Did you know that one hummingbird will visit an average of 1000 flowers per day for nectar? That’s incredible! These visitors delightfully flit around our gardens arriving each spring as they migrate. Fun fact: The Rufous Hummingbird travels the farthest north of any other starting in Mexico and traveling all the way to Alaska. In Chicagoland we typically see the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and they also migrate the long distance from Mexico to our neck of the woods.

Hummingbirds see ultraviolet light and head for masses of their favorite color—red, but they also like orange or blue tubular flowers. The plants listed below are among hummingbirds’ favorites. While reds dominate the list, there are plenty of other colors suggested to allow a varied planting. Choose a wide variety of plants that bloom at different times and plant them in drifts for easy foraging. This will ensure an good supply of nectar from spring to fall. Best of all, hummingbirds are attracted by many of the same plants that butterflies like.

Perennials

• Agastache/Hummingbird Mint

• Aquilegia/Columbine

• Asclepias/Milkweed

• Buddleia/Butterfly Bush

• Campanula/Bellflower

• Ceanothus americanus/New Jersey Tea

• Delphinium/Larkspur

• Dianthus barbatus/Sweet William

• Dicentra/Bleeding Heart

• Echinops ritro/Globe Thistle

• Hemerocallis/Daylilies

• Heuchera/Coral Bells

• Heucherella/Foamy Bells

• Hibiscus/Rose Mallow

• Iris shrevei/Blue Flag Iris

• Liatris/Blazing Star

• Lilium/Lily

• Lobelia/Cardinal Flower

• Lupinus/Lupine

• Monarda/Bee Balm

• Oenothera/Evening Primrose

• Penstemon/Beard Tongue

• Petalostemum/Prairie Clover

• Physostegia/Obedient Plant

• Ruellia humilis/Wild Petunia

• Silene regia/Royal Catchfly

• Silphium laciniatum/Compass Plant

Vines

• Clematis

• Lonicera/Honeysuckle

Annuals

• Agastache/Hummingbird Mint

• Calibrachoa

• Cleome

• Cosmos

• Dahlia

• Morning Glory

• Nasturtium

• Nicotiana/Tobacco Flower

• Petunia/Petunia

• Ruellia/Mexican Petunia

• Annual Salvias like 'Black and Blue' 'Wendy's Wish'

• Snapdragon

• Zinnia

Herbs

• Anise Hyssop

• Sage

• Oregano

Trees & Shrubs

• Buckeye

• Clethra/Summersweet

• Crabapple

• Hawthorn

• Rhododendron

• Rose of Sharon

• Tulip Tree

• Weigela

You may also choose to put out a nectar feeder. To make nectar, add one cup of sugar to four cups of boiling water. Stir until sugar dissolves, cool the solution and fill your feeders. The solution may be refrigerated up to one week. Change the nectar and scrub the feeder every three to five days to prevent mold growth and fermentation.