When I was just a little Captain, I had some amazing childhood memories at my grandmother’s house in the country. One of the things I remember the most was the sheer number of hummingbirds flying around her property. I spent hours watching them buzz through the air! Now, as a fully grown Captain, I try to keep as many around my outdoor space as I can. How, you ask? For one thing, I keep a half-dozen feeders stocked in my outdoor space. For another, I grow a lot of flowers. Today, I’m going to share the best patio plants that attract hummingbirds that I’ve found.
First, I’d like to emphasize that the more flowery plants you add, the greater the likelihood of attracting hummingbirds. While I’m providing some ideas on which to plant, you want to get as many kinds of them as you can! You can’t expect hummingbirds to travel to your patio for a single flower. Also, we’re going to be focusing on plants that can grow in container gardens. While many flowering plants will attract hummingbirds, we’re not planting a garden here. We’re just trying to get them to come to our patio!
Without further ado, here’s the list of beautiful patio plants that attract hummingbirds.
List of Plants
| Plant | Plant Type | Description |
Coral honeysuckle | Vine | A species of honeysuckle native to the United States. This vine grows in many areas and has a high hardiness rating. |
Cypress vine / Cardinal climber | Vine | A species with very thin leaves giving the plant an “airy” texture. This plant is often referred to as hummingbird vine. A hummingbird magnet, these vines are toxic to pets and and humans alike. Be careful! |
Coral Bells | Herb | This herbaceous plant blooms only once per season, but hummingbirds are crazy about the flowers it produces. |
Salvia / Sage | Herb | This herb (Yes, herb! Salvia is a part of the mint family) takes on a gorgeous shrub-like appearance. It’s also known as sage. |
Petunia | Flower | A South American plant with bold, colorful flowers. They’re prolific in container gardens! |
Geranium | Flower | Also known as Crane’s Bill, geraniums bear large clusters of flowers. Hummingbirds love them! |
Fuchsia | Flower | Fuchsia blooms have adapted to hummingbirds perfectly. Their blooms hang downwards, and only hummingbirds are agile enough to reach the sweet nectar. |
Lobelia | Flower | This hardy plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds alike. Two for the price of one! |
Verbena | Flower | Verbena flowers are beautiful and can even attract other small songbirds with the small insects it houses. Don’t worry, they’re too small to be seen at a distance! |
Tips & Tricks to Attract Hummingbirds
Regardless of the plants you decide to grow in your container gardens, here are some tips and tricks you can follow to help attract hummingbirds to your patio this this Spring and Summer.
Pinch Off The Blooms
Pinching off the blooms of old flowers (sometimes called deadheading) can result in more total flowers throughout the season. Once a flower is spent, simply remove the old bud to make way for new, nectar-rich blooms. This also delays the seeding process.
Use Hanging Baskets
On a patio, the most effective hummingbird magnets we can product are container gardens. Rather than simply placing flower pots on the ground, I recommend hanging baskets of multiple types of flowers throughout your patio and outdoor space. This has two important side-effects:
- It creates a 3-dimensional space for the hummingbirds to explore. As vines grow downward and flowers grow up, your hummingbirds will have a wide vertical range to feed from. They’re attracted to this kind of arrangement naturally.
- Eye-level baskets of flowers make observing the hummingbirds easier. If the hummingbirds are toward the ground on terrestrial flower pots, it creates an awkward line of sight. As you shift to check them out, you may startle the hummingbirds and cause them to fly off.
Make Things Colorful
Planting bright colors of flowers is incredibly important, but I also shoot for as much color variation as I possibly can. Hummingbirds have preferences just like we do and will gravitate toward the colors of flowers it prefers. Only planting a single color of flower would be like opening a buffet with mashed potatoes (and nothing else).
What About Feeders?
If all else fails, you should consider placing multiple feeders throughout your patio. Keep them supplied with sweet, red sugar water and the hummingbirds will come back time and time again. Hummingbirds are creatures of habit, once they get into a routine it will be hard to break. And once they start coming, you’ll probably see them drink the nectar from the flowers you planted too!