→ Find more tips for introducing hummingbirds to your garden here!Īn 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. The birds love it! If your feeder does not have red on it, attach a red label or other item to attract them. Instead, use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water). Note: Do not use red dye in a hummingbird feeder there is concern that it may harm the birds. 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.A gentle, continuous spray from a nozzle or a sprinkler hose is perfect for a bath on the fly. Hummingbirds love water, especially if it’s moving.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. Provide lots of space between plants to give hummingbirds enough room to hover and navigate from flower to flower.Hummingbirds also need a habitat that will give them food, water, shelter, and security. Choose varieties in red and orange shades. Here’s a list of flowering plants that attract 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. Flowers that Attract Hummingbirdsīrightly-colored flowers that are tubular tend to produce the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Although lemon verbena is in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, it’s classified in a separate genus as true verbena (Verbena) and Glandularia.For centuries, gardeners have been fascinated with the beauty and aerobatics of these flying jewels. Lemon verbena, a small shrub with lemon-scented leaves, is popular as an herb garden plant its leaves are used to flavor a number of dishes, from seafood to yogurt dips. Most varieties will decline once summer heat increases. ‘Texas Rose’ has reddish-pink flowers. ‘Blue Princess’ bears deep blue flowers. ‘Tuscany Orchid Frost’ features extra-large pink flowers. Annual Verbena (G. x hybrida): This is a common garden bedding plant.Trailing Verbena (Glandularia canadensis): These low creeping plants are tolerant of heat and drought and will flower all summer. ‘Homestead Purple’ has dark purple flower clusters. ‘Appleblossom’ has long-flowering large, pink flowers with a white center. ‘Taylortown Red’ is a vigorous plant with red flowers.Many of the cultivars are hybrids with other species. Tapien Series plants have lacy foliage and small flowers in many colors that cover the plant from early summer until the first frost. The plants are resistant to powdery mildew. ’Edith’ is a compact long flowering plant with fragrant lavender-pink flowers. Moss Verbena (V. Tenuisecta): Moss verbena has finely cut leaves and a very low growing habit.Rigid Verbena (V. rigida): The plant spreads by long rhizomes (underground stems) in all directions and forms a thick groundcover. The plant is hardy and drought resistant. ‘Santos’ grows to about a foot tall with pinkish-purple blooms.Blue Vervain (V. hastata): 2 to 5 feet tall resembles V. bonariensis, but is more tolerant of cold and moist soil. Blue-violet flowers.Short-lived perennial that will self-sow. Purpletop Vervain (Verbena bonariensis): 4 to 5 feet tall with clusters of small lavender flowers.Save seeds in the fall and plant in the fall or spring.Place the container on a sunny windowsill to root. Dip the bottom of the stem in rooting hormone and plant about 1 inch deep in a container with moist potting soil. Take stem cuttings in late summer or early fall. Remove the bottom pair of leaves right at the stem.Divide mature perennial clumps in the spring. Perennial verbena are relatively short lived, typically lasting two to three years in the garden.Some varieties will re-seed and naturalize in the garden.In the fall, you can trim back the plants lightly to give them a neater appearance, but do not cut severely until spring, when new growth begins to appear.Apply a complete fertilizer (16-4-8) in mid- to late spring and again after trimming back.When bloom slows during the summer, trim the whole plant back by about one fourth of its height.During their blooming period, water the plants once a week if they do not receive an inch of rain that week.
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