10 Flowering Container Plants Favored by Hummingbirds
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If you're looking to make your garden a haven for those mesmerizing creatures - hummingbirds, you best get growin' some nectar-rich blooms. Especially container plants, as you can position them on raised surfaces, offering extra protection against these birds' pesky predators. Plus, it's not just about their enchanting beauty. They're valuable pollinators, even helping with pest control, like chompin' down on troublesome mosquitoes.
Ready to welcome more hummers to your digs? Here are ten container plants the pros adore for attractin' these feathered gems:
- Andrew Bunting, the VP of horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
- Tess Renusch, senior coordinator on the native plant habitat team at the National Wildlife Federation
- Linda Vater, Southern Living's resident plant expert
Win Over More Hummingbirds to Your Garden Oasis
Red Salvia
Linda Vater swears by the vibrant red blooms of red salvia, a gardener's fave. Its tubular flower spikes produce a boatload of nectar from spring to fall. Plus, the Saucy variety is tough as nails, self-cleanin', and adaptable to containers.
- Growin' Zones: 9 to 10 (grows as an annual in cooler areas)
- Preferred Care: Well-drained soil, drought-tolerant, full sun to part shade; reaches 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
Butterfly Weed
Hummingbirds are suckers for bright hues, so the red and orange tubular blooms of butterfly weed (aka a type of milkweed) are right up their alley, claims Tess Renusch. Compact and drought-tolerant, once established, it thrives in containers. Bonus points: it ain't a spreadin' milkweed, so it won't gobble up other plantings.
- Growin' Zones: 3 to 9
- Preferred Care: Well-drained, loamy soil, low water needs, full sun; reaches 1 to 2 feet tall and wide
Transform Your Yard into a Butterfly Playground
Bee Balm
Andrew Bunting raves about bee balm's fast-spreadin' tubular red flowers, a hummer fave. Plus, it's deer-resistant. Since bee balm prefers moist, well-drained soil, containers create an ideal growin' environment.
- Growin' Zones: 5 to 9
- Preferred Care: Well-drained soil, somewhat drought tolerant, full sun; reaches 4 to 5 feet tall
Agapanthus
Linda Vater couldn't resist the large clusters of deep, violet-blue trumpet-shaped blooms that hummingbirds adore. Agapanthus is compact and tends to bloom more profusely when it's root-bound, makin' it an ideal container choice. The Ever Sapphire variety is semi-dwarf and drought-tolerant.
- Growin' Zones: 8 to 11 (grows as an annual in cooler areas)
- Preferred Care: Well-drained soil, drought-tolerant, full sun to part shade; reaches 20 to 24 inches tall by 12 to 18 inches wide
Cardinal Flower
Vibrant red blooms = a hummingbird magnet. Plus, long, tubular blooms cater to hummer bills and tongues. They bloom from July to October and do best in wet, saturated soils. A larger pot (1 gallon) is recommended for best results.
- Growin' Zones: 3 to 9
- Preferred Care: Well-drained loamy to clay moist soil, full to part sun; reaches 2 to 4 feet tall and wide
Hyssop
Small, tubular, lavender-blue flowers and fragrant foliage make hyssop a hummer hit with gardener Linda Bunting. Compact and low-maintenance, it's perfect for small spaces.
- Growin' Zones: 5 to 9
- Preferred Care: Full sun, well-drained soil, somewhat drought tolerant; reaches 4 to 5 feet tall
Dazzle Your Eye with These Poppin' Blue Blooms
Eastern Red Columbine
Its red-and-yellow tubular flowers burst on the scene from February to July, offerin' an early food source for migratin' hummers. The mature size is manageable, too, so it won't overwhelm your container.
- Growin' Zones: 3 to 8
- Preferred Care: Well-draining moist soil, drought-tolerant once established, full sun to partial shade; reaches 1 to 2 feet tall and wide
Kaleidoscope Abelia
Fragrant tubular blooms cover this moundin' evergreen shrub from spring to fall, mintin' Southern Living's Linda Vater. Kaleidoscope, in particular, fits snugly in a container, fillin' it uniformly with little to no prunin'.
- Growin' Zones: 6 to 9
- Preferred Care: Well-drained average soil, drought-tolerant once established, full sun to part shade; reaches 2 to 3 feet tall by 3 to 4 feet wide (smaller in containers)
Autumn Sage
With clusters of tiny, tubular pink-and-red flowers, autumn sage attracts hummers like there's no tomorrow. Plus, it grows compact and manageable in a container.
- Growin' Zones: 6 to 9
- Preferred Care: Well-drained rocky, sandy, or loamy soil, drought-tolerant once established, full sun; reaches 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
Lantana
Get ready to see red - or pink and yellow - with this vining plant. Its vibrant hues and extended bloomin' season (summer to fall) make it a hummer winner. Tres low-maintenance, too, providin' a mature size that's easy to maintain in containers.
- Growin' Zones: 10 to 11
- Preferred Care: Well-drained slightly acidic soil, drought-tolerant once established, full sun; reaches 10 to 12 inches tall and wide
- Incorporating a container garden with the suggested plant ideas from Martha Stewart's gardening section might add hummingbird-friendly plants to your lifestyle, enhancing your home-and-garden area and welcoming more of these feathered visitors.
- Tess, a senior coordinator on the native plant habitat team at the National Wildlife Federation, suggests the red and orange tubular blooms of butterfly weed as an ideal container plant for attracting hummingbirds.
- The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's VP of horticulture, Andrew Bunting, recommends bee balm, whose fast-spreading tubular red flowers are a favorite among hummingbirds, especially in containers.
- The ever-popular lifestyle magazine, Southern Living, endorses Agapanthus with its deep, violet-blue trumpet-shaped blooms that hummingbirds find irresistible, making it an excellent choice for container gardening.
- If you're interested in adding some blue blooms to your container garden to attract hummingbirds, consider the Eastern Red Columbine, a plant that offers smaller mature size and tubular red-and-yellow flowers, making it a manageable choice for container gardening.
