Plants for Hummingbirds
Showing 1–8 of 82 results
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Alcea rosea var. nigra Black hollyhock BIENNIAL Z 4-9
Early to late summer spikes of single jet-black/maroon platters.
Early to late summer spikes of single jet-black/maroon platters.
Size: 5-7’ x 24”
Care: sun in well-drained soil
Native: West Asia
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees, butterflies and birdsHollyhocks have been cultivated in China for thousands of years where it symbolized the passing of time. They cooked the leaves for a vegetable and also ate the buds. Transported from Middle East to Europe by the Crusaders and introduced to England by 1573. Grown in the Eichstätt Garden, the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, c. 1600. Culpepper, a 17th century English herbalist, claimed the plant could be used to cure ailments of the “belly, Stone, Reins, Kidneys, Bladder, Coughs, Shortness of Breath, Wheesing, … the King’s Evil, Kernels, Chin-cough, Wounds, Bruises, Falls. . . (and) Sun-burning.” Both single and double forms grew in England by the time of Parkinson (1629). Parkinson said they came “in many and sundry colours.” John Winthrop Jr. introduced the 1st hollyhock to the New World in the 1630’s.
Thomas Jefferson grew this black variety at Monticello.
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Anemone multifida Cutleaf anemone, Pacific anemone Z 2-6
Blooming in early summer and sporadically into fall, small six-petal-like sepals, watermelon pink, each with a center boss of sunny stamens subtended by deep palmately divided basal leaves.
Blooming in early summer and sporadically into fall, small six-petal-like sepals, watermelon pink, each with a center boss of sunny stamens subtended by deep palmately divided basal leaves.
Size: 9” x 6”
Care: part shade in humusy moist well-drained soil
Native: North America except the Arctic
Wildlife Value: hummingbirds build nests from seedheadsCollected by Scottish plant hunters Thomas Drummond & David Douglas west of the Rocky Mountains. Blackfoot Indians called this “Looks-like-a-plume.” The burned seed-head inhaled to stop a headache. British Columbia’s Thompson Indians used this to stop nose-bleeds, calling it “Bleeding Nose Plant.” This red/pink one collected by C.C. Parry before 1860. Parry (1832-1890) tagged as the king of Colorado botany.
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Anthericum ramosum Spider plant, Branched St Bernard’s-lily Z 5-8
White, branched flower clusters above grass-like leaves June-August
OUT OF STOCK – EMAIL FOR AVAILABILITY
White, branched flower clusters above grass-like leaves June-August
Size: 2-3’ x 12”
Care: full sun in well-drained soil
Native: Western, Central & Southern Europe
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirdsPublished by Linneaus in Species Plantarum (1753)
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Aquilegia canadensis Canada Columbine Z 3-9
In May and June yellow petticoats peek out from under eye-popping red skirts flaring at the ends as these flowers dangle from tall stems.
In May and June yellow petticoats peek out from under eye-popping red skirts flaring at the ends as these flowers dangle from tall stems.
Size: 24-36”x 12”
Care: part shade in moist well-drained soil - moist in spring & dry in summer
Native: Eastern Canada to Florida, west to New Mexico, Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: Provides rich, early spring nectar for bumblebees, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Buntings and finches eat seeds. Sole food source for Columbine duskywing caterpillar.
Awards: England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Seeds are fragrant when crushed, used by Omaha, Ponca and Pawnee as perfume. Pawnee used the plant as a love charm by rubbing pulverized seeds in palm of hand and endeavoring to shake hand of desired person. Crushed seeds also used to cure fever and headaches. Cherokee made a tea for heart trouble. The Iroquois used the plant to cure poisoning and to detect people who were bewitched. Grown by Tradescant the Elder in England in 1632. He may have received it from France. Cultivated by Washington & Jefferson. Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811.
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Bletilla striata syn. B. hyacinthina Chinese ground orchid Z 5-9
Racemes of pinkish-purple flowers on scapes above dark green, upright, lance-shaped leaves, April-May
OUT OF STOCK
Racemes of pinkish-purple flowers on scapes above dark green, upright, lance-shaped leaves, April-May
Size: 12-18” x 12”
Care: Part shade in moist, well-drained soil.
Native: China, Japan
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Deer & Rabbit resistant.
Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden MeritProtect with thick winter mulch, may not reliably survive Zone 5 winters.
Spreads slowly by rhizomes and seeds in optimal conditions.
‘Bletilla’ honors Louis Blet, a Spanish apothecary in Algeciras who also had a botanic garden at the end of the 18th century. Collected before 1784 by Thunberg. -
Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta syn. Clinopodium nepeta ssp. nepeta Lesser calamint Z 4-9
Profuse violet blooms on mint-scented, gray-green foliage gives frosty image, June-October
Profuse violet blooms on mint-scented, gray-green foliage gives frosty image, June-October
Size: 18-24” x 8-12”
Native: Europe and Mediterranean
Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirdsThis subspecies 1st described by Linnaeus in 1753. Genus name comes from Greek kalos meaning beautiful and minthe meaning mint. It is not, however, a mint and is not invasive.
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Campanula alliariifolia syn. C. gundelia syn. C. kirpicznikovii Ivory Bells Z 3-7
July-August, creamy white bells dangle on spires above heart-leaved foliage. Vigorous. Cut back to promote 2nd flowering
July-August, creamy white bells dangle on spires above heart-leaved foliage. Vigorous. Cut back to promote 2nd flowering
Size: 18-24” x 18
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
Native: the Caucasus and Turkey
Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies and birdsCampanula is Latin meaning “little bell.” Described by Carl Ludwig von Willdenow in 1798
Highly touted by Graham Stuart Thomas, who once referred to it as a “picture of poise and beauty,” -
Campsis radicans Trumpet vine Z 5-9 VINE
Huge, gorgeous orange trumpets on vigorous vine
OUT OF STOCK
Mid-summer to early autumn – huge, gorgeous orange trumpets on vigorous vine
Size: 30’ x 3’ at base
Care: sun, moist well-drained soil. Prune in late winter or early spring by cutting back side shoots to within 2-3 buds of main stem
Native: PA to IL & south as far as Florida
Wildlife Value: magnet for hummingbirds, long-tongued bees, and Sphinx moths.In garden cultivation in America since early 1600’s. Collected in 1640’s by Tradescant the Younger (1608 – 1662), son of John Tradescant the elder. He went in person to Virginia between 1628-1637 (and possibly two more trips by 1662 to collect plants. When his father died, he succeeded as head gardener to King Charles I and Henrietta Maria from 1638 to 1642, when the queen fled England’s Civil War. Campsis is derived from the Greek word kampsis referring to the flower’s curved stamens. Radicans from radicant meaning “having rooted stems.” The bloom is “a most splendid sight,” according to Breck in 1851. Per Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1912: “The native trumpet creeper is very common in the southern woodlands and fields (with) a great variety in brilliancy of the blossoms. This is an excellent plant for covering the bare trunks of palmettos.” Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
