Alternatives to artificial hummer food

Ok, you don’t like the idea of making artificial food for your little green friends and you want to beautify your outdoor space with hummer friendly flowers. Here is a list of the flowers I have found the Ruby-throated humming birds like the most. They are listed by most popular to the hummers.

1. Cuphea Ignea A.K.A Cigar plant, Cigar flower, firecracker plant and hummingbird plant.

This plant is by far the most popular with the Ruby-throated hummers that have visited my flowers. The female in the picture above feeds on plants and not at feeders. The Cuphea is the one I see her at the most often. For more information on this plant http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1333/

2. Ipomoea Sloteri A. K. A. Cardinal Climber.

This plant is also very popular with the Ruby-throated hummingbird. A new plant to our garden, this is the second year of growing Cardinal Climber. I try to plant this so it will be in full bloom in time for the adult male migration around the first of August. Cardinal Climber is a vine that needs a long or tall support. For more information on this plant http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/662/

3. Ruellia elegans A.K.A. Raging Cajun

When this plant is in full bloom it is a beautiful sight! Just a few plants can make a wall of red. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird can almost fit its head in the open flower and they often do. The down side to this plant is the flower its self, it falls off after a day or two. The Raging Cajun is the only Petunia the I can say the Ruby-throated Hummingbird will feed on.
For more information on this plant http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/163129/