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Post by lukerjedi on May 21, 2014 10:33:13 GMT -5
My wife is going to kill me. I just got back with more plants to put in the ground...and I'm running out of space quickly. So far I've planted the following: 3 coral honeysuckle, 20 firebush, 4 belize sage, 2 black and blue salvia, 6 red firespike, 3 lavender firespike, 2 Rangoon creeper vines, 2 yellow elder bush/trees, 10 cuphea (candy corn), 8 tall red pentas, 2 coral porterweed, 2 jatropha bushes, 2 firecracker bushes, 6 scarlet sage, several butterfly milkweed and 4 chapel faye sage. Just got home with 4 more firebush, 2 more cuphea, 2 more belize sage, 2 pineapple sage. I haven't seen a hummingbird in over a week now, but I was seeing them before I added the new plants.
I tried to include a picture, but the file was too large from my phone? I live in West Orlando.
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Post by lukerjedi on May 26, 2014 11:13:25 GMT -5
I see one ruby throat from time to time, but I can never seem to get one to stick around. I also just planted another porterweed (blue) and 4 more firebush. I have many blooming flowers, but no consistency on the hummers.
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Post by Debbie on May 31, 2014 22:58:24 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, I live in east Orlando. I find it difficult to find a good selection of nectar plants. At what nursery/nurseries did you find your plants ? I am usually seeing one or two rubythroated hummingbirds each morning.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 2, 2014 20:51:24 GMT -5
Hello there...so we do have life on the board after all. Biosphere in Winter Garden has all the plants I listed and many more. I am wondering if my plants are tall enough for the hummers? Most of my plants are about 1-2 feet from the ground. I have only seen the hummers on the plants that are about 2-4 feet from the ground. Just my observation.
Thanks for responding.
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Post by debbielight7 on Jun 2, 2014 21:10:57 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, thanks for the reference to Biosphere. I need to visit them. The plants that the hummingbirds are going to mostly at this time in my garden are coral honeysuckle (my plant is about 2 years old and on a trellis about 6 feet tall) and wendy's wish salvia which is about 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. In the fall they like to visit the red firespike. I usually only see the hummers before 9 am and occasionally between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. I have at least one male and at least one female. About a week ago I saw a youngster because s/he was checking out everything in my yard. I don't put feeders up because they would have to be changed out so frequently in our heat.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 3, 2014 11:06:25 GMT -5
Ok, then it sounds like you are seeing the birds on your mature blooms that stand taller than 2 feet. I guess I'll have to wait a bit for mine to develop. Biosphere is a fun place to visit if you're into nectaring plants. It's hard for me to pass the place without stopping in. LOL.
I agree on the feeder thing too, I always put one out, then just tire of refilling and cleaning it.
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Post by Joe M on Jun 3, 2014 14:27:03 GMT -5
Ok, then it sounds like you are seeing the birds on your mature blooms that stand taller than 2 feet. I guess I'll have to wait a bit for mine to develop. Biosphere is a fun place to visit if you're into nectaring plants. It's hard for me to pass the place without stopping in. LOL. I agree on the feeder thing too, I always put one out, then just tire of refilling and cleaning it. Hummers are not "close to the ground" feeders! They tend to favor blooms 4-20' above the ground. Having no airspace below them limits their ability to avoid predators. As far as feeders are concerned I have discouraged most folks from putting them out since most folks tend to forget them and the solution turns rancid very quickly in FL Most healthy birds will take a sip, realize its contaminated, and never return to the feeder! A weak hmmer undernurished after traveling untold disatances my have no recourse and take the chance and succumb to "thrush" disease which is fatal! Deciding to put out a feeder comes with a committment to clean it regularly and provide fresh solution at least every 3-4 days here in FL Thats the downside of putting a feeder out, keeping it clean and fresh which many are just not able to do! Joe M. Lakeland |
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 3, 2014 14:45:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Joe! The two feeders I do leave out are bright red in color, but they have no nectar in them. I leave them out strategically to attract the birds. Your comment make perfect sense, I had not thought of it that way, but noticed they never feed on my lower blooming flowers. It shouldn't take too much longer for my plants to grow. I can't wait!
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Post by debbielight7 on Jun 3, 2014 16:52:12 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, I forgot to mention that the hummers also like the tall, old-fashioned red pentas in my yard. They are about 5 feet tall. I hope I have a chance to go to Biosphere before long. If I lived close by, I too wouldn't be able to resist dropping by.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 4, 2014 6:23:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip Debbielight. I have several tall red pentas, but none are taller than 2 feet as of today. Are you talking about giant red pentas or will mine grow that high?
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Post by Joe M on Jun 4, 2014 9:14:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Joe! The two feeders I do leave out are bright red in color, but they have no nectar in them. I leave them out strategically to attract the birds. Your comment make perfect sense, I had not thought of it that way, but noticed they never feed on my lower blooming flowers. It shouldn't take too much longer for my plants to grow. I can't wait! I would suggest hanging red dixie cups or irridescent orange surveyors tape in some of your strategic locations rather than an empty feeder. Hummers are creatures of habit with excellent recall and three or four visits to an empty will result in them not even bothering to check the feeder for quite some time. They bypass flowers with little nectar content and they also bypass empty feeders I have tested this by using two identical feeders. Replaced an empty one for the one they had been using and after a couple of hours they no longer even checked the feeder. Left the empty one out for two days and on the third day put out one that had fresh solution. They ignored the feeder for the entire day and didn't start using it again until the fourth day. My advice is to use the feeders for their intended purpose, and use other means to attract them to your yard! Joe M. Lakeland |
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Post by debbielight7 on Jun 4, 2014 21:46:28 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, the red pentas that they sell at the boxstores like home depot or lowes are the hybridized pentas that do not have as much nectar and don't grow more than about 3 feet tall. The only place that I have found the tall, old-fashioned red pentas is at Lukas Nursery off Aloma Ave in east Orlando. I don't know if Biosphere sells them because they are not native. They are originally from Africa I believe.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 5, 2014 7:44:54 GMT -5
Ok, thank you Joe and Debbie! I will bring in the empty feeders. And Debbie, Biosphere has a section rife with non-natives...and they do have the tall pentas, but not many due to its popularity.
Thanks again!
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Post by debbielight7 on Jun 6, 2014 20:36:52 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, nice to hear from someone else in the Orlando area who loves hummers like I do. I try to get out early enough each morning with my binoculars to get to see them nectaring from the flowers. I never cease to be excited at the site of one.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 10, 2014 6:58:12 GMT -5
Just another update....haven't seen a hummer in over a week. I need my candy corn to grow and fast!
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 16, 2014 19:46:54 GMT -5
Update: Had hummer on firebush and jatropha bush over the weekend!
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Post by lukerjedi on Jun 18, 2014 8:47:05 GMT -5
Another hummer on firebush and red pentas this morning! We may be on to something here.
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Post by lukerjedi on Jul 7, 2014 20:13:54 GMT -5
OK! Today was easily my best hummingbird day. We had two hummers on the fire bush, and one chased the other away. I walked outside and saw her again, and she didn't mind me walking 10 feet away while feeding on fire bush and cuphea.
That didn't take long...these hummers are feeding on everything I planted! I saw a hummer almost all day long, or at least it seemed that way. It feels good to see all the hard work pay off.
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Post by debbielight7 on Aug 9, 2014 23:04:06 GMT -5
That's great to hear, lukerjedi. Have you been seeing any lately? My red firespike is blooming and at least two hummers visit them daily. Today I saw two chasing each other. I think they were youngsters. That was fun to watch.
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Post by lukerjedi on Oct 8, 2014 20:25:34 GMT -5
Ok, haven't checked back for awhile, but we have a hummingbird in the backyard everyday now. Sometimes there are two, but mostly the same one all over the firespike and firebush most of the day. Plant the right flowers and they will come. We are very happy to have these guys/gals as our neighbors.
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Post by gatorjoe on Oct 8, 2014 23:21:12 GMT -5
Lukerjedi, have you seen any hummingbirds on your Rangoon Creeper Vine. I was thinking about buying one but have not seen much about hummingbirds liking them.
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Post by lukerjedi on Oct 9, 2014 8:21:07 GMT -5
Gatorjoe, our Rangoon creeper vine has really just started to grow. It had been blooming most of the summer though. The guides say that the moths will like it more than the hummingbirds and so far that seems to be true. My wife loves the scent and the tri-color blooms of this vine and that is the primary reason we bought them. If it's hummingbirds you are after, this is not the best choice.
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Post by lukerjedi on Dec 20, 2014 13:22:18 GMT -5
Update...planted two red powder puff trees. Saw them at SeaWorld and had to give them a try.
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Post by otowntiger on Apr 8, 2015 9:55:30 GMT -5
Hello there! I've also become an avid hummer watcher and gardener. Glad to know there are others in the Orlando area. I've lived in Orlando for over 20 years and in that time saw one hummer. Last summer I planted coral porterweed in my butterfly garden and started seeing one every so often. Through the fall I kept seeing 'her' ( presuming that's the gender since I don't see any red on her and presuming she's a ruby red-throat). Only on two occasions have I seen two in the yard at once and I was ecstatic. One of those occasions one chased the other off. I have a pretty good selection of hummer attracting plants but since my coral porterweed was knocked down by that one freeze in February its been a rare site to see her. I agree on the feeders. They rarely visit them and they are a pain to keep clean. I live just south of Downtown Orlando, by the way.
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Post by lukerjedi on May 20, 2015 16:11:46 GMT -5
Otowntiger...glad to hear you have seen the hummers. I have added too many more to name. I have frequent hummingbird action! I'm also adding more on all sides of the home in order to keep all parties happy.
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Post by otowntiger on May 21, 2015 13:18:41 GMT -5
lukerjedi: I wish I had the same luck you are having! I have all kinds of hummer plants, cuphea, blue and coral porterweed, jatropha, fire spike, fire bush, fire cracker, red penta, Wendy's wish salvia, black and blue salvia, lantana, milkweed, vitex, tecoma, coral honeysuckle, red powderpuff baby sunrose. The ones that get the most action are the coral porterweed, and the Wendy's wish salvia. I have seen her occasionally on the honeysuckle, milkweed, and fire spike and fire cracker. rarely on any of the other plants. Like you I have scattered them around the yard to try to allow for various 'territories' so that multiple birds will feed, but no real luck with that. I'm also running out of room so I'm stuck with just letting what I have grow and hopefully do their thing. I'm not giving up, especially since I do have the one that makes me very happy when I see her ever few days. It could be that I'm too close to dense development near downtown. If you're further out in the suburb/rural areas you will have more luck. On the other hand I do have an abundance of a variety of butterflies, and at least 5 different larval species feeding on various hosts.
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Post by lukerjedi on May 27, 2015 17:07:50 GMT -5
Otown...sounds like you have one hummingbird which is really all I have too. Very impressive array of plants and flowers. That hummer is likely around your home every day, you just may not notice her....especially with all of those blooms you've got.
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Post by otowntiger on Jun 2, 2015 7:31:40 GMT -5
It sounds more impressive than it really it. Some of those varieties aren't blooming much or are not very showy and small right now. But if and when it all matures hopefully I'll see more than one hummer occasionally.
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Post by otowntiger on Jun 11, 2015 8:38:48 GMT -5
I saw two hummers last night feeding on the coral porterweed! And if I'm not mistaken, it almost looked like they were tolerating each other, for a short while. They kinda looked at each other for a couple seconds and both flew off, not really sure if one was chasing the other, but looked less hostile than that. I'm hoping maybe they are a pair! I was too far away to see determine if they were one of each gender.
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Post by otowntiger on Jul 10, 2015 13:29:01 GMT -5
I haven't seen a my hummer in about 3 weeks or more.  My coral porterweed, her far and away favorite, have all cycled down their blooming for some reason and that could have a lot to do with her absence. Hopefully she'll come back soon. |
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My coral porterweed, her far and away favorite, have all cycled down their blooming for some reason and that could have a lot to do with her absence. Hopefully she'll come back soon.