Hummingbird Plants

These 13 nectar-rich flowers are enticing backyard entrees for visiting flying jewels.

Cardinal flower

• Botanical Name: Lobelia cardinalis.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 3 to 4 feet high, 2 feet wide.
• Flower: Traditionally scarlet red.
• Light Needs: Partial shade to full sun.
• Growing Advice: Plant in fertile, moist soil.
• Prize Picks: Ruby Slippers, Twilight Zone.

Red hot poker

• Also Known As: Torch flower.
• Botanical Name: Kniphofia.

• Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9, depending on cultivar.
• Bloom Time: Late spring to autumn, depending on cultivar.
• Size: 2 to 6 feet high, 1 to 3 feet wide.
• Flower: Red, orange, yellow, white, greenish-white or bicolored.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Prefers sandy soil. Mulch plants for first winter.
• Prize Picks: Little Maid, Royal Standard.

Foxglove

• Botanical Name: Digitalis.

• Hardiness: Biennial or short-lived perennial, Zones 3 to 10.
• Bloom Time: Spring through summer.
• Size: 18 inches to 6 feet high.
• Flower: Tubular, bell-shaped blooms in white, cream, yellow, apricot, pink, purple, red, golden brown and coppery rose.
• Light Needs: Partial shade.
• Growing Advice: In spring, plant seeds or transplants for blooms the following season.
• Prize Picks: Excelsior Hybrids, Foxy.

Geranium

• Botanical Name: Pelargonium x hortorum.
• Hardiness: Zone 10; grown as annual in most areas.

• Bloom Time: Summer until frost.
• Size: 12 to 20 inches high and wide.
• Flower: Large, round clusters of white, pink, red or purple individual blooms.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Can be propagated from cuttings or seeds, but more commonly grown from flowering pot-grown plants.
• Prize Picks: Black Magic Rose, Orbit series.

Columbine

• Botanical Name: Aquilegia.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 or 9.

• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer.
• Size: 1 to 3 feet high, 6 to 24 inches wide.
• Flower: Yellow, red, pink, blue, purple, and white, single or bicolored; bell-shaped blooms with spurs on petals.
• Light Needs: Shade to full sun.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds in early spring or summer (2 to 3 months before first fall frost). Reseeds easily, but offspring may produce less-showy flowers.
• Prize Picks: Rocky Mountain columbine (also called Colorado or blue columbine), golden columbine.

Flowering tobacco

• Botanical Name: Nicotiana alata.

• Hardiness: Annual.
• Bloom Time: Summer to first frost.
• Size: 10 inches to 5 feet high, 6 to 24 inches wide.
• Flower: White, red, pink, lavender, green and yellow.
• Light Needs: Partial shade to full sun.
• Growing Advice: Prefers rich, moist, well-draining soil.
• Prize Picks: Nicki Red, Nicki White and Nicki Lime; Avalon Bright Pink is a dwarf cultivar.

Bee balm

• Botanical Name: Monarda didyma.
• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.

• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 3 to 4 feet high, 18 to 26 inches wide. Flower Clusters of tubular blooms. Commonly red, but also come in violet, purple, pink and white.
• Light Needs: Full sun; tolerates afternoon shade.
• Growing Advice: Space plants at least 18 inches apart and water liberally. Plants spread quickly and will appear as one large mass of blooms.
• Prize Picks: Jacob Cline, Violet Queen, Blue Stocking, Snow White and Snow Queen.

Fuchsia

• Botanical Name: Fuchsia.
• Hardiness: 8 to 10; grow as annual elsewhere.

• Bloom Time: Summer to first frost.
• Size: Trailing varieties: 6 to 24 inches high; shrubs: 8 inches to 10 feet high.
• Flower: Pink, white, red, purple, and orange tubular and pendulous single or double blossoms.
• Light Needs: Full to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Pinch back stems back of young plants to encourage side-branch growth. Stop pinching 8 to 10 weeks before you want it to flower.
• Prize Picks: Swingtime.

Trumpet honeysuckle

• Also Known As: Coral honeysuckle.
• Botanical Name: Lonicera sempervirens.

• Hardiness: Zones 4 or 9.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: Up to 12 feet high.
• Flower: Deep-red with yellow throats.
• Light Needs: Full sun or partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Space plants 3 to 4 feet apart in holes the same depth as the rootballs. Plant container-grown honeysuckle throughout the growing season or transplant in spring before growth begins.
• Prize Picks: Sulfurea, Dropmore Scarlet.

English primrose

• Botanical Name: Primula vulgaris.

• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
• Bloom Time: Early spring to summer.
• Size: Up to 8 inches high and 15 inches wide.
• Flower: Fragrant clusters.
• Light Needs: Partial shade; can tolerate full sun if soil is moist.
• Growing Advice: Plant in compost-rich soil; water well. Partial shade produces better blooms.
• Prize Picks: Commonly sold in mixes such as Orient Star, Pageant Mix and Spectrum Series.

Scarlet runner bean

• Botanical Name: Phaseolus coccineus.

• Hardiness: Annual.
• Bloom Time: Spring to summer.
• Size: Up to 8 feet high.
• Flower: Bright red.
• Light Needs: Full sun, but can tolerate some shade.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds outdoors when soil is at least 50°.
• Prize Picks: White Dutch.

Sweet pea

• Botanical Name: Lathyrus odoratus.
• Hardiness: Annual.

• Bloom Time: Spring and summer through early autumn; varies by region.
• Size: 4 to 12 feet high.
• Flower: Pink, purple, salmon, blue, red and white.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Plant presoaked seeds 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart, or start seeds indoors and transplant outside after about 6 weeks.
• Prize Picks: Royal Family Mix, Old Spice Mix, Captain of the Blues.

Trumpet vine

• Botanical Name: Campsis radicans.

• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: Up to 40 feet tall.
• Flower: Orange-red.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Plant in moist to dry soil; will tolerate poor soil and needs little to no fertilizer. Provide adequate support, as vine will pull down weak structures.
• Prize Picks: Yellow trumpet (Campsis radicans flava).

All photos RDA, Inc./GID