Hummingbirds are some of the most fascinating birds found in nature. Known for their ability to hover mid-air and fly backwards, these tiny birds have captured the hearts of people for generations. A key part of their appeal lies in the flowers they frequent to feed on nectar. The sight of hummingbirds delicately feeding on brightly colored blossoms is always a delight. This raises the question – what flower attracts hummingbirds the most? Which blooms seem to be their top favorites? Understanding what flowers these swift, buzzing birds prefer can help us design gardens and landscapes to provide them with their favorite food sources.
Flowers Preferred by Hummingbirds
When it comes to flowers that attract hummingbirds, there are a few clear favorites that the birds flock to. Here are some of the top flowers preferred by hummingbirds:
Fuchsia
Fuchsia flowers bear tubular blossoms that appeal to a hummingbird’s long, slender beak. These vibrant flowers come in shades like bright pink, purple, and red – colors that attract hummingbirds. The nectar tucked inside the fuchsia’s tubular petals is perfectly suited to a hummingbird’s feeding abilities.
Petunias
Like fuchsia blossoms, petunias also bear trumpet-shaped flowers that provide hummingbirds with excellent access to nectar. These seasonal blooms come in bold colors including pink, purple, red, yellow, and white. Hummingbirds flock to the bright colors and tubular shape of petunia blossoms.
Lantana
Lantana is a popular choice for attracting hummingbirds to gardens. They produce large clusters of tiny, tubular flowers in shades like yellow, orange, red, pink, and white. Hummingbirds easily draw nectar from the flower tubes. The blooms also have a faintly sweet scent that helps attract these hungry birds.
Bee Balm
Also known as monarda, bee balm produces dense, globular flower heads made up of many individual tubular blossoms. The flower heads often appear in vivid shades of red, though colors like pink, purple, orange, and white are also common. Bee balm plants are a surefire way to lure hummingbirds to any garden.
Trumpet Creeper
As the name suggests, trumpet creeper flowers have a distinctive tubular trumpet shape that hummingbirds love. These flowers bloom in summer and fall in eye-catching shades of orange and red. The blooms appear in clusters, providing ample feeding opportunities for hungry hummingbirds.
Coral Honeysuckle
This deciduous vine produces showy, tubular flowers in colors like bright red, orange, and yellow. As with many other hummingbird favorites, the flowers have a trumpet-like shape perfect for the birds’ long beaks. The vine blooms from spring to fall, providing a constant nectar source for resident and migrating hummingbirds.
Columbine
Columbine produces elegant, spur-shaped flowers with tubular nectaries that invite hummingbirds to feed. The blooms come in various colors like red, yellow, pink, purple, blue, and white. Hummingbirds skillfully extract the nectar from the columbine’s unique flower shape.
Traits that Attract Hummingbirds
When evaluating which flowers hummingbirds favor most, a few key traits stand out:
Bright, Vibrant Colors
Flowers like fuchsia, lantana, bee balm, and coral honeysuckle all produce blooms in vivid shades of red, orange, pink, purple, and yellow. These bright colors help attract hummingbirds from a distance. The birds have excellent color vision compared to other animals, so they can spot these colorful blooms with ease.
Tubular Shape
Many of the flowers preferred by hummingbirds like petunias, fuchsia, and trumpet vine share a tubular shape. The nectar hidden inside these elongated blossoms is perfectly suited to the long, slim beaks of hummingbirds. This makes it easy for them to access the sugary nectar reward.
Abundant Nectar
Flowers like bee balm and lantana produce prolific amounts of nectar – a key trait to keep hummingbirds coming back for repeated feedings. The higher sugar concentration of these flowers’ nectar helps provide quick energy.
Clustered Blooms
Flowers like lantana and bee balm produce their tubular blossoms in dense clusters, rather than solitary blooms. This allows hummingbirds easy access to plenty of nectar in one place.
Constant Availability
Some of the top hummingbird flowers, like coral honeysuckle and columbine, bloom continuously from spring through fall. This ensures a steady supply of nectar for both resident and migrating hummingbirds.
Sweet Scent
Some flowers, such as bee balm, fill the air with sweet fragrance from their blossoms. This scent helps guide hungry hummingbirds to the promise of a nectar meal.
Research on Hummingbird Flower Preferences
Scientific research also provides insight into the types of flowers hummingbirds favor. Here are some key findings from studies on hummingbird flower preferences:
Color and Shape Are Key
A study published in the journal Oikos examined how flower color and shape influence hummingbird visits. The researchers found hummingbirds clearly favored flowers with tubular shapes and warm, bright colors versus plain white flowers. This supports the popularity of blooms like fuchsia and bee balm.
Red Flowers Dominate
A review in the Annals of Botany analyzed flower colors across 156 different plant species visited by hummingbirds. The analysis revealed the birds most commonly frequented flowers colored red, followed by orange and purple blooms. Very few visited green or blue flowers. Red flowers like trumpet creeper and coral honeysuckle are clear favorites.
Nectar Volume Matters
A study in Functional Ecology looked at how nectar volume impacts hummingbird visits. The researchers found higher nectar volumes strongly predicted more frequent visits from the birds. Flowers like lantana and bee balm produce relatively high volumes of nectar.
Energy-Rich Nectar Desired
Research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B discovered hummingbirds prefer higher sugar concentrations in nectar for quicker energy. Flowers adapted to hummingbird pollination produce nectar that averages 25% sugar content, compared to just 5% to 15% in bee-pollinated flowers. This explains hummingbirds’ taste for high-nectar flowers.
The Top Flower: Scarlet Bee Balm
Given hummingbirds’ attraction to bright red, tubular flowers with abundant nectar, a top pick that meets these criteria is scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma).
This member of the mint family produces dense, globular flower heads crowded with dozens of slender, tubular red blossoms. Each individual flower tube holds a generous supply of nectar. This provides repeated feeding opportunities from a single flower head.
Scarlet bee balm blooms from mid to late summer, offering a constant nectar supply. The flower heads also emit a sweet, minty fragrance attractive to hummingbirds.
Several cultivars offer variations in color, such as red, pink, and white flower shades. But the original scarlet red blooms seem to be the most irresistible to nearby hummingbirds.
In addition to its suitability to hummingbird feeding, scarlet bee balm is an easy plant to grow. It thrives in full sun to partial shade and requires minimal care once established.
For a highly effective, stunning flower that will attract frequent hummingbird visitors, it’s hard to beat the appeal of scarlet bee balm. Make sure to include several of these hummingbird magnets in gardens, containers, or landscapes to create an inviting habitat. Then sit back and enjoy the magic of hummingbirds buzzing from bloom to bloom on their whirring, iridescent wings.
Summary
– Hummingbirds favor flowers with tubular shapes and bright red, orange, yellow or pink blossoms which provide easy access to nectar.
– Top flowers include fuchsia, petunias, lantana, bee balm, trumpet vine, and columbine.
– Traits like color, shape, nectar volume and sugar content influence hummingbird appeal.
– Research shows hummingbirds prefer reddish, tubular flowers with high nectar content.
– Scarlet bee balm perfectly matches hummingbird preferences with its red, nectar-filled flower spikes.
– This easy-to-grow perennial is a sure way to attract frequent hummingbird visitors to any garden.
