Creating a Hummingbird Haven in Northern California

Grow nectar-rich blooms all year long to attract these entertaining pollinators to your garden

Did you jazz hummingbirds can pilot 40 mile per hour ? Tiny , beautiful , and the only bird that can fly backward , the hummingbird is the humble migrating razz . During its eight - class life span , this industrious small fauna visits up to 2,000 flush a day , sipping nectar from each bloom of youth two to three time per 24-hour interval . While feeding , it pollinates over 300 industrial plant specie and is also a ravenous insect feeder , particularly during nesting season when the protein necessity of the uprise nestlings is highest . For these reasons , hummingbirds are worthful members of a healthy ecosystem . Two California natives , Anna ’s hummingbird and Allen ’s hummingbird , are year - rung residents , while up to 12 other hummingbird coinage spend the spring and summertime months in Northern California before returning to their winter homes in October . Want to attract more of these delightfully entertaining , pest - eradicating pollinators to your garden ? Read on for hints and tips to create a hummingbird haven !

To thrive , hummingbirds must consume twice their consistence weightiness in nectar and insects each daytime . Growing a unwavering supply of hummingbird - attracting blooms is an significant consideration of class , but maintaining an insect - favorable , pesticide - innocent garden is equally important . As well as abundant food sources , hummingbirds need trees or shrubs to provide nesting sites , adequate perches to grant ease between eating , and clean water for bathing and drinking . And they postulate nesting material . hummingbird habituate spider web silk to weave moss and lichen into their nests and to bind their nest to branches . This holds the nest together , but it also allows them to dilate as the chicks grow . So be sure to leave sizable spider webs for these lilliputian nest builders !

Thinking about include a hummingbird tributary ? According to survey done at UC Davis , the panel is still out on whether backyard hummingbird feeders are beneficial or harmful to hummingbirds . However , it ’s been determined that institute both native and foreign-born flowering flora acknowledge to draw hummingbird provides a considerable benefit to the birds .

If starting from lucre , pose your hummingbird garden where both Sunday and shade feature throughout the daylight and where you could get good views of your fly guests from a windowpane , deck , patio , or hammock . If potential , go big . Smaller spaces can be design to efficiently maximize nectar production , but a larger garden accommodate a heavy variety of plants in greater numbers and flush times — all of which bestow more hummingbirds .

Spring- and summertime - flowering hummingbird - friendly annuals and perennial are ample , such as salvia ( Salviaspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–11 ) , hummingbird mints ( Agastachespp . and cvs . , Zones 5–11 ) , Penstemon ( Penstemonspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–10 ) , and zinnias ( Zinnia elegansand cvs . , annual ) . However , it ’s also crucial to include wintertime bloomers for your yr - round of drinks residents . inflorescence tobacco ( Nicotianaspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–10 ) , grevilleas ( Grevilleaspp . and cvs . , Zones 8–10 ) , and ‘ Carmine Bells ’ Australian fuchsia ( Correa‘Carmine Bells ’ , Zones 8–10 ) bloom in my NorCal garden all wintertime long , keep the lasting resident physician hummingbird well nourished .

Plant for overlapping bloom periods twelvemonth - round to ensure a free burning nectar supply and constant visitant . originate your plants in swathes or clusters as multiples make them more visible to hummingbirds than a single plant would be , increasing their motivation to bar and investigate . hummingbird sip from flowers of all colour but intelligibly prefer red , so be certain to let in loss in your garden ’s color pallet . Here are a few more of my own favourite hummingbird - feed plant .

‘Tiger Eye’ flowering maple

Name : Abutilon‘Tiger Eye’USDA Hardiness Zones:9–11Mature size:5 to 8 foot tall by 3 to 5 feet wideBlooming period : springtime through capitulation ; yr - round in frost - free sphere

This vigorous , showy shrub is thoroughgoing for the back of your shaded boundary line , with its sheeny - green leaf and buzzer - shaped , red - veined , apricot - colored blooms dangling decoratively from arching branches . flora in afternoon shade in rich , well - amended soil , and water regularly for best results . This plant life looks just as lovely in a pot as it does in the garden , and it is an fantabulous pick for container gardening . crop back hard once a year .

‘Hot Lips’ salvia

Name : Salvia microphylla‘Hot Lips’Zones:8–10Mature size:3 metrical foot magniloquent by 3 foot wideBlooming period of time : Late spring through fall

Petite , delicately fragrant leaf on ‘ Hot Lips ’ salvia makes the complete backcloth for a throng of two - toned red and lily-white efflorescence , which draw hummingbirds unceasingly from former natural spring through fall . This salvia is easy to arise in full sun and well - drained soil , and it is a colorful , carefree , and drought - tolerant pick for your hummingbird garden . ignore back by as much as half in belated January to encourage vigorous new emergence and profuse flush .

‘Delta Dawn’ heuchera

Name : Heuchera sanguineum‘Delta Dawn’Zones:4–9Mature size:8 to 12 inch tall by 14 inch wideBlooming period : other summertime ; reblooms with unconstipated deadheading

With its wide-ranging leafage colouration ( prosperous lime tree green with a crimson middle and veining ) and vigorous growth habit , this showy , low - growing perennial is undischarged in the shady border or container all year long . Hummingbirds are attracted to the airy nebuliser of midget , bell - mould , lemon - colored heyday that come out in early summer . industrial plant in filtered sun or good afternoon shade , in rich , well - amended soil , and water on a regular basis during wry point .

Thyme-leaved fuchsia

Name : Fuchsia thymifoliaZones:7–9Mature size:3 to 4 understructure tall and wideBlooming menses : fountain through fall

Small , somewhat serrated leaves clothe the arching branches of this dainty - looking , mite - resistant fuchsia . Evergreen in frost - spare areas and deciduous elsewhere , this attractive shrub produces abundant , tiny , sour pinkish fuchsia blossom that hummingbirds adore . Plant thyme - leaved fuchsia in afternoon shade , in rich , well - amended soil , and water lightly but regularly . veer back hard once a class to check plentiful blooms the undermentioned time of year .

— Fionuala Campion is the owner and manager of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma , California .

Fine Gardening Recommended merchandise

implant in a Post - uncivilized World : Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes

ok Gardening receives a mission for item purchased through links on this site , include Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertizing programs .

The Nature of Oaks : The Rich Ecology of Our Most crucial Native Trees

ARS Telescoping Long Reach Pruner

Get our latest tips , how - to clause , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Tips for Creating a Beneficial Insect Haven in Northern California

The Best Spring Annuals to Direct-Sow in Northern California

Deterring Gophers in Northern California

Spectacular Sweet Peas for Northern California

Join o.k. horticulture for a complimentary engaging live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant pathologist as well as prof emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals proficient manager …

When I spot a particular sand one dollar bill cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delightful color approach pattern …

When we only prioritize plant we desire over plants our landscape needs , each time of year is replete with a never - terminate list of chores : pruning , sneak , watering , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden couturier Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to activate on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a duad …

4 Midsummer Favorites From a Plant Breeder’s Garden

Episode 181: Plants You Can’t Kill

Episode 180: Plants with Big, Bold Foliage

4 Steps to Remove Invasive Plants in Your Yard

All Access members get more

Sign up for afree trialand get access to ALL our regional content , plus the rest of the fellow member - only content library .

begin Free Trial

Hummingbirds love spring and summer flowering annuals, like lantana (Lantana camaraand cvs., Zones 10-11).Photo: John Blair

Get complete site accession to expert advice , regional content , and more , plus the photographic print cartridge holder .

begin your FREE run

Already a member?sign in

In addition to annuals and tender perennials, native hummingbirds rely on native perennials like this firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii, Zones 4-8).Photo: Bill Johnson

Hummingbirds love salvia, and red is their favorite color!Photo: John and Nancy Sarpola

‘Elfin Pink’ penstemon

‘Elfin Pink’ penstemon (Penstemon barbatus‘Elfin Pink’, Zones 3–8), with its bright pink blooms, attracts hummingbirds in summer.Photo: Fionuala Campion

Flowering tobacco