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Post by marilynh on May 15, 2009 6:51:25 GMT -5
I have put out some new plants hopefully to attract some hummers. I planted some Mexican Sunflowers, Coral Honeysuckle, Mystic Spire Blue Salvia and a Powder Puff. Hopefully when the hummers migrate back to this area these plants will help attract them.
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Post by Steve Backes on May 16, 2009 10:55:06 GMT -5
Marilyn,
I'm not sure how beneficial the mexican sunflower will be for the hummingbirds but any color helps. I just acquired a mystic spires after my hummingbirds left so I can't attest to its usefulness but the powderpuff and honeysuckle are proven hummingbird attractors.
I always tell people who ask me if 'they can plant flowers that aren't red', to plant whatever they want. You should include some that are red, preferably in large clumps, but everything doesn't have to be a "hummingbird plant". I've seen yards with one or two clumps of red tubular flowers and little else flowering that hosted a hummingbird or two. That said, you may have less room to play if you intend on attracting more than a couple at a time. The art is in making the yard pleasing to both you and your hummers.
I had at least 10 resident hummers in my yard prior to the freezes last year but I've devoted most of my yard to the hummingbirds and have landscaped to create micro-territories. Feeders are a necessity under this circumstance. After the freeze, I hosted at least 20 hummers using about that many feeders. My yard is also host to numerous butterfly species and their larval food sources. There is always room to plant what you want in and around the hummingbird's plants.
Steve
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Post by marilynh on May 16, 2009 16:53:26 GMT -5
Steve,
I have tried feeders and the one and only hummer I had wanted no part of it. When my firespike was damaged by the frost we had the hummer quit coming to my yard. I have 4 firespike plants in my yard but not one of them has bloomed since the frost. I have given them some fertilizer but this has not helped. I also had a pineapple sage that it liked but my lawn person sprayed some weed killer near it and it is struggling to hold on. Most of the plant has died.
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Post by Steve Backes on May 16, 2009 17:55:17 GMT -5
The red Firespike only blooms until late winter. I've got a couple of different varieties of purple firespike that bloom later. The red one that is common in Florida is Odontonema strictum. I have a purple variety of this one which was still blooming until a couple of weeks ago. The other purple firespike that I have is Odontonema callistachyum. That's the flower that the young Ruby-throat is perched on in this picture:  I received 6 inch cuttings of both of these in the mail two years ago. They rooted easily and were great plants until the freezes this past winter. One of each survived the freeze and continued blooming throughout the season. I'm trying a pineapple sage again. I had one for a couple of years after moving in to my house in 2000. It wasn't planted where I regularly looked and not near a hose so I eventually lost it due to drought and neglect. |
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Post by marilynh on May 17, 2009 17:44:27 GMT -5
I had to order the pineapple sage from the internet. I think I ordered it from someone on e-bay. Right now I am trying to find a weed killer that I can use around my plants that won't kill the plants also as it's too hard for me to do a lot of weeding.
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Post by Steve Backes on May 17, 2009 18:30:48 GMT -5
I found a lot of plants at the USF Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Festival last month that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. The key is to find a fairly large private nursery. They're the ones that will have the variety. The marts and hardware stores have a better selection than in the past and you never know what surprises they'll offer but you can't beat a good privately owned nursery.
If you, or anyone for that matter, are in my neighborhood, you're welcome to cuttings/seeds/plants/etc. I'm in the middle of a major yard clean-up that involves pulling up many good hummer plants. many of them are easily propagated if I weren't removing them.
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Post by marilynh on May 23, 2009 15:30:58 GMT -5
Well I had to pull up my pineapple sage it finally died. Don't know if I want to try it again or just replace it with something else. My firebush has started blooming. Of course the hummers are here to appreciate it. I was down in Ft. Lauderdale a couple of weeks ago and saw a lot of places that large firebush plants. I didn't know that they got as big as those plants were. They were being used as hedges. Mine sure has a long way to go to get that big.
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Post by Steve Backes on May 23, 2009 16:16:13 GMT -5
As I recall, the Pineapple Sage had some special needs to survive the summer. I'll have to watch mine closely. I may start cuttings so I can try them in a few different places, assuming I can get the cuttings to survive.
My Firebushes typically get to around 8 feet tall. The one that was most protected and did not freeze two years ago was probably 12 feet tall before last winter's freeze. When I lived in the apartment with my balcony, a neighbor had one that was as tall as the second floor windows.
Steve
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Post by karindpowell on Dec 7, 2009 12:14:57 GMT -5
I don't see a mention of the humble, easy-to-grow, Red Penta. The hummingbirds that visit me all seem to love it. (Seffner, FL)
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Post by Steve Backes on Dec 7, 2009 14:01:46 GMT -5
You are correct regarding the pentas. They were my first hummingbird plant on my balcony (see the photo at the bottom of the Home page).
Steve
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Post by hummingbird231 on May 24, 2010 21:08:29 GMT -5
Are there different types of firebush, mine is dwarf i think, will it get as big as yours steve? I found powder puff and firecracker on bartow rd at cee jay nursery. I planted them at the back of my yard every other one like a hedge. Got like 10 of each for around 3.50 1 gal pot. Thanks for the post, love to read them.
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Post by Steve Backes on May 27, 2010 12:15:49 GMT -5
The different types of Firebush that I'm familiar with differ mainly in color. The "native" one that I'm most familiar with has an orange flower. The other one that I have has yellow flowers.
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Post by hummingbird231 on Jun 3, 2010 8:39:49 GMT -5
Beautiful picture Steve, how did you insert the photo?
Linda
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Post by Steve Backes on Jun 5, 2010 9:29:31 GMT -5
We have the ability to attach photos into our messages by clicking the "Browse" button to the right of the space on the second row of the "create Post" window: "Attachment:". This button will open a Windows Explorer type window which will allow you to browse your computer to select the the file you wish add to your message. The photo will be inserted into the bottom of the post. We have 200 MB of storage so we ask that you keep the files as small as possible. The maximum size file that can be attached is 1 MB. We currently have only attached 5 photos using 2.4 MB of space. Most of the photos in previous posts have been added using the procedure described here floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=help2&action=display&thread=5Steve Attachments:
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Post by cunzun on Dec 30, 2012 21:51:21 GMT -5
How big is your yard Steve? Also can anyone tell me what plant this is and if is a hummingbird plant?? Thanks imgur.com/ViM6K |
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Post by lilyopath on Dec 30, 2012 22:09:03 GMT -5
It looks like Bolivian Sunset. I don't know if it attracts hummers, but it looks like it would. Very beautiful plant.
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Post by Steve Backes on Dec 30, 2012 22:34:57 GMT -5
Seemannia sylvatica 'Bolivian Sunset' (aka Gloxinia sylvatica) davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53149/My yard is a third of an acre. Fortunately, yards adjacent to me as well as across the street offer similar habitat. |
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Post by Joe M on May 5, 2013 18:56:09 GMT -5
For those that browse this site and wonder about FL plants. This link will give folks a "heads up" on plants that may not be the best choices for your yard and property. The listing gives reason why the plants are not suitable for our state and why you might think twice about buying and planting them. You might even think about removing some plants in your area after finding they may be on the list as I have this past year. www.plantatlas.usf.edu/flip/Joe M. Lakeland |
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