A hummingbird thread from Community Chat

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

I thought I would share this thread link for those who might be interested in this garden forum

http://community.qvc.com/t5/Community-Chat/Hummingbird-Feeder/m-p/2947501#U2947501

silkyk · ‎03-03-2011

Good morning Susan Louise, I posted a cute item on the other thread....Handheld Hummingbird feeders over on etsy. You might want to sit by your new red fountain with one of these in your hand to get a close up of those little guys. I sure do.

Mary Bailey · ‎03-09-2010

@Susan Louise thank you for that thread!

@silkyk Thank you. I just ordered the bath from Sears/Kmart. I had enough points to get it for free!

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@Mary Bailey wrote:
@Susan Louise thank you for that thread!

@silkyk Thank you. I just ordered the bath from Sears/Kmart. I had enough points to get it for free!

@Mary Bailey Glad to help. You will love it! That's pretty awesome you got it for free...congrats!!! How cool is that

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@Susan Louise I have well over fifty varieities of Salvia on my property, including any other plant a hummer could want. One of the Salvias, a Fall/Spring bloomer, had multiplied into about fifty plants, so I wanted to plant another perennial garden, so we are removing it, and I have taken cuttings to plant somewhere else where it won't be quite so happy, and not multiply so much.

The day I was cutting it down, took days, and still not finished, hummers were flying right around my head, probably trying to tell me not to cut it down. I did wait until all of the flowers had finished, and the bees and hummers were done with them.

They live here year round, pretty much, and one of the trees they nest in is my Japanese Maple. I don't put sugar water out because I feel they have enough plants, and I don't need anything more to do around here as it takes all day every day to keep it running.

I recently bought a small hummer fountain, which I don't think they have discovered yet, so I bought a red pedestal for it to sit on, and in the meantime, I tied red netting around the base into a bow so they will see it. I also have many birdbaths and fountains around.

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@mousiegirl wrote:
@Susan Louise I have well over fifty varieities of Salvia on my property, including any other plant a hummer could want. One of the Salvias, a Fall/Spring bloomer, had multiplied into about fifty plants, so I wanted to plant another perennial garden, so we are removing it, and I have taken cuttings to plant somewhere else where it won't be quite so happy, and not multiply so much.

The day I was cutting it down, took days, and still not finished, hummers were flying right around my head, probably trying to tell me not to cut it down. I did wait until all of the flowers had finished, and the bees and hummers were done with them.

They live here year round, pretty much, and one of the trees they nest in is my Japanese Maple. I don't put sugar water out because I feel they have enough plants, and I don't need anything more to do around here as it takes all day every day to keep it running.

I recently bought a small hummer fountain, which I don't think they have discovered yet, so I bought a red pedestal for it to sit on, and in the meantime, I tied red netting around the base into a bow so they will see it. I also have many birdbaths and fountains around.

@mousiegirl You are lucky living on the west coast since some of the hummer species don't migrate. As for Salvias, that is quite a lot! I think I had tried about 25-30 varieties. The last newest Salvia this year is the Arrowleaf...it's ok, but I'm not all that impressed. The plants get huge with so few bloomstalks.

Last year I tried the 'pink ice' with seeds I got from Seedhunt. It didn't start blooming until nearly all of our hummingbird migrators had passed by late September...so threw away the rest of those seeds.

I would try one or 2 species a year but I think I am happy with the ones that work best for our gardens...Stanley Dreamsicle, Lady in Red, Coral Nymph, Maraschino, Raspberry Delight, Black and Blue, Argentine Skies, and Subrotunda.

Other Salvias I would grow once in awhile were the Hot Lips and Wendy's Wish...and I REALLY miss the Black Cherry! I would get several of those plants every year til 2 yrs ago when they stopped selling them at High Country Gardens. Since it was a hybrid, they can't be grown from seed...I have tried. I wish I knew ahead of time they were going to stop selling them because I would have taken cuttings from our own plants...oh well.

I have tried several other Salvias, but they just don't work well in our location/gardens. I am quite content keeping things status quo with our plants that work well for us and thrive.

Sounds like you have a huge backyard compared to us!

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@Susan Louise wrote:
@mousiegirl wrote:
@Susan Louise I have well over fifty varieities of Salvia on my property, including any other plant a hummer could want. One of the Salvias, a Fall/Spring bloomer, had multiplied into about fifty plants, so I wanted to plant another perennial garden, so we are removing it, and I have taken cuttings to plant somewhere else where it won't be quite so happy, and not multiply so much.

The day I was cutting it down, took days, and still not finished, hummers were flying right around my head, probably trying to tell me not to cut it down. I did wait until all of the flowers had finished, and the bees and hummers were done with them.

They live here year round, pretty much, and one of the trees they nest in is my Japanese Maple. I don't put sugar water out because I feel they have enough plants, and I don't need anything more to do around here as it takes all day every day to keep it running.

I recently bought a small hummer fountain, which I don't think they have discovered yet, so I bought a red pedestal for it to sit on, and in the meantime, I tied red netting around the base into a bow so they will see it. I also have many birdbaths and fountains around.
@mousiegirl You are lucky living on the west coast since some of the hummer species don't migrate. As for Salvias, that is quite a lot! I think I had tried about 25-30 varieties. The last newest Salvia this year is the Arrowleaf...it's ok, but I'm not all that impressed. The plants get huge with so few bloomstalks.

Last year I tried the 'pink ice' with seeds I got from Seedhunt. It didn't start blooming until nearly all of our hummingbird migrators had passed by late September...so threw away the rest of those seeds.

I would try one or 2 species a year but I think I am happy with the ones that work best for our gardens...Stanley Dreamsicle, Lady in Red, Coral Nymph, Maraschino, Raspberry Delight Black and Blue, Argentine Skies, and Subrotunda.

Other Salvias I would grow once in awhile were the Hot Lips and Wendy's Wish...and I REALLY miss the Black Cherry! I would get several of those plants every year til 2 yrs ago when they stopped selling them at High Country Gardens. Since it was a hybrid, they can't be grown from seed...I have tried. I wish I knew ahead of time they were going to stop selling them because I would have taken cuttings from our own plants...oh well.

I have tried several other Salvias, but they just don't work well in our location/gardens. I am quite content keeping things status quo with our plants that work well for us and thrive.
Sounds like you have a huge backyard compared to us!

@Susan Louise I posted many of my Salvias in the thread I began "My Perennials," many colors and different bloom times, if you are intersted, the colors are amazing. I love Argentine Skies, have many of those. I don't grow the Salvias that have the tiny flowers, just a waste, lol, the hummers probably can't even see them much less get any nourishment from them. I am discovereing that some like filtered sun as opposed to full, while others thrive in full sun.

silkyk · ‎03-03-2011

I love Salvias in my hummer garden too and I thought I'd share a great seed co. that carries a huge selection of Salvia seeds including the "Hummingbird Sage" (Salvia superba "Violet Queen") variety in pic.This is my FAVORITE seed co. because they carry unusual and rare seeds from all over the world. Fun to just read through their catalog! Great CS too. Highly recommended! http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/index.htm

AnikaBrodie · ‎03-10-2010

On my Wish List – Crocosmia by The Gardening Blog

We have Crocosmia "Lucifer" plantings in our back yard flower garden and the hummingbirds love them. In fact, we didn't see many hummers until the lucifers started to bloom. They are a beautiful red flower and are still in bloom.

"Faith, Hope, Love; the greatest of these is Love." ~The Silver Fox~