Garden Plan to Attract Hummingirds

This guide features regional native plants for the Great Lakes that are highly attractive to pollinators and are well-suited to small-scale plantings in gardens, on business and school campuses, in urban greenspaces and farm field borders. These plants are particularly attractive to ruby-throated hummingbirds.

There's no question that hummingbirds make use of plant nectar--or the sugar water from your feeders--as a source of quick energy. But while they're visiting those flowers, they may also be gobbling up tiny insects and spiders--both excellent sources of protein. In fact, some authorities think of hummingbirds as insectivorous birds that happen to also eat plant nectar. Here’s a list of nectar-producing plants that should attract them to your garden.

See the KEY at the bottom for details on the 'Soil' and 'Moisture' codes.

Bloom	Common Name	Scientific Name	Color	Height	Light	Soil	Moisture
EARLY	Beardtongue	Penstemon grandiflorus	Lavender	2- 4 feet		S	D
	Columbine	Aquilegia canadensis	Red, Yellow	1-3 feet		L,S	D,M
	Downy Phlox	Phlox pilosa	Pink	1-2 feet		L,S	D,M,O
	Fire Pink	Silene virginica	Red, Pink	1-2 feet		L,S	D,M
	Lupine	Lupinis perennis	Blue	3 feet		S	D
	Virginia Bluebells	Mertensia virginica	Blue	1-2 feet		C,L,S	M,O
MID	Swamp Milkweed	Asclepias incarnata	Pink, Red	3-5 feet		C,L,S	O,W
	Smooth Penstemon	Penstemon digitalis	White	2-3 feet		C,L,S	M,O
MID-LATE	Butterflyweed	Asclepias tuberosa	Orange	2-3 feet		C,L	D,M
	Common Milkweed	Asclepias syriaca	Pink, Lavender	2-4 feet		C,L,S	D,M
	Lavender Hyssop	Cirsium discolor	Lavender	2-4 feet		L,S	D,M
	New Jersey Tea	Ceanothus americanus	White	2-3 feet		L,S	D,M
	Obedient Plant	Physostegia virginiana	Pink	1 foot		C,L,S	M,O
	Prairie Blazing Star	Liatris pycnostachya	Pink, Purple	3-5 feet		C,L,S	M, O
	Scarlet Beebalm	Monarda didyma	Red	3-5 feet		C,L,S	M,O
>LATE	Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa	Lavender	2-3 feet		C,L,S	D,M,O
	Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis	Red	2-5 feet		L,S	O,W
	Fireweed	Epilobium angustifolium	Pink	2-6 feet		L,S	M,O,W
	Great Blue Lobelia	Lobelia siphilitica	Blue	1-4 feet		C,L,S	M,O
	Harebell	Asclepias syriaca	Pink, Lavender	2-4 feet		S	D,M
	Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	Purple	3-4 feet		D,L,S	D,M
	Rough Blazing Star	Liatris aspera	Pink, Purple	2-5 feet		L,S	D,M
	Tall Bellflower	Campanula americana	Blue	2-5 feet		C,L,S	M,O

SOIL:   L = Loam       C = Clay       S = Sandy       R = Rocky
MOISTURE:   D = Dry       M = Medium       O = Moist       W = Wet