Believe it or not there's a lot blooming right now even if I have no hummers to enjoy the buffet. We're expecting a freeze tonight, but not a hard one and certainly not a prolonged one.

Justicia spicigera

Calliandra haematocephala

Salvias Van houtti(sp?), holwayii, waverly (beautiful!),Lavender Lace. involucrata, Karwinski hybrid, Black and Blue, and pineapple sage.

Canna indica, just a few

Cape honeysuckle

Cupheas David Verity, micropetala, salvadorensis (just a few blooms) and schumanni

Firespike red and purple

Dwarf bottlebrush

Abutilons

Giant Turk's cap

A new red Buckeye has a bud

Coral honeysuckle is budding up.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

That is disgusting Joan.

Sounds like 'someone' is jealous, Joan!
A question on your Purple Firespike, Odontonema callistachyum. Does it produce seeds? If, by any chance you have some and are willing to share some, I would love a few, if you have an excess.
I have the Odontonema strictum,Red Firespike which I love,as do my hummers, but have never seen seeds on it.

Sorry Ward. Patricia, I don't know if they produce seeds or not, but I'll find out. Nancy has a huge one blooming like crazy. Mine is a new addition from this past summer and is just starting to bloom. Nancy is very impressed with the purple and has been putting some of the blooms in the traps when we need to sweeten the bait.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

Thanks Joan.I have just posted on the seed exchange, that I have just harvested Royal poinciana seeds.

Joan it isn't very nice to tease us northerners especially those of us that have over a foot of snow on the ground but that being said one of my Calliandras has been blooming off and on for a couple of weeks....in a south facing window in my living room!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I'm sorry Penny! But we deserve to have some flowers now because come May, June, and July we don't see many hummers, they're all up in your gardens. Nancy calls it the doldrums of May but didn't tell me the doldrums last through the summer.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

How nice,, you deserve some glory and their are advantages to living in the south. But sorta seems like having a birthday cake and its no ones birthday. But in less than a month the situation may change for you.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Wll ok Joan I will concede. It is only fair that you have some warm weather beauty now even if we are in the dread of winter....can I send you some LOL!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Penny, send me some of that cool weather in August and we'll both be happy. Steve, I am trying to entice winter hummers and migrating Ruby-throats so I have a lot of fall-winter-spring blooming flowers. I don't waste my resources on plants that only bloom in the summer unless I just like them whether they are good hummingbird plants or not. Also, some plants need to get cut back so early summer will be the time to do that so I don't lose flower power when hummers are or could be around. But I do wish some hummers were around now to eat the "cake."
Patricia, the purple Odontonema I was talking about is strictum, but Nancy has the Callistachyum and it is just starting to flower. She said she will try and get some seeds for you.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

Perfect! I think the hummers would enjoy or at least come and try this plant, since they love the red! The female Ruby throats comes to these for her last feed in the evening. I haven't had much success persuading the hummers to try 'North American flowers'. They 'look' and pass them by....
I have just transplanted some more so we will see if they prefer those.

Joan, it's not nice to tease us farther south southerners.

I had most of these two weeks ago before spending about 8 hours at 25 degrees. I'm now left with one flowering head from a purple firespike that I got from Nancy last year (but I don''t think it's Odontonema callistachyum), a couple of very low canna blooms next to the house, and one abutilon with a few blooms. My Justicia spicigera, Calliandra haematocephala, all of my Salvias including Van houttes, Cupheas, firespikes, and turkscaps are all burnt without blooms. Also lost include firebushes, chinese hats, all shrimp plants, and russelias. The plus side is that the hummers are in great need of feeders and that's probably why we caught ten hummers in an hour and forty five minutes last Sunday.

And, our coldest temperatures of the year are being predicted for the next two nights.

Steve Backes
Valrico, FL (east of Tampa)

Lots is blooming for this Southerner, and I'm in freaking tears!

This messed up warm, cold, warm, cold, warm has my trees so confused.



I am about to lose all my pears, plums, apples, peaches, and more.

Because the weather confused them, and they bloomed months before they should.

And now the freezes are not only ruining all the fbaby fruits...they're doing tree damage.



Tonight it's supposed to get down to 15 here, and last night it was almost as bad. Plus DH fell asleep and didn't light the greenhouse heater until 5 am. I lost all my cutting rootings for Spring...not to mention my tropicals are questionable as to whether they'll live.

Yeah, I'm in a real good mood about Feb.





Maryjane

W Ga

Zone 8a

Steve, so sorry to hear of your problems. This weather is crazy. I can't believe we had snow! But you have 10 more hummers than I have so I guess we're even. Actually that puts you way ahead.
Maryjane, I don't know what to say. I hate to hear that you lost your cuttings. I hate to see hard work go to waste. Hopefully some of the fruit trees make out o.k. I guess we're all at the mercy of nature.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

Hey....not many answers to this question for poor Joan!! I checked this out expecting to see all kinds of nice pretty pictures from all the nice Southerners!!!! Guess winter has been pretty brutal to most of us. I'm just hoping these still frozen mounds of snow made a nice blanket of insulation to protect whatever out there is strong enough to survive. I went out back a few days ago to take some extra protection off a few plants since it finally made it in the high 20's & snow was over my knees!! Even with a couple of days over 32, it hardly seemed to budge.

BUT!!!!!! This weekend should finally put a dent in it. Almost 50!!! Break out the shorts & tees!!! ha ha ha

Joni
Elwood, IL
Zone 5

Well this southern gal has frozen daffodils. Like MaryJane I am in a deep feeze. Last night and tonight are supposed to the the worst nights. It will just be a wait and see situation for me to see what has survived the freezes.

Alabama Power isn't used to having this much demand on the power stations and I am just praying that we keep power. We have to leave the water running outside so I hooked up a sprinkler. Can't wait to see what that part of the lawn looks like in the morning. The water was freezing before dark.


Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

I could list quite a few plants that are currently in flower, but that would give a rather false impression. Many of the plants have just a few flowers and hummers aren't using them. Those that are best and getting usage are: Ugly Shrimp Plant [Justicia brandegeana], purple Firespike [Odontonema strictum], Aloe 'Blue Elf', Salvia mexicana 'Dan Lane', Turk's Cap [Malvaviscus pendulaflora], and Abutilon pictum. Odontonema callistachyum is just coming into good flower but I have not seen any hummers using it. Red Firespike [Odontonema strictum] has a few flowers remaining and they are used. Salvia subrotunda and Salvia coccinea are blooming very modestly, but hummers seek the flowers out. Baja Fairy Duster [Calliandra californica] is blooming nicely, but I have seen little activity.

A light freeze, forecast for last night, mercifully failed to materialize, leaving most of the yard nice and green. Most of the large Cupheas have been burned by the cold though a few feeble flowers persist.

Six hummers of 4 species are present as of this morning - 1 Buff-bellied, 3 Ruby-throateds, 1 Black-chinned, and 1 Rufous. The Rufous is banded but not color-marked. She appears only when cold temperatures prevail so she must be living in the neighborhood but not in the yard. This morning, she used a feeder for the first time. She also was the first hummer I've seen using the fountain that was installed last June! Other birds have made good use of the accessory so it has been well worth the considerable investment.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9