July in western PA came in with rain and high temperatures in the 60's and night time temperatures in the 50's. It's raining like the monsoons right now with no sign of quitting. This week is supposed to be gorgeous and comfortable, with temperatures in the 70's, maybe inching up to 80, which is several degrees below average for this time of year. The upside is that flowers are looking fresh and staying in bloom. The downside is that anything that needs heat will continue to develop slowly. On average, it's been a cool, wet summer so far. We missed the full brunt of that heatwave.

Blooming now:

Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt' -- Bought already in bloom from Lowe's and put in the ground
Fuchsia 'Thalia' -- A mail order plant planted out this spring in a pot.
Impatiens walleriana -- Seedlings from the grocery store bought cheap.
Delphinium exaltatum -- A returning perennial
Manettia bicolor -- Bought this spring mail order (blooming when I got it)
Cuphea llavea -- Plain old bat-faced form
Cuphea micropetala -- Had been blooming but stopped.
Salvia guaranitica 'Kobalt' -- A few stalks blooming, but still early
Monarda 'Jacob Kline' -- At its peak. Hummingbirds are buzzing all over it!
Monarda 'Dark Ponticum' -- First 3 flower clusters blooming, with many more to come
Torenia fournierii -- Bought at the grocery store already blooming
Heuchera sanguinea 'Firefly' -- Still blooming but starting to fade
Mimulus cardinalis -- Still blooming, but not as heavily as a week or two ago
Hosta -- Just starting to bloom (time for the deer to make a visit, I'm afraid)
Ruellia brevifolia -- Getting its first blooms--very swollen in shape, petals smaller than elegans
Ruellia elegans -- blooming lightly. I think it could use some warmth and sun.
Penstemon smallii -- Just bought a single plant, already in bloom, from Home Depot
Penstemon pinifolius -- 2 plants blooming nicely. Haven't seen hummingbirds on them, but could have missed it since they're low to the ground and hard to see.
Campsis radicans 'Flava' -- Blooming nicely
Callibrachoa -- Red ones in the ground, purple ones in a hanging pot
Lonicera sempervirens -- In heavy bloom, seems to have shaken off the aphid infestation
Thyme
Salvia greggi 'Pink Preference' -- Bought as plants this spring
Hollyhocks -- Plants that self-sowed

Done or almost done:

Kniphofia 'Flamenco' -- Finished up maybe a week ago
Lilium 'Viva' (Still a couple flowers but on its way out)
Phlox divaricata -- Quit weeks ago
Bleeding Heart -- Quit maybe a couple weeks ago
Penstemon eatonii--Just about done with only a few lingering flowers at the tops of the stalks, which have been beaten almost to the ground by all the rain we've had. If this dry soil lover can survive this season, it can survive anything.

There are a few things showing the earliest signs of flower buds:

Salvia coccinea--The larger of the ones that self sowed are starting to show the very beginnings of buds.
Cat Whiskers (I forget the big, long Latin name) Is showing very small buds just forming.
Lilium superbum--Buds gradually getting larger
Oriental Lilies from KMart -- Buds swelling up. Not a hummingbird flower, but they're near the feeders and hummingbirds love to perch on the huge buds--so cute!
Passiflora incarnata -- Has tiny buds (a plant that overwintered outside, in the ground, close to the house)
Silene regia -- Got deer chomped but have recovered and are very close to blooming

My Ipomoeas are climbing slowly, but not close to flowering. These could really use some sun and warmth.

Agastache 'Tutti Frutti' (local nursery)
Aquilegia canadensis winding down (seed grown)
Fucshia garenmeister bonstedt (local nursery)
Hesperaloe parviflora (gift)
Heuchura (local purchase several years ago 2 new this year)
Lychnis chalcedonica (seed grown)
Monarda 'Jacob's Cline'
Nasturtiums (seed grown)
Penstemon murrayanus (Bustani Plant Farm)
Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'(Local Plant swap last year)
Penstemon barbatus 'Coccinea' (local plant swap
Penstemon 'Elfin Pink' (Local nursery)
Salvia coccinea 'Forest Fire' (seed grown)
Salvia coccinea 'Coral Nymph' (seed Grown)
Salvia greggii 'Pink Perfection' (Bustani Plant Farm)
Salvia greggii Stampede Pink (Lowes)
Salvia greggii 'Furman's Red' (Local Nursery) 1st two blooms
Salvia g 'Black & Blue'
Scuttelaria 'Scooter Carlet'
Deep Blue Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Bustani Plant Farm)
Tritoma uvaria (seed grown)
Weigela (few scattered blooms left)

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

July 3rd. Salvia SL411 has its first 4 blooms

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

Hummingbird flowers blooming in my Wilmington, Delaware garden right now:

Agastache "Acapulco"-something
Salvia guarantica "Black and Blue"
Salvia coccinea "Hummingbird Red"
Salvia greggii "Maraschino"
Salvia greggii "Furman's Red"
Salvia microphylla "San Carlos Festival"
Cuphea "David Verity"
Canna indica - unknown red variety - maybe pure species?
Pentas
Fuchia "Gartenmeister Bonstedt"
Fuchia magellanica - hardy in ground
Abelia "Edward Goucher"
Monarda didyma "Jacob Kline"
Lonicera semprevirens (Red Trumpet Honeysuckle)
Asclepias curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) "Silky Red"
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed) - native variety
Lantana "Miss Huff"
Heuchera (Coral Bells)
Gaura "Siskiyou Pink"
Begonia boliviensis "Firecracker"
Justicia fulvicoma

Some photos from the garden taken this week:

Canna indica - this clump next to my house is hardy in-ground so they start blooming in late June.


Cuphea "David Verity"


Monarda didyma "Jacob Kline" - these must taste awful good because the hummers always love these the most, when they are available!


Lonicera Semprevirens (Red Trumpet Honeysuckle) re-blooming post-aphids


Asclepias curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) "Silky Red" - asclepias are not hummingbird favorites but I've seen them feed from them (or at least taste them)


Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)


Also blooming - but of no interest to hummers...

Magnolia grandiflora (Southern Magnolia) "Brackens Brown Beauty"


Hydrangea "Endless Summer"


Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

This morning (July 4th) first blooms on Stachys coccinea (Texas Betony) and one shrimp plant cutting that I brought back from Florida over Easter. The Shrimp plants are still very small and haven't grown at all but I have two open blooms on one of the plants...now we just need some warm sunshine so they will grow.

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

Just about everything is blooming now, too much to print.
Penny, the Texas Sage has started to bloom although they are still very small. They look similar to LIR. the sun has finally broken through in NJ, Hopefully for good and the plants are loving it! Dancing their little stems off! We still get a shower or 2 everyday, very odd for us. Than the sun comes back out. Its almost like we live in Florida! Although the heat has not been very hot.

Pam NJ 6B

All of my Salvia c. Coral Nymph were blooming (about a dozen) but the goldfinches broke off every single stem and all the stems of the one texas Sage. Now I only have a few scatterd blooms on the Forest fire plants. They haven't bothered the greggiis as much because I think the stems are too thin to support them but they have ruined the coccineas which is the main blooming staple in my garden this year since I am still waiting for honeysuckles to recover and bloom.

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

I think we've been caught up in that same weather pattern as you, Pam. From what you've been saying, we may be a little warmer, and maybe a little less rain. Basically, though, it's been rainier and cooler than normal. We did top out at 88 once when lots of people were well into the 90's, and fortunately that's all the hotter it has gotten.

We've had cloudy spells where all the new growth on all the plants has actually turned a bit yellow. I know it's not a nitrogen deficiency, it's actually a dearth of sunshine! When the sun comes out, the growing tips turn green immediately. I don't know if I can ever remember it being so cloudy, and we live in a cloudy place, east of the Great Lakes, and just west of the mountains. It's gorgeous today--temps in the 70's, and mostly sunny for a change, with the sun dodging in and out of puffy white clouds.

As for what's new, just the oriental lilies from KMart, opening huge yellow blossoms today. They are taller than me, and situated right next to the feeders. I love it when the hummingbirds perch on the huge buds, but I haven't seen them do that this year. I don't think they're a hummingbird lily, but they do provide dramatic contrast to all the shorter things.

My Lobelia siphilitica looks like it's just starting to form flower buds. I got them as plants this spring, and they are very lush and vigorous. I can't wait for them to bloom. I think I got them from Stone Silo. Their plants are large and very high quality, but they don't have a huge selection of hummer plants.

So many of my normal plants appear behind last years big time such as agas tutti frutti, blue ensign, black and blue. But on the other other hand lady in red is really showing her stuff and coral honeysuckle agas cana and rupistris. Im sure all of these will be doing what they need to in august when migration is in full swing. Maybe its all the rain playing havoc with my garden, but at least Im glad my coral honeysuckle is doing super.

Next year [unless I see something different] I will replace monarda and agas rupistris as they dont seem to be used at all. I may replace those with more greggii plants and others.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

As of July 7th one of the two Salvia greggii Navaho Purples that was started this year from seed is blooming and it is stunning.

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

July 10th New bloomers
Agastache rupestris
Cuphea ignea 'David Verity' first bloom
Million Bells recovered from too much rain & cold finally blooming well
first Tithonia bloom today


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

NOTHING , our weather has been terrible, no rain at all, i have to water every day and still that is not enough to keep any flowers

Noemi,
I can certainly understand your frustration. We had an extremely dry spring which delayed blooms on many plants even with watering. Several of my spring bloomers never even bloomed this year. Now we are at the other end of the spectrum. Cool to cold temps with several days of rain at a time and very little sunshine. Today will be in the mid 80's but then back down to the 50's at night and 70's during the day after that

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

Interesting. I'm in western PA and we've had wet weather most of the time except recently it has started to get drier and I've needed to water more.

Salvia coccinea--New, as of yesterday, the first few blooms have opened. These plants self sowed, which is fortunate given that I lost all my indoor coccinea seedlings from all the cloudy, cold, wet weather this spring and early summer. The plants aren't anywhere near full size yet, maybe only a foot tall at best for some of the bigger ones. Give 'em a few weeks, and they should do well.

Ipomopsis--A self sown plant had reached 3 feet in height and was getting flower buds, but these were promptly chomped by a deer! I have other very small seedlings which probably won't bloom until late August or early September.

Penstemon eatonii--Just a few lingering blossoms at the tip, and setting seed like crazy. I collected a few seeds yesterday.

Penstemon pinifolius is also starting to set seed, and continues to bloom and spread somewhat as it settles in. This is their second year and I look forward to them increasing in size and hope they survive to return next year.

Lilium superbum--opened its one and only blossom on July 14th. Those rotten deer ate all the other ones.