From traffic lights to bold blooms in the garden, red has the power to stop us in our tracks. For human eyes, it’s second only in visibility to yellow on the color spectrum. Hummingbirds are also famously drawn to red flowers. The cones in their retina prioritize red and yellow tones over cooler shades like blue. By planting their favorite red hummingbird flowers, from annuals to perennials, you’ll draw hummers to your garden for months.
While the color red grabs hummingbirds’ attention, the National Audubon Society says, over time, they will favor the plants with the highest nectar—often native plants—so look for those that deliver a bounty of nutrition to feed the fast fliers.
Did you Know: In addition to these red hummingbird flowers, you can boost your hummingbird garden’s feeding power year-round by seeking out nectar-rich woody vines and shrubs with tubular flowers, too.
Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis, zones 3 to 8
Red and yellow flowers bob on airy stems on this charmer that is native to eastern North America. It prefers sun to partial shade, moist but well-drained soil, and blooms in spring.
Why we love it: Spring-blooming columbine offers much-needed nutrition to hummingbirds arriving early in the season.
Scarlet Bee Balm
Monarda didyama L., zones 4 to 9
Distinctive upward-facing flowers bring color (and nectar) to the border for a long season. This mint-family relative prefers consistent moisture, sun to partial shade, and is best divided every three years. It can fall prey to powdery mildew.
Why we love it: This North American native bee balm is high in nectar needed by hummingbirds and also delights bees and butterflies.
Petunia
Petunia, zones 10 to 11, annual elsewhere
You might be surprised to see petunias on this list but note their tubular flowers that seem made for a hummer’s beak. There is a rare Brazilian petunia pollinated only by hummingbirds (P. exserta), but it’s much easier to find the super-popular annual hybrids that offer summer nectar. Petunias love full sun, loamy soil, and regular watering.
Why we love it: With myriad varieties, there’s a petunia for every garden, from flower beds to hanging baskets.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis, Zones 3 to 9
This native plant boasts showy cardinal-red flowers starting in mid-summer. Lobelia requires regular watering. It can even tolerate occasional flooding, and makes a great rain garden option. Protect these plants from the afternoon sun in the warmer zones of its range.
Why we love it: Easy-care and disease-resistant cardinal flower is also a butterfly magnet.
California Fuchsia
Epilobium canum, Zones 8 to 11
This shrubby perennial formerly known as Zauschneria flies its orange-red flowers for the hummingbirds all summer long. Hot sunny locales with excellent drainage are its favorite. There are upright or mat-forming varieties for every situation.
Why we love it: California fuchsia is a tough customer! It shrugs off drought and poor soil, and it is usually avoided by deer.
Firecracker Penstemon
Penstemon eatonii, Zones 4 to 9
An adaptable western U.S. native liking life on the lean and sunny side, such as rocky soil and sunny exposures, delivers striking 2- to 3-feet tall flower stalks over many months from spring through summer.
Why we love it: Along with supporting hummingbirds, firecracker penstemon fosters many native bees.
Red Yucca
Hesperaloe parviflora, Zones 6 to 10
While not a true yucca, this agave relative blooms for a long season, offers evergreen foliage and is great for water wise gardens. It averages 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. The compact variety ‘Brakelights’ shines with hot red flowers.
Why we love it: This North American native plant will be cheered by your local pollinators like night-pollinating moths as well as hummingbirds.
Mandevilla
Mandevilla, zones 10 to 11, annual elsewhere
These vigorous growers pump out showy tubular flowers all summer long in full to partial sun with evenly moist soil.
Why we love it: Traditional vining types create flower-clad walls, and new mounding varieties make wonderful container plants that can come inside for the winter if your region is too chilly.
Scarlet Sage
Salvia coccinea, Zone 9 to 10, annual elsewhere
This plant hails from the Southeastern U.S. and Mexico, and grows happily in sun to part shade. With deadheading, it sends up cheerful red, white, or coral “lipped” blossoms all summer. ‘Lady in Red,’ a dwarf variety, is an All-American Selection award winner, and those in the Hummingbird™ series grow 1 to 2 feet tall and wide.
Why we love it: If you live in the warmer edges of its range, it may reseed where it’s happy.
Check out the top 10 salvias to grow for hummingbirds.
Zinnia
Zinnia elegans, annual
At first glance, these don’t look trumpet shaped, but the hummingbirds find the tubular nectaries poised in the center of the disc-shaped zinnia flowers. Hummingbirds and butterflies flock to the abundant summer flowers of this beloved annual plant available in an array of colors. For red varieties, consider ‘Dreamland Scarlet,’ at 12 inches high, or ‘Benary’s Giant Deep Red’ at 50 inches tall.
Why we love it: The more you cut these easy-growing flowers, the more the plants will produce.
Sources
- Ball Horticultural Company
- All-America Selections
- Monrovia
- White Flower Farm – Petunia exserta