Hummingbirds are tiny, feathered jewels that bring vibrant energy to our gardens. If you’re looking to attract more of these fascinating pollinators, it’s time to think beyond the feeder.

Below are nine plants known to be especially appealing to hummingbirds, along with reputable sources for further reading.

1. Red Salvia

One of the best hummingbird-attracting plants is the Black-and-Blue Salvia, a gorgeous cobalt-blue annual. Another popular option is Hummingbird Mint, which typically lasts only a season or two, even though they are listed as perennials.

Hummingbirds like tubular, brightly-colored flowers, especially colors such as orange, yellow, and red. The best type of hanging plant will depend on your location, but it can often include flowers like honeysuckle, petunias, begonias, and salvia.

2. Trumpet Vine

The trumpet vine, Campsis radicans, is also known as the hummingbird vine or trumpet creeper. It is a perennial deciduous woody vine native to North America that is also found in scattered locations in both Europe and South America.

Typically, it grows up to 30 feet high, climbing the trunks of trees, power poles, and other supporting structures. It is common in woodlands, especially along woodland edges or creeks and streams where sunlight reaches the ground.

It is easily recognized by its showy, typically red-orange trumpet-shaped flowers. There are several cultivars of the trumpet vine with names such as “apricot,” “crimson trumpet,” or “Indian summer” that have flowers of different shades of crimson to orange-yellow.

3. Bee Balm

Bee Balm – Bee balm or Monarda is a beautiful member of the mint family. Its bright red tubular flowers can be eaten, and the whole plant can be used for tea.

Kentucky native vines like trumpet honeysuckle, passionflower, and trumpet creeper are sure-fire hummingbird favorites. Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) is an interesting-looking, spiky flower that hummingbirds love.

It will seed itself in your garden and you can divide it every three to four years.

4. Butterfly Bush

Another thing you can do to make your tiny winged visitors feel more at home is to add some attractive flora to your yard, such as a butterfly bush, bee balm, or purple coneflowers. In most cases, the best plants for attracting hummingbirds are also the best for attracting butterflies, so your yard will be full of enchanting creatures.

5. Zinnias

Zinnias (Zinnia spp.) are popular and easy-to-grow flowers that are very hummingbird friendly. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, so you can put your favorites in your garden.

There may not be a single flower for every hummingbird species, but zinnias are a great choice for your garden. There’s no denying that hummingbirds and zinnias are a perfect match!

One aspect that makes zinnias so appealing to hummingbirds is that they grow quite tall. They are typically up to four feet in height, which means they are at the perfect height for hummingbirds, who don’t really want to be too close to the ground.

6. Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle: You might be hard-pressed to find a flower that just feels like a hummingbird flower than trumpet honeysuckle, also known as coral honeysuckle, most prominently native in the Atlantic States, from Maine down to Florida. For those in the southern Great Plains and eastward, coral honeysuckle is a vibrant member of the honeysuckle family, with red tubular flowers and yellow stamen: a perfect combination for hummingbirds.

Because coral honeysuckle twines over any nearby foliage, it’s a great flower to plant along a fence or other structure.

7. Fuchsia

While hummingbirds will be attracted to many types of fuchsia, a nod might be given to Fuchsia magellanica, for which the common names include hummingbird fuchsia or hardy fuchsia. The fuchsia plant’s tubular flowers are perfectly shaped for hummingbirds’ long bills, and while hummingbirds are known to be attracted to the vibrant colors red, orange, and yellow, fuchsia’s pinkish-purple flowers are also likely to entice these small, fast-moving birds to stop for sweet nectar.

Growing best in partial shade, the fuchsia plant’s long-lasting bloom can provide hummers with a consistent food source throughout the summer as part of your backyard nectar offerings.

8. Penstemon

When flowers are in bloom, hummingbirds feed on bright, tubular flowers like columbine, scarlet gilia, penstemon, Indian paintbrush, mints, lilies, fireweeds, larkspurs, and currants as their source of nectar.

9. Columbine

Western columbine: Hummingbirds love a downward-facing tubular-like western columbine. For those in other states, other columbine species are native to the rest of the country, such as eastern columbine.

Columbine: Western columbine grows throughout the Pacific Northwest and down into Nevada, Utah, and Idaho, while eastern columbine has a range that encompasses pretty much every state east of the Rocky Mountains.

Nine hummingbird plants at a glance

Plant	What our writers say
Black-and-Blue salvia	A cobalt-blue annual that attracts hummingbirds
Trumpet vine	Campsis radicans, to 30 feet, red-orange trumpet flowers
Trumpet vine colors	Cultivars named apricot, crimson trumpet, or Indian summer
Bee balm	Mint family; bright red tubular flowers; tea from the whole plant
Bee balm in Kentucky	Seeds itself; divide every three to four years
Zinnias	Easy, hummingbird-friendly, hundreds of varieties
Zinnia height	Typically up to four feet, a comfortable hovering height
Trumpet honeysuckle	Coral honeysuckle, native from Maine to Florida
Coral honeysuckle	Red tubular flowers with yellow stamens; twines a fence
Fuchsia magellanica	Also called hummingbird fuchsia or hardy fuchsia
Fuchsia bloom	Partial shade; a consistent summer nectar source
Columbine range	Western columbine in the Pacific Northwest; eastern east of the Rockies

Keep reading

• 12 Native Plants That Attract Hummingbirds Better Than Feeders
• 10 Plants That Will Transform Your Yard Into a Hummingbird Paradise
• Turn Your Backyard Into a Hummingbird Paradise With These 13 Irresistible Secrets