Gardening for Hummingbirds

Arizona's diverse landscapes and climates present many challenges to gardeners. Thankfully, residents of each region have a variety of native hummingbird nectar plants from which to choose. A new Nectar Plant Gallery is under construction, and lists of native and regionally appropriate nectar plants for each part of the state will be added to this site in the near future. In the meantime, here are a few adaptable nectar plants suitable for a wide range of climatic conditions (linked plants have entries in the Nectar Plant Gallery):

Desert Honeysuckles, Anisacanthus thurberi, quadrifidus var. wrightii
Agaves, Agave palmeri, parryi, etc.
Red Yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora
Autumn or Gregg's Sage, Salvia greggii
Lemmon's Sage, Salvia lemmonii (a.k.a. Salvia microphylla var. wislizenii)
Littleleaf Sage, Salvia microphylla
Crimson or Henry's Sage, Salvia henryi
Texas or Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea
Giant-hyssops or hummingbird mints: Agastache rupestris, pallidflora, etc.
Texas Betony, Stachys coccinea
Red/pink penstemons: P. barbatus, superbus, parryi, palmeri, pseudospectabilis, eatoni, pinifolius
California Fuchsia or Hummingbird Trumpets, Epilobium canum (a.k.a. Zauschneria californica)
Coralbells, Heuchera sanguinea
Claret-cup or Scarlet Hedgehog Cactus, Echinocereus coccineus (a.k.a. E. troglochidiatus)
Orange-flowered honeysuckles: Lonicera arizonica, ciliosa, sempervirens
Native red columbines: Aquilegia triternata, desertorum, elegantula

Please see the list of Other Resources for books and Web sites on gardening for hummingbirds.

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Logo photo © Bill Hawk, used by permission.
Revised: Friday October 17, 2008.