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.

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