Hummingbird Pollinators

Hummingbird Pollinators

NOTE this article was reduced to fit the format for Meetup.com

By Diana Wind (wind)
June 16, 2009
There are many reasons to create a hummingbird habitat in your yard and gardens, besides the enjoyment gained from watching the antics of these special little birds. Hummingbirds also spread flowering plant pollen necessary to produce vital greens, fruits, vegetables and grains.

Hummingbirds bring great enjoyment to gardeners. I can still remember the day we set out our first feeder. On this special occasion I invited my mother over and we set up a few lawn chairs to watch the event. What a disappointment it was when nothing happened and our feeder didn't attract a single hummer! But I didn't give up. After reading a few books and discovering the best ways to attract hummingbirds, I realized our yard didn't have any of their favorite plants.

After planting some hummingbird-friendly plants, sure enough, they began to appear. I'll never forget how exciting it was to see our first visitors.

Top 10 Hummingbird Blooms

This list is not in any order of preference; they are all hummingbird favorites. These selections are in the breeding range of ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris), in the East and Midwest.

1: trumpet vine,*


Trumpet Creeper, Campsis radicans

zones 4a-10b, red/orange, orange, or yellow blooms; can be invasive

#2: trumpet honeysuckle,*


Coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens

zones 5a-10b; several cultivars include: 'Blanche Sandman', 'John Clayton', 'Cedar Lane'

#3: Monarda,* Bee Balm


perennial herb with a culinary bonus: Leaves make tea and blooms are edible in salads and cakes!

zones 4a-9b; several bloom colors, cultivars and species

Monarda didyma is known as Oswego Tea;cultivars include scarlet 'Jacob Cline' and 'Gardenview Scarlet'

#4: Salvia, Sage


many cultivars and species to pick from including S. coccinea cultivars like 'Coral Nymph' or S. guaranitica cultivars 'Costa Rica Blue' and 'Black and Blue'

#5: Canada lily,* Meadow Lily, Lilium canadense


zones 3a-9b, 36-48 inches tall, bloom colors include red, orange, bright yellow; fragrant

#6 cigar plant,* Firecracker plant (Cuphea ignea)


zones 8a-11, tender perennial/shrub; there are also other species

#7: spotted jewelweed,*


Touch-Me-Knot, Impatiens capensis

#8: cardinal flower,* Lobelia cardinalis -


zones 2a-9b; 24-36 inches tall; bloom colors: wine, red, white. Cultivars include: 'Shrimp Salad', 'Compliment Scarlet', 'Alba'; prefers moist soil

Fuchsia triphylla 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt', Catawba Rhododendron*, Rhododendron 'Catawbiense Grandiflorum' (there are a few other cultivars too)

Pinxter Azalea , Rhododendron canescens

Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata (several cultivars)

Cape Fuchsia, Phygelius - several species and cultivars

#9: Agastache


Agastache foeniculum or Anise hyssop - perennial herb with a bonus: The leaves are great in recipes (cakes) and goldfinches love the seeds!

#10: red buckeye*, Aesculus pavia

tree; zones 4a-9b

several cultivars, including 'Atrosanguinea' and 'Humilis'

The best way to attract hummingbirds is to include some of these hummingbird favorites in a hummingbird habitat garden.

Ingredients for a Hummingbird Habitat

Provide energy (nectar) with some of those favorite flowering plants and maybe a few hummingbird feeders.
Go Green - that is, avoid use of harmful sprays and poisons since hummers frequently rub up against blooms and eat insects for protein, providing food and nutrition.

Add a water source.

Leave spider webs and old trees with lichen on them (hummingbirds use lichen and spider webs in their nests).
This sets the stage for your hummingbird visitors. Now get ready to welcome your little 3- to 4-inch (7- to 9-cm) guests that weigh a mere 0.07 to 0.21 ounces (2 to 6 g).
Hummingbird Pollinators

Bird Pollination

Bird pollination (ornithophily) occurs in over 60 flowering plant families [1] and is often studied to learn more about evolutionary pollination shifts -- for example, between bees and birds, and how flowers' features and attraction mechanisms (color, size, shape and scent) and genetics have been changing over time.

Bird pollinators include American orioles (Icteridae) and honeycreepers in the tanager family (Thraupidae); however, the major groups of bird pollinators are hummingbirds (Trochilidae), sunbirds (Nectariniidae) and honey-eaters (Meliphagidae).

Sunbirds are found in Asia and Africa, Honey-eaters in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. In general, bird pollination does not occur in Europe and Asia, north of the Himalayas. Hummingbirds mainly breed in South America and north, to Alaska. Their North America migration is an amazing annual event often tracked on various websites, as people report when they first see birds in their area.

Why Pollination is Needed

Plant reproduction by pollination is necessary for life, resulting in a continuous supply of greens, grains, fruits, berries, and vegetables -- food for man and animals.

The reproductive plant parts utilized in pollination are most apparent in a lily. The lily picture (shown) is from my garden journal. Despite the small type size try to focus on the reproductive parts of the flower. Studying your flower blooms is a botany lesson all in itself.

Pollination occurs when pollen grains from the anthers (the male part of the plant) reach the female stigma that leads to an ovary. The pollen is transferred when small mammals such as bats or animals such as birds (including hummingbirds), butterflies, moths, bees, beetles, or other insects, rub against the blossoms anthers and get pollen on their bodies, which they then carry to the stigma of a nearby similar plant. Most flowering plants rely on animal pollinators; some rely on wind to carry the pollen.

Attraction to Red

Ornithophilous blooms are often red and unscented; they play a role in attracting birds and deterring bees (bees can't see red) to pollinate them.[3] Nectar gives energy to the birds and is their reward for pollinating the blooms. Hummers visit all color blooms, but have evolved to especially be attracted to nectar-rich reds.

Has anyone had any particular success with any of these plants in the central florida area?

Yes I personally have salvia, firecrackers and buckeyes in my own yard and they all do great! I see hummingbirds and butterflies regularly. I have a hummingbird feeder hanging but they always go to the flowers I have never even seen one go to the feeder.