I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden. I have seen a number of flowers listed in catalogs that say they
will attract Hummingbirds but almost all are being sold as plants and after
last years dismal experience of buying plants by mail I won't make that
mistake again. Strangely enough the last good experience I had with ordering
flowering plants was from Michigan Bulb before they went under -guess I was
one of the lucky ones with them. Of course I had the best experience with
Stark Bros. and Raintree Nurseries for apple tree and blueberry bushes but
they don't do flowers Any info on flowers and the sources for there seed
would be greatly appreciated as this would make an ideal addition since his
garden is right next to our Butterfly Bush which lives up to it's name. Also
any GOOD websites with info on this would be appreciated as I did searches
on Google and Lycos was not impressed.



Henry

In article , "Henry"
writes:

I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden.

I've gardened for hummingbirds successfully in California. They like plants
that give either a lot of pollen or nectar. The best attractant is
Honeysuckle. Other plants that they like are Giant Impatience (the bush that
is several feet high and whose flowers have a hook filled with nectar) and
types of Eucalyptus that have lots of pollen, like the variety called Bottle
Brush.

I am not sure about your growing conditions and these plants however. It
would not be a bad idea to find out what local variety of Honeysuckle is best.



David Giunti email: unity
What is the question? Gertrude Stein's last words
No one mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing. Alan Watts

On Display in the UK http://www.web-gallery.co.uk

On 18 Mar 2003 00:37:00 GMT, unity (DGiunti) wrote:

In article , "Henry"
writes:

I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden.

I've gardened for hummingbirds successfully in California. They like plants
that give either a lot of pollen or nectar. The best attractant is
Honeysuckle. Other plants that they like are Giant Impatience (the bush that
is several feet high and whose flowers have a hook filled with nectar) and
types of Eucalyptus that have lots of pollen, like the variety called Bottle
Brush.

I am not sure about your growing conditions and these plants however. It
would not be a bad idea to find out what local variety of Honeysuckle is best.

I have a fuschia outside the kitchen window where they visit
regularly.

They like red flowers.


--
Polar

In article , Polar
writes:

On 18 Mar 2003 00:37:00 GMT, unity (DGiunti) wrote:

In article , "Henry"
writes:

I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden.

I've gardened for hummingbirds successfully in California. They like
plants
that give either a lot of pollen or nectar. The best attractant is
Honeysuckle. Other plants that they like are Giant Impatience (the bush
that
is several feet high and whose flowers have a hook filled with nectar) and
types of Eucalyptus that have lots of pollen, like the variety called Bottle
Brush.

I am not sure about your growing conditions and these plants however. It
would not be a bad idea to find out what local variety of Honeysuckle is
best.

I have a fuschia outside the kitchen window where they visit
regularly.

If they are really prolific fuscias could attract, but I have no personal
experience with them. The honeysuckle is a major attraction to them however.
Often I would see a couple of hummers in attendance to the vine at one time.
The males bark to drive others away and sort of claim the territory, at least
for the common variety that came by my yard. The first time you hear that
bark, you really wonder what in the heck is making that loud noise, then you
notice the humm, and then the hummer, and realize it's doing that!


David Giunti email: unity
What is the question? Gertrude Stein's last words
No one mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing. Alan Watts

On Display in the UK http://www.web-gallery.co.uk

In my area (zone 5/6) I have found that red monarda is the best attractant
flower for hummers. We have an enormous beautifully labeled public perennial
garden at one of our parks (about 2 acres or so). During the growing season,
I visit it almost daily. During July and August, the hummingbirds will
bypass almost all other flowering plants which number in the hundreds of
species (including purple and pink monardas) in preference for the red -
also called bee balm. I'm sure that loniceras (honeysuckles) are also very
attractive to hummers, but they don't grow in that garden, so I haven't been
able to see the two flowers in competition. Monarda can be grown from seed,
but I'm not sure that it will flower the first year. I have heard that red
penstemons are also prime favorites - but they are not easy to grow in all
zones.
"Henry" wrote in message
...
I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a
neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden. I have seen a number of flowers listed in catalogs that say they
will attract Hummingbirds but almost all are being sold as plants and
after
last years dismal experience of buying plants by mail I won't make that
mistake again. Strangely enough the last good experience I had with
ordering
flowering plants was from Michigan Bulb before they went under -guess I
was
one of the lucky ones with them. Of course I had the best experience with
Stark Bros. and Raintree Nurseries for apple tree and blueberry bushes but
they don't do flowers Any info on flowers and the sources for there seed
would be greatly appreciated as this would make an ideal addition since
his
garden is right next to our Butterfly Bush which lives up to it's name.
Also
any GOOD websites with info on this would be appreciated as I did searches
on Google and Lycos was not impressed.



Henry

"Henry" wrote:

I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden. I have seen a number of flowers listed in catalogs that say they
will attract Hummingbirds but almost all are being sold as plants

Annual Salvias.



Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

On 18 Mar 2003 05:27:52 GMT, unity (DGiunti) wrote:


If they are really prolific fuscias could attract, but I have no personal
experience with them. The honeysuckle is a major attraction to them however.
Often I would see a couple of hummers in attendance to the vine at one time.
The males bark to drive others away and sort of claim the territory, at least
for the common variety that came by my yard. The first time you hear that
bark, you really wonder what in the heck is making that loud noise, then you
notice the humm, and then the hummer, and realize it's doing that!

Just for clarity, the noise hummingbirds make is called a trill, not a bark. I love
when the go trilling all over the garden! So much fun to watch.

It has been said but I have to agree and add some positives about
cardinal vine (aka cypress vine) The hummers love it, actually I think
they hate it, it doesn't have a lot of nectar but it is red and they
love that! It grows fast, has LOTS of flowers as long as the weather
is warm, starts flowering young, kids can easily save the seeds for
next year, it isn't rampant, and it is just a fun plant!!! ( seed is
fairly easy to find, I would suggest Johnny's selected seeds in maine)
I have grown lots of plants comercially and you won't find an easier
one to grow and succeed with!
Also for the long term REM honeysuckle is very good (but beware
the aphids early in the season!), it reblooms throughout the season
and the hummers like it, to enjoy the birds grow it on a trellis. It
will tolerate a bit of shade, mine is under a black walnut and only
gets 4 hours of direct sun and lots of bright shade.
All the other suggestion are also great, but in my experiece these
two give the most bang for the buck... that is long bloom and they
attract the birds.


"Henry" wrote in message . ..
I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden. I have seen a number of flowers listed in catalogs that say they
will attract Hummingbirds but almost all are being sold as plants and after
last years dismal experience of buying plants by mail I won't make that
mistake again. Strangely enough the last good experience I had with ordering
flowering plants was from Michigan Bulb before they went under -guess I was
one of the lucky ones with them. Of course I had the best experience with
Stark Bros. and Raintree Nurseries for apple tree and blueberry bushes but
they don't do flowers Any info on flowers and the sources for there seed
would be greatly appreciated as this would make an ideal addition since his
garden is right next to our Butterfly Bush which lives up to it's name. Also
any GOOD websites with info on this would be appreciated as I did searches
on Google and Lycos was not impressed.



Henry

animaux writes:

On 18 Mar 2003 05:27:52 GMT, (DGiunti) wrote:


If they are really prolific fuscias could attract, but I have no personal
experience with them. The honeysuckle is a major attraction to them
however.
Often I would see a couple of hummers in attendance to the vine at one time.

The males bark to drive others away and sort of claim the territory, at
least
for the common variety that came by my yard. The first time you hear that
bark, you really wonder what in the heck is making that loud noise, then you
notice the humm, and then the hummer, and realize it's doing that!

Just for clarity, the noise hummingbirds make is called a trill, not a bark.
I love
when they go trilling all over the garden! So much fun to watch.

As a musician I dispute your attempt to purloin that word for that sound...
at least the California version does not vary in pitch. And a Trill is the
rapid variation of two pitches. What ours actually sounds like is a very close
microphoning of a Champaign cork popping out of the bottle. I may have started
the fad out here of calling it a Bark, but lots of other birders use it too.

I mostly agree with you about the cheerfulness of the sound, but when you
hear more than one of them sounding, it's often a battle. Usually one retreats
for a short while and then returns later to slurp up some nectar. But with
that bank of honeysuckle there was always some available later.


David Giunti email: unity
What is the question? Gertrude Stein's last words
No one mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing. Alan Watts

On Display in the UK http://www.web-gallery.co.uk

Tsu Dho Nimh wrote:

"Henry" wrote:

I am looking for suggestions on flowers that I can start from seed for my
kid's garden that will do a good job of attracting Hummingbirds. I live in
Central NY and I know we have them here as we have seen them at a neighbors
feeder and I think my kid would get a kick out of seeing them in his
garden. I have seen a number of flowers listed in catalogs that say they
will attract Hummingbirds but almost all are being sold as plants

Annual Salvias.

Monarda
Cypress vine, a.k.a. cardinal climber
Trumpet vine (bignonia radicans); may well be the ultimate hummer magnet,
though can be invasive, sold only as plants.
Buddleia / butterfly bush; this one attracts everything. Seeds _are_
available (Burpees, I think), though plants are easier to find. Starts
well from cuttings stuck in water, which your kid might might enjoy trying.