Hummingbird Plants

Coming again for 2022! The Coral Firecracker Fern produces loads of 1" salmon tubular flowers that are born in large loose clusters along the arching ferny stems throughout the warmer months of the year or nearly year round where winters are mild. Excellent for Hummingbirds! Plant it with the red and yellow for a colorful combination. This is a durable and long-lived, clump forming perennial that requires little additional care once well-established. The Firecracker Fern has excellent heat and sun tolerance as well as moderate drought resistance once well-established. It is even listed as being suitable for xeriscaping. Firecracker Fern, Russelia equisetiformis, is listed as a Texas A&M Outstanding Coastal Plant as it has excellent resistance to soil and wind born salts, though it could use some protection from harsh, drying winds. It is also an RHS Award of Garden Merit selection. It can be used as a low informal hedge, allow it to spill over walls, enjoy it as a hanging basket, window box, or container specimen, as well as in mixed container gardens. Item# 992

Clusters of red to coral, 2" long, tubular flowers are produced beginning in late winter and early spring and continue cyclically through summer and into fall attracting mainly hummingbirds but potentially other pollinators. The Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, deciduous to semi-evergreen, twining, woody vine growing to about 10' high and is cloaked in bluish-green to medium green, rounded foliage. Flowers are followed by 1/4" red berries that are a treat for songbirds. This is a mannerly and manageable Honeysuckle, unlike its white and yellow flowered Japanese cousin, and will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8-10' arbor, trellis, or post. Few other native woody vines can boast such a long flowering season as the Coral Honeysuckles making them our #1 pick for attracting hummingbirds. Provide a sunny, average moist, well-drained site for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Item# 1171

1/2" wide coral pink to orange flowers adorn the long spike-like flowering stems that are held above the foliage and the plants flower from spring to first frost or year round under warm frost free conditions. The nectar laden flowers are seemingly in constant use by hummingbirds, butterflies, and larger bees from just after dawn to near dusk. Coral Porterweed, Stachytarpheta mutabilis, is a vigorous growing, heat and sunloving, herbaceous shrubby tropical growing to about 4-5' high and wide by the end of summer. Porterweeds are a mainstay of butterfly houses due to their reliable and ample nectar production and it is an important nectar source for many overwintering hummingbirds in Central and South America. This species is also known as Pink Porterweed, Orange Porterweed, Pink Snakeweed. Item# 372

A 2012 American Rhododendron Society Rhododendron of the Year award winner! The glowing clear red flowers of Coronado Red Evergreen Azalea are produced in spring and again in fall on this compact growing, rounded, small evergreen shrub which matures to about 3-4' high and wide. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Item# 10203

Correll's False Dragonhead is a rare but wonderful, seemingly more refined garden species that is as vigorous as it is beautiful. The dense spikes of purplish-pink, tubular, often speckled, flowers are held atop sturdy, 3' high stems in summer. Like most other Physostegias, Correll's False Dragonhead does spread by large rhizomes even in average soils. The leaves of this species are toothed, widest in the middle, sessile, and are almost always a rich dark green. Item# 10236.

Crushed Coral Mamou Bean produces tall spikes of dark coral pink, 2-3" tubular flowers in late spring and early summer atop sturdy stems that are held well above the foliage of this tough native perennial. The Mamou Bean is a drought tolerant and hardy shrublet that freezes back to the ground to return in spring. The flowers are followed by dark colored bean pods that split open to display their brilliant red-orange beans that can remain on the plant all winter. Excellent for Hummingbirds. Crushed Coral Mamou Bean is an Almost Eden exclusive introduction. Caterpillar host: Holly Blue. Item# 10751

Huge 18-24" long spikes of deep coral-red to red-orange, 2" long pea-like flowers are produced in cycles throughout the warmer months of the year on new growth. The specialized flowers are designed for hummingbird pollination but may also be visited by larger bees and occasional butterflies. The Crybaby or Cockspur Coral Tree, Erythrina crista-galli, is considered to be one of the most cold hardy and free flowering of the Coral Trees. This is a rarely available and highly desirable fast-growing, heat and sunloving, deciduous tropical tropical tree to large shrub growing to about 15-20' high in zones 9B-10 but is typically closer to 10' high in zones 8B-9A. Once well-established, the plants are somewhat drought resistant and are slightly salt tolerant. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in an average moist to moist , fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Protect young plants from harsh freezing temperatures until the trunk becomes woody and has grown to about 5-6" diameter if planting out in zone 8B-9A. Young plants can be overwintered indoors in a warm sunny window until they get to an appropriate size for planting out. The huge flower clusters are utilized as cutflowers in its native range and it is also the national tree of Argentina, the national flower of both Uruguay and Argentina, and is the city tree of Los Angeles as it makes a fantastic, low-maintenance street tree. A Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit Award winner for its reliablity and flower power. Item# 9137

1" long tubular fiery orange flowers are produced throughout the growing season on compact well-branched plants attracting low flying hummingbirds, larger butterflies and especially Sulphurs, and potentially bees. Cubano™ Presidente Cigar Plant, a hybrid Cuphea similar to the perennially popular David Verity, was selected for its more refined compact 10-12"H habit making it an excellent filler in mixed container gardens or use it in specimen containers, as well as a colorful addition to the sunny garden and landscape. Cupheas are heat and sunloving tropicals with excellent flower power and will perform best in a full to mostly sunny, average moist, fertile soil. Images courtesy of Danziger, all rights reserved. Item# 13313

New for 2023! The large pink flowers are subtely two-toned with lighter pink lower lips complementing the near fuchsia colored hood and tube all borne from darker tinged spikes and calyxes and are produced from spring to fall. Cuello Pink Salvia, a hybrid developed by the UK's Salvia guru David Dyson of Dyson's Nurseries, was selected for its profusion of sweetly colored flowers, reliability, and bushy habit making it a useful container specimen as well as a colorful addition to a sunny garden or landscape. The flowers attract hummingbirds, larger bees, and the occasional butterfly. In areas where hard freezes do not occur, this sage may develop a shrubby semi-woody base, while in zone 8 and colder, established plants act more like herbaceous perennials dying back to near ground level and returning in early spring. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in well-drained, average moist, fertile soils for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13149

Elegant, pure white, 3" wide hibiscus flowers seemingly glow against the foil of exceptionally dark green tropical foliage. Dainty White Hibiscus is a non-stop bloomer that puts on a show practically throughout the year and barely even slows down only for the shortest and coolest days of winter. This vigorous Hibiscus has an upright to spreading growth habit and makes a beautiful specimen plant whether grown as a shrub or a small tree standard. Dainty White is almost constantly visited by a variety of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Caterpillar host: Gray hairstreak. Item# 379.

The flower clusters open a deep golden orange, deepen through fiery orange-red, and finally mature to a brilliant deep red attracting a variety of butterflies, bees, and the occasional hummingbird. Dallas Red Lantana has long been one of the best large growing red Lantanas on the market and is a vigorous plant growing to about 3' high and 4-5' wide by the end of the growing season in zone 8B and may become larger in areas with milder winters. It seem to produce few seeds and so it spends the majority of its energy on flowering. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average to well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 9946

Clusters of red, 2" long, tubular flowers may be produced nearly year-round on mature plants, if they are left unpruned, and attract mainly hummingbirds but potentially other pollinators as well. Dan's Everblooming Coral Honeysuckle, an SFA selection of Lonicera sempervirens, is a deciduous to semi-evergreen, twining, native, woody vine cloaked in bluish-green to deep green rounded foliage and grows to about 10' high. Flowers are typically followed by 1/4" bright red berries that are a treat for songbirds. In 2025 we had snow in January and a few flower clusters were open even then and by mid-February it was on its way to nearly full flower. This is a mannerly and manageable Honeysuckle that will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8-10' arbor, trellis, or post. Few other native woody vines can boast such a long flowering season as the Coral Honeysuckles making them our #1 pick for attracting hummingbirds. Provide a sunny, average moist, well-drained site for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Item# 9729

Dense whorls of nectar rich, purple to dark blue-purple, tubular flowers seemingly cover up the upper most portions of the plant for weeks beginning in mid to late summer and continuing into fall. Dark Knight Bluebeard, a.k.a. Black Knight, is a vigorous and easy sunloving free-flowering clump forming shrub-like perennial that quickly develops into a dense mound of fragrant and deer resistant gray-green foliage. In zones 5-6 it tends to act more like a clump forming die-back perennial and becomes more shrub-like where winters are milder although it benefits from hard late winter or early spring pruning since it flowers on new growth. Somewhat drought resistant once well-established and prefers a sunny site in a well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12117

The nectar rich, 1" long, tubular, fiery orange flowers are tipped in white to yellow and are produced throughout the growing season to potentially year-round under tropical conditions attracting mainly hummingbirds but also bees and butterflies. David Verity Cigar Plant is considered a hybrid of Cuphea micropetala and C. ignea, and whose popularity has far exceeded that of either parent, thanks to its exceptional flower power, vigor, and reliability. This is a heat and sun loving, naturally evergreen, shrub-like tropical with a somewhat upright vase-shaped to rounded habit commonly growing to 3-5' high and equally wide. It is considered reliably root hardy into zones 7B-8 with a proper mulch, where well-established plants typically return from the previous season's crown in spring. While David Verity thrives in the heat and sun of summer, it flowers well even in partial sun. Provide an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Easily one of our most recommended hummingbird plants! Item # 361

Large, rounded clusters composed of nearly 1" wide, fragrant, pure white flowers sit atop sturdy stems in summer and are sure to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. David's Garden Phlox has exceptional disease resistance and was selected as the 2002 Perennial Plant of the Year. Garden Phlox is also known as Summer Border Phlox or Fall Phlox, it is a hardy clump forming, upright growing herbaceous perennial found throughout much of the eastern and central US. Item# 10830.

Spikes of comparatively large, two-lipped tubular flowers are a brilliant dayglow pink with a contrasting small white throat and are produced from late spring or summer into fall attracting hummingbirds, larger bees, and occassional butterflies. Dayglow Salvia is new to the US in 2021, an Autumn Sage and Littleleaf Sage hybrid, with a long flowering habit, sturdy disposition and a naturally upright to rounded habit. This shrub-like perennial may remain evergreen in mild winter climates, like zones 9B-10, but acts like a die-back perennial where temperatures fall much below about 30^oF. Perfectly suited for use as a low-maintenance container specimen or add it to a sunny garden or landscape for traffic stopping, summer-long color. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in well-drained, average moist, fertile soils for maximum flower power. Item# 12550

Masses of deep brick red trumpet shaped flowers nearly cover up this vine in spring or early summer just in time for arriving hummingbirds. It's almost like the two coordinate it or something! The red Dragon Lady Crossvine is a vigorous evergreen to semi-evergreen clinging vine(it does so via pads on the end of its tendrils and so is not destructive to brickwork and masonry) that can easily clamber up or along masonry, tree bark, fences, or other structural supports on its own. Crossvines are a low maintenance choice for fences, posts, arbors, and larger trellises. The deep red trumpet shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators. The foliage takes on purple and burgundy coloration throughout the cooler months when grown in full to mostly sunny conditions. Dragon Lady Crossvine is reported to be a slightly more cold hardy selection and was chosen as the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's Gold Medal Award winner in 2003. Item# 391

Clusters of fiery-orange tubular flowers are seemingly borne continuously from mid to late spring to fall, where grown as a die-back perennial, to potentially nearly year-round under warm tropical conditions attracting mainly hummingbirds but also larger butterflies. The Dwarf Mexican Firebush, Hamelia patens var. glabra 'Nana', is a naturally evergreen, heat and sunloving, tropical shrub that acts like a die-back perennial returning from the crown in spring in areas where freezes occur. This compact form of the Mexican Firebush lends it to use in smaller spaces and containers as well as in the garden and landscape. The Dwarf Mexican Firebush appears to be just as hardy as the standard larger growing form and we have seen it take temperatures as low as 8^oF with no problems carrying its hardiness well into zone 8. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and continuous flowering. Item# 403

1/4" deep red flowers adorn the tall, wispy, elongating flower spikes from spring to frost attracting a variety of butterflies, hummingbirds, and larger bees. The Dwarf Red Porterweed, Stachytarpheta microphylla, is the most compact species of Porterweed that we grow and can potentially reach 3' high and 2' wide by the end of the growing season. The well-branched plants are adorned in smooth, medium green to nearing gray-green, rounded foliage. Its smaller stature lends it to use as a container plant to bring the pollinators in close or add them to the garden and landscape for low maintenance, summer long color. These are heat and sunloving tropicals and the hotter and sunnier it is the happier they seem to be, but can still grow and flower well in a partly shaded site. Provide a well-draining, fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 407

The sweetly contrasting bicolor flowers are composed of two large soft shell pink lower petals and a bright rosy pink tube and hood all emerging from maroon tinged calyxes and spikes. Dyson's Joy Salvia, or simply Joy Salvia, is likely a selection or hybrid of Salvia greggii or Autumn Sage, and develops into a compact rounded plant growing to about 2' x 2' that can be enjoyed as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. The brightly colored flowers attract low flying hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and other pollinators with its nectar rich flowers. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions and never keep soggy wet. An RHS Award of Garden Merit winner! Photos courtesy of New World Plants, LTD., all rights reserved. Item# 13140

The large rounded clusters of deep orange and gold buds open to sunny yellow, fragrant flowers that attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds in early spring atop the bare stems. Earl's Gold Deciduous Azalea, an Earl Sommerville hybrid, develops into an upright to rounded, medium to large deciduous shrub well suited to bright woodland settings but will also thrive in full sun under good conditions. Like the Aromi hybrids, the Earl Sommerville hybrids show excellent tolerance to the heat and humidity of the Southeastern US. Sometimes still fondly referred to as Wild Honeysuckle Bushes, these nativars will do best in an average moist, well-drained, fertile, acidic soil from partial shade to full sun conditions. Topdress with an organic mulch like pinestraw, a.k.a. pine needles, or pine bark. Item# 13290