Feeding hummingbirds is such a rewarding activity. Sure, a feeder or two will do the trick, but you can also attract hummers by growing flowers with a tubular, funnel shape that are rich in nectar and color (especially red). When you grow a hummingbird's favorite plants, you'll not only provide a floral buffet for these tiny birds, you'll also fill your yard with beautiful blooms.
Bee Balm
This summer-blooming perennial is sure to make a bold statement in your landscape. Although red is the most common color for bee balm (Monarda spp.), you can also find varieties with pink, violet, and white flowers; all are good for attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 4-6 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-9
Garden Phlox
Garden phlox is one of a hummingbird's favorite plants. This old-fashioned perennial produces clusters of sweetly fragrant pink, red, lavender, or white flowers in summer. These flowers grow upright in clumps and look especially pretty in a mixed border.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 4-8
Lupine
A cottage garden classic, lupines (Lupinus spp.) offer colorful spires of blooms in early and mid-summer and can be enjoyed even when they're not flowering, thanks to their pretty hand-shaped foliage. Lupines are sensitive to heat, so look for hybrids specifically bred to withstand hot summer temperatures.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and wide
Zones: 4-9
Red-Hot Poker
This hummingbird favorite features tall spikes of scarlet, yellow, white, and orange tubular flowers and fountain-like clumps of coarse, grassy, gray-green foliage. Red-hot poker (Kniphofia spp.) is impressive in small groupings at the back of a perennial border or as a single specimen plant. Clip spent flowers to promote rebloom.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 5-9, depending on type
Hollyhock
This classic biennial, which lives for two years and usually flowers in the second, attracts hummingbirds with its tall spikes of single or double flowers. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) also bloom in a wide range of colors, from purple-black to red, yellow, pink, or white. The flowering stalks of this cottage garden plant are covered in buds all the way up their stems, which gradually bloom from the bottom of the stem up.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 3-8, but often grown as annuals
Columbine
Start the hummingbird season out right with the cheery red-and-yellow blooms of wild columbine (Aquilegia spp.). This easy-growing perennial is native to rocky terrains and woodland areas of North America and prefers afternoon shade when grown in areas with hot and humid summers. Wild columbine's unique flowers hang downward from a long stalk and have round tips on the ends of the petals.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 3-8
Coral Bells
Coral Bells (Heuchera spp.) are almost perfect perennial border plants. They offer mounds of attractive foliage and clusters of red, pink, white, or green flowers dangling off long, narrow stems that rise high above the leaves. Coralbells are easy to grow as long as they don't stay too wet, and they keep blooming if they're deadheaded often.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 4-9
Cardinal Flower
It's tough to find a brighter red color for the garden than cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), which heavily attracts hummingbirds. This late-summer blooming perennial is native to North America and produces spikes of vibrant scarlet tubular flowers. Cardinal flowers even enjoy wet soil conditions, making them a good choice for bog gardens.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and consistently moist soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 2-8
Foxglove
A staple of many bird and butterfly gardens, biennial foxgloves (Digitalis spp.) bear tall spikes of pink, purple, white, yellow, or patterned tube-shaped flowers in summer. Although some foxgloves are perennials, most common varieties are biennials. In their first year grown from seed, they only grow stalks, and the next year, they bloom and drop seeds to start the cycle over again.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on type
Zones: 3-8, depending on type
Lantana
A favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds alike, lantana offers colorful red, yellow, orange, pink, lavender, or white flowers. These heat-loving, drought-resistant plants will fit well in sunny spots in your garden. Lantana's bright flowers contrast with its dark leaves, and the color gradually gets darker as time goes on.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and wide (but usually less when grown as an annual)
Zones: 8-11, but typically grown as an annual in colder areas
Penstemon
Also known as beardtongue for the fuzzy-looking stamen in the throat of each flower, penstemons are tough native plants that thrive in heat, drought, and poor, rocky soil. Its tubular blooms can be red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, or white.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, depending on variety
Zones: 3-9
Scarlet Sage
Light a fire in any bed with these bright red annuals. You also can find varieties of this annual salvia (Salvia splendens) in cream, purple, and salmon. Any variety of this flower that attracts hummingbirds is easy to grow and drought-tolerant. For extra pollinator appeal, add a DIY hummingbird feeder to your garden.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: Annual
Trumpet Vine
Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is so good at attracting hummingbirds with its summerlong clusters of red, orange, or yellow flowers that you'll sometimes see it sold as hummingbird vine. Trumpet vine's fast-growing habit allows it to quickly cling to vertical objects; be cautious about potential invasion by removing seed pods on the plant before they fully ripen and drop seed.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Climbs to 30 feet or more
Zones: 5-8
Honeysuckle
A vigorous native woody vine, trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) attracts hummingbirds to its flowers. It blooms through the summer and autumn with clusters of scarlet-red tubular flowers. The clusters of blooms show beautifully against the vine's dark green foliage.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Climbs to 15 feet
Zones: 4-9
Hummingbird Mint
Hummingbird mints (Agastache spp.) are carefree perennials with tall stalks of flowers that are irresistible to hummingbirds and butterflies. Hummingbird mint is essential for a pollinator-friendly garden, and its minty fragrance deters deer and rabbits. This long-bloomer provides a floral show throughout the summer months.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5–9
Cuphea
Charming cuphea (Cuphea spp.) blooms from late spring until frost without requiring deadheading. The flowers of this plant are small but dense and have no trouble attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators. Cuphea is a low-maintenance annual that can be grown as a perennial in frost-free areas or moved indoors for winter.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and consistently moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 8–11
Zinnia
Warm-weather zinnias (Zinnia spp.) come in many sizes, shapes, and colors. This annual flower that attracts hummingbirds also will draw bees and butterflies. That makes zinnias an excellent addition to a pollinator garden. Plus they do double-duty as top-notch cut flowers for floral arrangements.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: annual
