Where ever you live in the USA there’s at least one species of hummingbird that will make your yard more interesting.    If you live in the Southwest you will get the lion’s share.

I feel that hummingbirds are the single most interesting bird to attract to your yard.  They are beautiful, their flight patterns are unique, and they make very unusual sounds which announce their presence.

They make a squeaky, chittery noise that sounds more like mice than birds as they perch and fly.  Their wings make noise, too, somewhat like a small industrial sewing machine.  During their courtship routine, they make a vrooming noise, somewhat like a child mimicking the sound of a jet airplane.  If God had given them the gift of song, they would be perfect!

Their behavior is aggressive, consistent and predictable.

Hummingbirds follow the food.  Wherever there’s an inviting supply of nectar flowers, the birds will be buzzing.  As nectar feeders gained in popularity in recent years, the hummers have shifted their migration patterns and species have begun to show up in new territories.  By keeping feeders available during the winter and early spring, you might keep them year round!  Go to Garden Accent Heaven for the best priced, highest quality, and greatest variety of hummingbird feeders.

Fall and winter are perfect times to plan the longest growing season of hummingbird plant magnets.  High nectar content is the first principle, and then choose red-orange, red, and orange flowers that are a tubular shaped.  Bees will also be attracted to many of the same type flowers.  Read on for some helpful hints.

Hummers also eat tiny insects and spiders.  They use the spider webs to make their nests so it is good to have webs about your yard for them to gather.

Providing water for them is highly recommended.  Spend the amount needed to purchase a bird bath with a mister just for your hummers. (Link to our site) They love the fine spray.  You can even add a timer and the hummers will learn the time settings and be waiting for their bath! And you will know when  the show will begin!

Now let’s talk about which plants to put in your yard.  Choose tubular shaped flowers, those with a flaring rim above a long tube that attaches to the stem.  Tubular flowers are inaccessible to other pollinators so that the hummers are assured of a reward when they visit them.  Example:  daisy type flowers have high nectar but all insects can get to them.  Some bees will get in to some of the tubular but the hummers and bees have a pretty good team approach .

You will want to plant perennials, annuals, vines, shrubs and small trees thus providing the widest range of choices and the longest growing season.   Following are the most common plants that will grow in most areas of the USA.  With a bit more effort on your winter reading, you will find more plants specific to your region.

Click here to see an excellent PPS special Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.

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By Bernice Maddux

Spring arrives on hummingbird wings;

Of this I have no doubt,

When they arrive, I know it’s time

To put sweet nectar out.

I realize they’ve traveled far

To spend six months with me.

So I will do my very best

To make their visit worry-free.

I’ll cultivate sweet blossoms,

Filling beds and pots with red.

They will supervise the job

As they buzz high above my head.

They ask so little, give so much,

Adding sweetness to my days.

Half a year is not enough

To behold all their winning ways.

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Click here to order now from our secure website.

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Dr JB's Easy Clean Feeder

This is a great time to get out your hummingbird feeder and to get ready for their return. Be sure to check out our new Dr. JB’s Easy Cleaning Feeder, the best hummingbird feeder ever made! Solid and durable construction and easy to fill and clean.

Fliteline Jelly Feeder

Colorful Orioles begin arriving in April, so plan to get your out then. We have a great new product, BirdBerry   Jelly, that you can use in our Songbird Essentials Fliteline Jelly Jam Feeder. Over the counter jelly is very high in sugar content, so the lower sugar and higher fruit content of BirdBerry Jelly more closely matches their natural food sources. The unique grape/blackberry flavor keeps Orioles and other birds (like Catbirds and Woodpeckers) coming back for more.

BirdBerry Jelly

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Click here to order your Hummer Helper Starter Kit

Click her to order your Hummer Helper Refill

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Click Here or Anywhere on photo to order your Jewel Box Window Hummingbird Feeder.

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Red Hot Poker

Another Flower to Attract Hummingbirds and the admiration of your friends and neighbors! The common name is Red Hot Poker. I suggest  Flamenco or Kniphofia uvaria. It blooms over a longer time period and has more blooms in total.    Hummers love their three foot flower spikes.  The flower spikes are a red-orange with a mellow yellow at the base.  The strap-shaped foliage adds a nice contrast to other plants.  The plant can be two feet high and three feet wide.  Plant it in full sun with good drainage.  This plant is both heat and drought tolerant once established, a truly care free plant!   Hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

Click here to see vido on how to grow Red Hot Poker Plants video_4992906_grow-redhot-poker-kniphofia-uvaria.html

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Fountain Plant

The Fountain  Plant or Russelia equsetiformis is the one!   It is also commonly called the Firecracker plant also. Its brilliant red flowers appear on 12-inch long sprays throughout the warm season.  The blooms are 3/4 “to 1” in length and are narrowly tubular, making them ideally suited for the long, slender bills of hummingbirds.

Other common names for this plant are coral fountain, firecracker plant, rain of fire, and coral blow.  With its cascading fronds and red blooms planted in a tall slender red pot, it will be a great focus plant!  I love containers as you can vary the forms and colors you select and they can be moved to show them off when in full bloom, then retired to less prominent

Flowers of Fountain Plant

locations when not at their peak of glory.

The Fountain Plant can reach 3 to 6 feet high and 4 feet wide.  If that is a bit large for you, just limit the width of the container but keep good height to the container as the branches take root easily and may  have a tendency to be invasive.  Or, to simplify, just plant it in a hanging pot!

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Hummingbirds are extremely loyal to feeding sites. A hummingbird that feeds in your yard one year will return to that feeder the next year. If you aren’t attracting as many hummers as you want read on! As the male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is so territorial, one key is to offer lots of hummingbird feeders.

Remember two Golden Rules: Keep your hummingbird feeder clean and the hummingbird nectar fresh. Hummingbirds keep their distance from fermented nectar. They will not eat from a dirty feeder, especially one that has mold on it!

Perhaps hummers understand the need for a clear head for their acrobatic flying. Fermented nectar can support the growth of deadly molds. If a hummingbird gets a taste of fermented nectar from your feeder, it will look elsewhere for a drink and remain suspicious of the offending feeder for a long time.

Frequently asked questions from those who have Hummingbird feeders:

Q. How can I keep bees and wasps away from my Hummingbird feeders?

A .Use a Flat Top Hummingbird Feeder (The best one is Droll Yankee Aspects Feeder). When the Hummingbird Nectar is not at the feeding port, Hummers can reach the nectar-Wasps and Bees cannot!

Q. How can I keep ants out of my feeder?

 A. Buy a new feeder with “Nectar Guard Tips” or hang a Nectar Protector Ant Moat above your feeder and fill it with water (ant’s can’t swim!). The hummingbird feeder will be easy to fill and clean- yet no ants and lots of hummers in your backyard!

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They take about 250 breaths per minute

Their hearts beat about 1,260 times per minute

They have 1,500 feathers

They consume half their body weight (1/8 lb)in food every day. That would be like an average kids eating about 40 to 50 pounds of food a day.

During migration, they must fly 500 miles nonstop over the Gulf of Mexico to reach their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. The make the trip, they must eat enough so they weigh 1 1/2 times their usual weight.

They can fly at speeds of 60 miles per hour and can fly forwards, backwards, up, down, sideways and even upside down briefly, but they can not walk.

Average life span is 3-5 Years-Maximum 12 Years.

Check out our website for Hummingbird feeders to attract these wonderful birds to your backyard.

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