Plants for Hummingbirds
Showing 25–32 of 88 results
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Digitalis lutea Straw foxglove, Small yellow foxglove Z 3-9
Mid-summer, honey yellow, small bells encircle the flower spike
Mid-summer, honey yellow, small bells encircle the flower spike.
Size: 24" x 12"
Care: Part shade in moist well-drained soil.
Native: Central Europe south to NW AfricaThe word ‘fox’ is often said to be a corruption of ‘folk,’ meaning the ‘little folk’ or fairies.” Foxgloves reputedly had the power to ward off witches and return children kidnapped by fairies. This species identified by Bavarian physician Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566) in 1542. D. lutea mentioned in Gerard’s Herball in 1632.
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Digitalis purpurea Foxglove Z 4-8
pink, purple or white spires of spotted bells
OUT OF STOCK
Early summer pink, purple or white spires of spotted bells. Beautiful.
Size: 3-5' x 24"
Care: Part shade moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant
Native: Great Britain,west and central Europe east to Scandinavia, often escapes.Druids were fond of this Foxglove because it flowered at the same time as their midsummer sacrifice. First described by German physician and botanical author Leonhard Fuchs (1501-1566). Grown in Medieval gardens. The plant’s use as a heart stimulant was discovered in 1775 by English physician William Withering. The word ‘fox’ is said to be a corruption of ‘folk,’ meaning the ‘little folk’ or fairies,” having the power to ward off witches and return children kidnapped by fairies. Cultivated in America since 1700’s, with the first documented reference of American cultivation in 1748 by Peter Kalm, a student of Linneaus and a Swedish botanist who explored colonial America for plants. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Digitalis thapsi Spanish foxglove Z 5-9
Spikes of purple, rose-spotted trumpets in early summer. True perennial
Spikes of purple, rose-spotted trumpets in early summer. True perennial.
Size: 18” x 12”
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil.
Native: Spain & PortugalEngland’s Philip Miller received seeds from Spain and grew this by 1760’s. Grown in the botanical gardens of Moscow by 1752.
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Elsholtzia stauntonii mu xiang ru in China, Chinese mint Z 4-8
Tube-shaped purple flowers ascend in spires in fall on this subshrub that dies back in colder areas to regrow from the roots in spring. Valuable for its late bloom and fragrant foliage.
Tube-shaped purple flowers ascend in spires in fall on this subshrub that dies back in colder areas to regrow from the roots in spring. Valuable for its late bloom and fragrant foliage.
Size: 3-5’ x 3-5'
Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: hills, mountainsides and river banks in Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, ChinaNaemd for name Prussian horticultulurist and doctor Johann Sigismund Elsholtz (1623-1688). This species described in 1833.
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Epilobium angustifolium syn. Chamaenerion angustifolium Fireweed Z 2-7
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-July atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
Bright pink to lilac purple flowers June-July atop red stems covered in willow-like leaves
Size: 2-6’ x 3’ spreading
Care: Sun to part shade in dry to moist well drained soil
Native: Circum-polar to the temperate northern hemisphere (Wisconsin native)
Wildlife Value: Attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Host for Fireweed Clearwing moth & Nessus Sphinx moth.Common name comes from its quick reappearance after a wildfire. First Nations used fireweed externally for burns and other skin conditions, and drank a tea for gastro-intestinal and bronchial problems. Its shoots eaten as a vegetable and young leaves added to salads. Fireweed yields a honey so prized that some Canadian beekeepers drive – or even fly – their hives to areas rich in fireweed for the blossoming season.
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Geranium maculatum American Cranesbill, Wild geranium, Spotted geranium Z 3-8
Bright pink to lilac pink in June-July
Bright pink to lilac pink in June – July
Size: 24" x 18"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist soil
Native: East North America, Wisconsin native.
Wildlife Value: Nectar source for hummingbirds & White swallowtail butterfly.This species 1st collected by French planthunter André Michaux (1746-1802). Jefferson asked John Bartram to obtain seeds, 1786. Indians taught colonists to use the plant to cure diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhaging. Also used on sores, open wounds, canker sores and sore feet. The Choctaw prescribed it for venereal disease. Sent to Europe in 1732. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Hemerocallis ‘Hyperion’
Midsummer, fragrant lemon yellow trumpets
Midsummer, fragrant lemon yellow trumpets
Size: 36" x 12"
Care: Sun, moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.Hybrid origin, bred in 1925 and still popular today.
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Hemerocallis multiflorus Many-flower daylily in China called duo hua xuan cao Z 4-8
Elegant, tall, upright sunshine yellow flowers on this species daylily
Elegant, tall, upright sunshine yellow flowers on this species daylily. Grow for its height & unrivaled number of flowers. Each scape (leafless stem) will produce up to 100 blooms so that this blooms an extraordinary length of time, July-September
Size: 36-40” x 18-24”
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
Native: openings in forests on hills in province Honan at Ki Kung Shan, China
Wildlife Value: attracts hummingbirdsThis species grown by Rev. C. Woolly Dod in Malpas, Cheshire England in 1880, The Garden, an Illustrated Weekly Journal of Gardening. Hemerocallis is Greek meaning “flower for a day.”
