggs" to the actual moment they leave the nest!

Runtime: 3:34
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Hummingbird Food

Hummingbirds drink nectar from plants, but they also get a lot of nutrition from the tiny insects that they eat, especially during breeding season. Flowering and fruiting plants, like Pear trees, can attract these tiny insects. Putting out banana peels or starting a compost pile are other easy ways to provide tiny insects for hummingbirds. Misting water features that wet the leaves of nearby plants will also provide moist places that both tiny insects and hummers like.

Hummingbird feeders come in all shapes and sizes and have plenty of red parts to attract hummers. It is unnecessary and may even be harmful to add red food coloring to the sugar water solution. The premixed varieties that you buy in the store are more expensive and most have harmful, red coloring added. It is much better all around to mix your own "hummingbird juice" using a ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part white, granulated sugar. It does not have to be boiled. We just use tap water and mix it in a large measuring cup, then pour it right into the feeders with no mess.

Hummer juice can ferment and the feeders should be refilled each week (sooner during hot weather). Feeders should be cleaned with a mild chlorine bleach solution when they start to look cloudy or moldy. Don't soak the plastic or metal parts more than an hour or they will become brittle or corroded. Rinse well after soaking. There are also special brushes on the market if you feel the need to get them REALLY clean, but keep in mind that as soon as the first little flying jewel sticks its tongue in, bacteria has been introduced. Such is the way of nature.

Good Hummingbird Feeders

We think that Perky Pet and Hummzinger are the best hummingbird feeders. They are safe, easy to clean and fill and hold enough juice so that they do not have to be refilled often.

Perky Pet 203CP Pinch Wai...

Perky Pet 209 "Our Best"...

PERKY PET 217 Window Moun...

Aspects Hummingbird Hummz...

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Jewelled coryphee
With quivering wings like shielding gauze outspread.

Ednah Proctor Clarke (Hayes) from Humming-Bird

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In the Hummingbird Garden

Our garden is an old fashioned garden that contains very few of the new hybrid plant varieties. We choose to sing the song of the lazy gardener so we stick to natives and easy to grow heirloom plants. Perennials and self-sowing annuals planted in mass predominate among the foundation of trees and shrubs. Plants are chosen for their high nectar content and tubular flowers so that both hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to the garden.

By using plants that are acclimated to our climate, the use of pesticides is unnecessary. In fact, pesticides, and herbicides are strongly discouraged. Instead organic and sustainable gardening techniques are used that take advantage of the natural cycle of life. During the spring and summer breeding ruby throats build their walnut sized nests along tree-lined waterways. At summer's end fall migration begins bringing thousands of hummingbirds through our area on their way south.

Jewel Weed

The following easy to grow plants will provide nectar for both hummers and butterflies from spring to fall. Pesticide free specimens of most of these can be found locally at nurseries, however, some are pass along plants that you may have to get from a friend.

Trees

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) deciduous tree, full sun or under story, blooms early summer.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) - native deciduous, sun to part sun, blooms in very early spring
Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - deciduous native tree, full sun or understory, blooms early spring.

Taiwan Cherry Tree (Prunus spp.) - imported small deciduous tree, sun to part sun, blooms magenta colored flowers in very early spring
Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) - native large shrub or small tree, deciduous, part sun-shade, blooms in winter

Shrubs

Azalea, Native - native shrub, part sun, deciduous, sweet smelling, blooms in spring
Blueberry, Wild & Cultivated, Huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) - native, semi-evergreen, sun to part sun, blooms in very early spring

Buckeye, Red (Aesculus pavia) - native large shrub, small tree, part shade, deciduous, blooms in early spring
Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea) - native shrub, full sun, winter die back, blooms in mid spring

Firebush (Hamelia patens) - shrub, full sun, winter die back, blooms summer - fall
Firespike (Odontonema strictum) - winter die back, part sun/shade, blooms late summer-fall

Flowering Maple (Abutilon pictum, A. hybrididum) - shrub, partial shade, blooms spring - fall

Lemon Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) - Large evergreen shrub, full sun, blooms whenever it's not freezing.
Mexican Cigar (Cuphea micropetala) - small shrub, some winter die back, full sun, blooms spring - fall
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) - large shrub / small tree, full sun, blooms in summer
Sasanqua (Camellia sasanqua) - imported evergreen shrub to small tree, part sun, blooms in fall

Summer Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana and Winter (Justicia spp.) - small shrub, winter die back, full sun, blooms spring - fall

Sultan's Turban (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) - native shrub, some winter die back, full sun-shade, blooms summer - fall
Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) - native shrub, tolerates wet areas, winter die back, full sun, blooms summer - fall

Sweet Olive (Osmanthus frangrans) - imported, evergreen large shrub or small tree, blooms fall through spring in warm climates
Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) - imported, passalong weeping shrub, evergreen in warm climates, part sun to sun, blooms winter to early spring

Jamaican Vervain (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) Tropical shrub that will come back after a winter kill most of the time. Coral and blue spikes of flowers from spring until a freeze.

Vines

Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) - native, evergreen, sun to part sun, blooms in early spring
Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) - annual, full sun, blooms late summer - fall
Firecracker Vine (Manettia cordifolia) - perennial, full sun/part shade, blooms early summer - fall

Coral Honeysuckle Trumpet Vine

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) - perennial, full sun/part shade, blooms spring and fall
Trumpet Vine - native, full sun, blooms spring-summer, spreads rapidly and can be invasive

Perennials and Annuals

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), native perennial, likes moist areas, part sun, blooms late summer - fall
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) - native perennial, part sun, blooms
mid spring - summer
Spotted Jewelweed (Impatien capensis) - native annual in the Impatiens family, moist shade, blooms mid summer until frost. The leaves are used in soap to make a poison ivy remedy.

Anise Sage (Salvia guaranitica), Lady in Red or Coral Nymph (S. coccinea), Mexican Bush Sage (S. leucantha), Pineapple Sage (S. elegans) - perennials, full sun to part shade, blooms spring - fall

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And the humming-bird that hung
Like a jewel up among
The tilted honeysuckle horns
They mesmerized and swung
In the palpitating air,
Drowsed with odors strange and rare.
And, with whispered laughter, slipped away
And let him hanging there.

James Whitcomb Riley from The South Wind and the Sun

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