Attract hummingbirds with this list of plants that they’ll find delicious.
Hummingbirds Like These Plants Best!
Plants that attract hummingbirds have nectar-rich flowers! See which plants hummingbirds like—and will keep these tiny flyers coming back for more!
For centuries, gardeners have been fascinated with the beauty and aerobatics of these flying jewels.
Flowers that Attract Hummingbirds
Brightly-colored flowers that are tubular tend to produce the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. These include perennials such as bee balms, columbines, daylilies, and lupines; biennials such as foxgloves and hollyhocks; and many annuals, including cleomes, impatiens, and petunias.
Here’s a list of flowering plants that attract hummingbirds. Choose varieties in red and orange shades.
| Common Name | Latin Name |
|---|---|
| Beard tongue | Penstemon |
| Bee balm | Monarda |
| Butterfly bush | Buddleia |
| Catmint | Nepeta |
| Clove pink | Dianthus |
| Columbine | Aquilegia |
| Coral bells | Heuchera |
| Daylily | Hemerocallis |
| Larkspur | Delphinium |
| Desert candle | Yucca |
| Iris | Iris |
| Flowering tobacco | Nicotiana alata |
| Foxglove | Digitalis |
| Lily | Lilium |
| Lupine | Lupinus |
| Pentas | Pentas |
| Petunia | Petunia |
| Pincushion flower | Scabiosa |
| Red-hot poker | Kniphofia |
| Scarlet sage | Salvia splendens |
| Scarlet trumpet honeysuckle | Lonicera sempervirens |
| Soapwort | Saponaria |
| Summer phlox | Phlox paniculata |
| Verbena | Verbena |
| Weigela | Weigela |
Creating a Hummingbird-Friendly Yard
Hummingbirds also need a habitat that will give them food, water, shelter, and security. Here’s what attracts hummingbirds:
- Provide lots of space between plants to give hummingbirds enough room to hover and navigate from flower to flower.
- Hummingbirds need shade. Herbs, flowering shrubs, dwarf trees, and vines can all be used to create an ideal tiered habitat from ground level to 10 feet or more.
- Hummingbirds love water, especially if it’s moving. A gentle, continuous spray from a nozzle or a sprinkler hose is perfect for a bath on the fly.
- Hummingbirds do not have a keen sense of smell and rely on bright colors to find their food. They are particularly fond of red and are often observed investigating feeders with red parts, red plant labels, red thermometers, and even red clothes on a gardener.
Note: Do not use red dye in a hummingbird feeder; there is concern that it may harm the birds. Instead, use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water). The birds love it! If your feeder does not have red on it, attach a red label or other item to attract them.
→ Find more tips for introducing hummingbirds to your garden here!
An often-asked question is, “Why do hummingbirds hum?” We can’t say for certain, but suspect that it might be because they don’t know the words! All jokes aside, the real answer is that hummingbirds are capable of beating their wings up to 80 beats per second, producing a buzz audible to human ears.
Fun Facts About Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are one of the most interesting birds! Here are some fun facts about these little birds:
- Bee hummingbirds are the tiniest of all birds, weighing less than an ounce and measuring only 2 inches long.
- Their brightly-colored, iridescent feathers and quick movements make them appear to be living sun catchers—hence one nickname, “flying jewels.”
- Hummingbirds have the unique ability to fly in any direction, even backward, with their wings beating up to a blurring 80 beats per second.
- They can hover in mid-air when sipping nectar from brightly–colored flowers with their long, slender beaks.
- While whizzing about the garden, hummingbirds expend so much energy that they must eat at least half their body weight each day to replace the calories that they burn up. This means eating almost constantly—from sunrise to sunset—and visiting over a thousand flowers every day.
- You can hear the call of a ruby-throated hummingbird here.
→ Learn more about hummingbirds here.
Learn More
- Many of the plants that attract hummingbirds also attract butterflies. Learn more about attracting butterflies to your garden.
Do you have hummingbirds or other birds in your garden? Let us know in the comments below!
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We have ruby throated hummingbirds that visit us every year. They usually arrive mid May and stay until mid Sepember. They are the highlight of my year. I enjoy watching them. I feed them with sugar water and I change the water every two days or every day in the extreme heat. I clean my feeders thoroughly. I think this year I will put two feeders out but spaced apart so I can attract more birds.i also plant flowers that attract the birds and have colorful patio planters that they love. I make sure the feeder is protected and as safe as possible for the birds. It is a commitment but I just love the hummers!
The best way to attract hummingbirds and butterflies is to plant the native plants they evolved with and prefer. Many of the plants on this list provided are non-native and some are even invasive species. They may provide nectar for hummers and butterflies, but they are not host plants for pollinators. Non-native plants cannot support their young and do not allow these pollinators to reproduce. Bottom line: To thrive, pollinators need host plants, all of which are native plants. Also, the mainstay of any hummers' diet are insects, which also need native plants to flourish. Install native plants in your yard or containers and you will have many many more pollinators!
We're 'the only game in town' (actually, far, far from any town or neighbors!) for our ruby-throated hummers, and we have incredible numbers at our home in the woods in Central Missouri. We keep our huge feeders stocked constantly due to the fact that there aren't really any flowering plants for them to feed from, for a couple of reasons--too much shade (woods!) and the need for any plants to be deer-proof. What plants would be both hummer-friendly and deer proof? And do well in the shade?!
Hostas, fuchsias, and columbine are all shade-loving plants that hummingbirds love. The coral bells and weigela also are shade plants, this list has a few shade-loving flowers. Hellebores are a good source of early food, they tend to bloom very early in the spring.
Interesting question. The list above shows best plants for hummingbirds. And we have a separate list for plants that are deer-resistant: https://www.almanac.com/content/deer-resistant-plants You’ll have to cross-reference the lists but at first glance we’d say that sages/salvias and butterfly bush are good choices.
I have hibiscus plants throughout my garden. Some are bright red, others yellow and peach. They to seem to attract the hummingbirds in my area. Could I be correct? They seem to hover around them.
I have a tropical hibiscus I put out on my balcony in East York, Toronto. 3rd floor, not too high up -- across from a long valley park. I was shocked to see, in the middle of the city -- regardless of my proximity to a park -- a hummingbird checking out my hibiscus. I have never seen a hummingbird in Toronto before, in 38 years - and the first time I put a hibiscus out, a hummingbird manages to find it.
I had no idea, but you're on to something! :) Your hibiscus is definitely attracting hummingbirds, if any are around.
Yes! Hummingbirds have always been attracted to my tropical hibiscus and my hardy hibiscus that are 6 ft tall! They also like flowering coleus. They have flown right next to me when I’m in the garden. Hope they visit you too.
I live on e apartment but it has e large balcony..
I live in central New Jersey and grow different varieties of red flowering honeysuckles vines that hummers enjoy very much. Watching this awesome birds feeding I noticed that they do make churping sound! It is not loud though, but if I sit quetly on my deck about 5-6feet away from the vine I can hear " churp-churp-churp" . Also hummers can be very territorial and sometimes chase each other away from the flowers.
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