Native Plants that Attract Hummingbirds

When designing a hummingbird habitat, consider native plants that occurred historically in the breeding grounds of North American hummingbirds.  You can think of it like going home to Mom’s for some comfort food. 

While there are exotic species and horticultural specimens that will attract hummingbirds to your garden, they don’t normally produce enough nectar in the flower to provide adequate food for the hummingbird and they don’t attract the native insects and spiders that hummingbirds depend on for essential fats and proteins in their diet. 

There is a mutually beneficial relationship between the hummingbird and many native species, too.  Some native plants depend on hummingbirds for their primary pollination such as the Cardinal Flower, fringed Indian Pink and Columbine.   So, you can see that hummingbirds will not only keep your garden free of insects, but also help the plants there thrive.

With all the lovely native plants there are, choosing hummingbird attracting species should not produce any hardship to your garden.  Below is a small list of the hundreds of available native plants that attract hummingbirds.  For more information on plants that are native to your location, contact your local Native Plant Society.

Flowers

Beebalm, Monarda didyma
Bleeding Hearts, Dicentris
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
Canada Lily,  Lilium canadense
Columbine Aguilegia spp.
Coral-Bells Heuchera sanguinea
Indian Pink, Spigelia marilandica
Flowering Tobacco Nicotania alata
Purple Coneflowers Echinacea purperea
Spotted Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis
Wild Ginger  Asarum caudatum
Catawba Rhododendron, Rhododendron catawbiense

Shrubs

East Coast Native Azaleas

West Coast Native Azaleas

R. occidentale
Possumhaw
Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia

Trees

Catalpa, Northern Catalpa speciosa.
Catalpa, Southern Catalpa bignonioides
Redbud, Eastern Cercis Canadensis
Redbud, Western Cercis occidentalis
Silverbell, Carolina Halesia tetraptera
Silverbell, Two-winged Halesia diptera
Tulip Poplar Liriodendron Tulipifera

Vines

Crossvine, Bignonia caprilolata
Trumpet Creeper Campsis radicans
Trumpet Honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens