Is anyone not seeing hummers using there plants? Granted many of my plants have scattered blooms but they are groupled so that it at least looks like there is a lot of blooms. I even hoped hat the pot I purchased yesterday would be a lure since there are oodles of blooms on it and some plants are loaded with blooms but I may as well have saved all my money this year.

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

Penny --- Are you saying that you are not seeing hummers or that they are not useing the plants? Here, I dont have a lot in bloom but what is in bloom is being used, b and b in particularly, but the surprise to me is the attention given agas. rupistris , maybe because those are blooming so much better this year. I am a bit disappointed that I have not seen them use the petite delight or the new lucifer as yet.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I am not the one to respond because once the greggii and microphylla bloom got heavy the feeder came down and stayed down. Currently they are working the mass planting of Salvia Scarlet Spires heavily, especially in the afternoon and evening when the coccineas have gone dry. They are also hitting the other usual suspects like the Cuphea , subrotunda and Nicotiana and still after the Coral Bells. When I return from vacation I pop up a feeder or two because hummingbird numbers are rising fast now that we're in mid July and I don't want to lose customers.

Steve, at Palmyra a patch of Agastache Desert Sunrise is getting heavy use. There are 150 Agastache to choose from and other than occasional use of Tuttii Fruttii all the action is on Desert Sunrise. The only difference is that these plants are exceptional examples and maybe really healthy established plants produce more and better nectar - it seems a reasonable inference.

Well if I am up and outside before dawn actually starts to break I do usually see a male just as the sky is first starting to lighten but he goes to the feeder and then he is off. Then that is about it for the day. Once in a while I see him again about 15 min. later but no more after that. Salvia greggii Pink Perfection is loaded with bloom and so is the Stampede series. Not all plants are blooming or even blooming well but some are. Coral honeysuckle probably still has some aphids but it is blooming really well now. My largee David Verity is loaded with blooms, Stachys coccinea is loaded with blooms, Jacob's Cline is going strong but still nothing. I guess this phenomeon is only affecting my yard.

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

Ward --- Yes I have to agree with your thought on mature plants and nectar. It seems to be playing out here in my small garden. My blue ensign are getting bigger and bigger their height already surpassing any black and blue but not yet throwing out any flower shoots.

One other thing I want to mention before I forget ,,,,, again. When I was over at a fairly local nursery that other day they had the largest black and blue plant I have ever seen or imagined. Not that tall but the thing must have been 4ft in diam. To top that off they had it in a pot. Just part of their landscape not a for sale item. I was certainly wowed by that.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

It sounds like it is just the habit of a particular bird. After all the work you've done in the garden you have every right to take the feeder down and make him go to your plants - you might see more of him. You might also check the neighborhood for other feeders. Once you find them you can return at night and take them down. If nothing else it would make an interesting crime story that I am sure we'd all follow with interest.

I almost wish there were other feeders around. I think the neighbor behind me has a feeder but haven't seen it at all this year. He is hell bent on using the red stuff. No one else within a few miles has a feeder and no one else has hummer plants...mostly hostas, daylilies and impatiens (very lazy gardeners. I thought my population last year was poor but this year it is nearly non existant. I have only seen a female once in the pat two weeks.

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

Penny-- It truly is hard to figure with all the good plants you have why more arent attracted to your yard. I just dont have a lot in bloom right now , so its mainly feeder usage right now. I truly hope my agas heather queen does something soon looks like it might be about ready to send out some flower stalks or whatever it does, havent had it before.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

The birds are behaving strangely this year. The male comes only for a few minutes just before dark. There is a female who is coming a little more regularly for the past couple of days. I took down the backyard feeders as I am not able to change them on the proper schedule, so they are hitting the few blooming plants.

Priya
Zone 7, Maryland

Adult female behavior in my yard is indicating that breeding might be over for the year, at least for some of them. Instead of the quick dash and feed they are hanging around. It isn't too late for them to nest one more time, no quite, so maybe my interpretation is wrong. The veggie garden male actually let a female get away with a slow feed just last night, almost polite behavior for a breeding male hummingbird. His good manners didn't last, later in the evening he was after anything that moved.

This weather or whatever has caused a lot of my plants to be way behind most of what they were last year. For instance my tutti frutti that were my pride and joy last year are about two weeks behind this year, but one today that had maybe half a dozen open blooms were checked out by by one bloom happy male untill another ran him off. My blue ensign which are extremely healthy and tall still have not shot out any bloom stalks. Is everything going to be so far behind this year because of the lack of warmth. Im worried about some of my plants being ready for august which is just around the corner. Im also still hoping for my heather queen to blossom also. Guess Im just over anxious.

Update: After another thorough examination I see one blue ensign is starting a flower stalk, its about time not very big maybe two inches but it is a start. Just need to get rid of this cold front. Some of you may remember when I got these there were two and I split one and third is doing fine not quite as tall as the others but It will be fine.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Penny, You're not the only one.  My garden is packed with hummingbird favorites but I only very occasionally catch sight of one nectaring from a planting. I figure they're out there sometimes and I'm not seeing them. I'd really enjoy seeing them using the blooms I feel like I've worked so hard to provide for them!! August might be better during migration.

Linda V
Connecticut zone 6b

I have seen more natural feedings in the last 2 or 3 days, but I just dont have a lot of stuff in bloom right now, maybe in another 2-3 weeks everythng planted will be better, tutti fruitti just starting , black and blues coming on , subrotunda way behind, blue ensign just starting, cuphea shumanni just starting, come on sunshine and heat.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Penny,

We're not sure exactly what's going, but it could be the cold temperatures. I am not a botanist, but nectar production can definitely be slowed by cold weather. Although I must say that Wisconsin has experienced the coldest temperatures in the nation (even Alaska is warmer than us!) but we are still seeing hummers use a lot of flowers, particularly Bee Balm (maybe Bee Balm being native to our area is not as affected by the cold as some of the tropical plants) and Salvia greggii, which as we know, loves cool temperatures and blooms best then.

I must say though that when temperatures were up in the 80's that we never saw a hummingbird go anywhere near a feeder and yesterday and today they are using feeders a lot more. The hummers are definitely conserving their energy in the cold by not bothering with anything except Bee Balm and Salvia greggii.

Let us know if this trend changes for you as the weather warms.





Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

OK, I recant. Just hours after I responded that I hadn't seen any Hummers nectaring on flowers, I've seen them on cuphea David Verity, cardinal lobelia, butterfly bush, coral porter weed, and cape fuchsia. It's nice to know that the work and care on the plants are worth it .

Linda V
Connecticut zone 6b

congratulations Linda V!

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

I don't get many hummers and they mostly use the feeder. I did see a male at my hanging fuchsia basket last week, but I have not seen any checking out the bee balm or lady in red salvia. This summer is the first time I've ever thought about hummer plants, though, so I don't have much to offer. Next year I want to plant more lady in red, black and blue, coral honeysuckle, and maybe something else.

Zone 5a
East-central Iowa