If you want to bring loads of pollinators to your garden, you may have read some tips about how to grow plants that will attract butterflies and bees.
However, these aren’t the only pollinators you should be concerned about. Hummingbirds also have the ability to pollinate – and they’re lovely to look at and fun to watch, too!
Are you interested in attracting tons of hummingbirds to your garden? Here are some tips on the 30 best flowers you can grow.
Table of Contents
1. Butterfly Bush
It’s not just the namesake butterflies that this shrub attracts. The butterfly bush is also great for attracting hummingbirds! Growing best in full sun and well-draining soil, it is hardy in zones 5 through 10.
2. Delphinium
Delphinium, also referred to as larkspur, is a hardy and vibrant perennial that can easily grow up to eight feet tall. It’s hardy in zones 3 to 7 and does not tolerate hot, humid climates well. However both hummingbirds and butterflies love them – and you’ll find them hard to resist, too.
3. Columbine
Columbine can be found in just about any color – there are even plants that produce bi-colored blooms! You’re best off growing these flowers in full sun or partial shade, where they will bloom in the spring to early summer. It’s a great companion plant when grown with other flowers, too, like pansies.
4. Bleeding Hearts
Bleeding heart is a gorgeous perennial plant with a solid reputation for attracting hummingbirds hardy in zones 2 through 9, this plant grows best in soil that is rich and well-draining. They can be found in shades of pink and white, with elegant foliage that will die back in the heat of the summer.
5. Zinnia
Zinnias are some of the easiest annual flowers you can grow, offering bright blooms that grow to about four feet tall. They attract not just hummingbirds but also other birds, like finches, as their seeds mature. They are hardy in zone 2 through 11 and can be found in every color except blue and brown.
6. Lily
Most lilies, but especially daylilies, grow easily in zones 3 to 10 and can attract all kinds of pollinators – including hummingbirds! Growing up to four feet tall, daylilies can be found in practically any color and tolerate both full sun and partial shade.
7. Foxglove
Although foxglove is toxic to humans and most animals, hummingbirds love it. Grow this plant in zones 4 through 8, but give it plenty of room – the flowers can top out at five feet tall!
8. Pride of Madeira
Pride of Madeira is one of the few evergreens that is known for attracting hummingbirds – but that’s likely due to the beautiful purple flowers that this plant produces. Hardy in zones 9 through 11, it can grow up to six feet tall and ten feet wide.
9. Lupine
Lupines are native to North America and produce gorgeous and tall spikes of flowers. With multiple cultivars, species, and shades available, this is a plant that hummingbirds are sure to love. Perennial in zones 4-9, most lupines grow best in acidic soil and either full sun or partial shade.
10. Red Hot Poker
This unique flower is sure to add a ton of personality to your garden – and the hummingbirds will undoubtedly follow. The Red Hot Poker is an orange and yellow flower that has blooms loaded with nectar. It’s hardy in zones 5 through 9 and requires full sun and well-draining soil.
11. Yarrow
Yarrow is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms from summer until fall. It’s hardy in zones 3 to 9 and attracts hummingbirds, b butterflies, and other pollinators with its show-stopping blooms.
12. Penstemon
Though not the most common backyard plant you can grow, penstemon produces lovely trumpet-like flowers when it is cultivated in full sun to partial shade. It can tolerate drought-like conditions once established and will bring tons of hummingbirds to your garden.
13. Hibiscus
Hibiscus plants are perennials in zones 4 through 10. Known for their bold, beautiful looms, hibiscus flowers are up to a foot wide each and last all the way until the first frost. There are tropical varieties you can grow in containers, too, to bring droves of hummingbirds to your deck.
14. Peony
Peonies produce huge blooms in the spring and summer, providing plenty of sweet nectar for hummingbirds. Growing up to three and a half feet tall and wide, these plants offer a lot of impact for very little maintenance in return. They’re hardy in zones 3 through 8.
15. Red Cardinal Flower
All of the many varieties of cardinal flowers will attract hummingbirds to your yard, but none perhaps quite as much so as the red cardinal flower. It makes sense, given that this flower itself was named after a bird! It is best grown in partial shade to full sun and will attract plenty of hummingbirds to your property.
16. Coral Bells
Coral bells are hardy in zones 3 through 9 and are known for their magnificent foliage. It is a rugged perennial with gorgeous bell-shaped blooms. Growing up to three feet tall and two feet wide, it blooms from the late spring until the middle of summer. They don’t do well in heavy shade but can tolerate a small amount of shade if that’s what your garden has to offer.
17. Garden Phlox
Garden phlox is easy to grow, with newer varieties even resistant to powdery mildew. It is resilient and grows all season long provided that you deadhead it. It requires full sun and can grow up to three feet tall and wide.
18. Oriental Poppy
Poppies grow easily in well-draining soil, and oriental poppies look magnificent in bunches. You can plant these fine seeds in the spring and you’ll see blooms by summertime the following year. The plants grow up to three feet tall and will attract a frenzy of hummingbirds to your garden.
19. Rhododendron
If you’re lucky enough to see a rhododendron in full bloom at the end of spring, you won’t be surprised to see hordes of hummingbirds nearby -after all, these bushes are truly magnificent. There are hundreds of species of rhododendron, most of them native to Asia, but you should choose one that naturally grows in North America (like Catawba rosebay or Catawba rhododendron) to attract the most hummingbirds.
20. Cuphea
This elegant annual produces bright red or orange tubular flowers. Also known as the firecracker plant, this plant prefers to be grown in the sun but requires lots of water during hot spells.
21. Trumpet Vine
Not to be confused with the trumpet honeysuckle, a plant we’ll discuss in more detail later on in this article, the trumpet vine produces gorgeous flowers that are sure to attract lots of hummingbirds. In fact, this plant is frequently referred to as the hummingbird vine!
Native to the southeastern portions of the United States, it’s easy to grow in most parts of the country and is hardy in zones 4 through 9.
22. Fuschia
Fuschia is a shade-loving annual that produces flowers in shades of (you guessed it!) bright fuschia. It produces elegant drooping flowers that hummingbirds love and grows great in a hanging basket or window box.
23. Torenia
Torenia produces gorgeous purple and pink flowers. Often confused for the snapdragon, torenia provides nectar for hummingbirds all season long. It’s sometimes referred to as a wishbone and grows best in partial sun.
24. Sage
Sage is a plant that truly offers it all. You can eat the leaves in your cooking, it’s easy to grow, and it looks great. And let’s not forget – it also attracts hummingbirds! Technically, sage is the name of any plants under the salvia genus, but the best will be the ones that offer vibrantly colored flowers.
25. Gayfeather
Gayfeather offers vertical interest in the garden and blooms best in the middle of the summer. It has purple, white, or lavender flower spires that grow up to three feet tall. It will attract both hummingbirds and butterflies alike and grows best in full sun.
26. Rose of Sharon
A hardy shrub, Rose of Sharon starts to blossom late in the season – usually, after the rest of the garden has started to die back. This makes it a great option for a Humminbird garden, since it will provide food when other plants are no longer reliable.
27. Trumpet Honeysuckle
Trumpet honeysuckle is a favorite of hummingbirds – especially ruby-throated hummingbirds! These birds absolutely love the tubular red and orange flowers. It is hardy in zones 3 through 9 and perennial in most places.
28. Catmint
Catmint, an herb in the mint family, is a hardy perennial with gorgeous fuzzy foliage and purple-blue spikes of flowers. With a pleasant scent that is somewhat mint, somewhat spice, it blooms in the early to mid-summer.
29. Bee Balm
There are all kinds of bee balm varieties you can grow, including those in shades of pink, white, and purple. The red shade, though, is one of the best at drawing hummingbirds to your yard. Growing up to four feet tall, bee balm grows best in full sun but can also tolerate some afternoon shade.
30. Petunia
The humble petunia has a rep mutation for being one of the easiest annual flowers you can grow. They’re also quite inexpensive when you purchase them from nurseries, another draw for gardeners. They grow well in baskets, containers, and borders and thrive in full sun. they bloom repeatedly ([particularly the more often you deadhead them!) and will provide all the nectar your local hummingbirds need.
Other Ways to Attract Hummingbirds to the Garden
When you’re looking for the best ways to attract hummingbirds to your garden, try to choose native plants. Hummingbirds, as with other native species, will be more familiar with native plants and therefore more likely to visit them. Plus, they’ll require less care.
Try to create as much diversity in your garden as possible. Plants with a long bloom time or repeated blooming periods will continue to attract hummingbirds for weeks, since they offer a reliable food source during the spring, summer, and fall months alike.
One more tip? If your goal is to encourage hummingbirds to pop in for a visit, don’t remove spider webs from the garden. The birds will use the threads of the webs to build their nests and they’ll often munch on the insects trapped in the nests, too.
Otherwise, consider growing one (or many!) of these beautiful flowering plants. They’re sure to attract tons of hummingbirds to your home and garden!
Barbara says
Very enjoyable, easy to follow with Grreat info. Thanks for being so helpful and sharing your knowledge. You made me feel very welcomed.