This summer I catered my potted plants in the patio area specifically for my favorite summer visitors – sweet hummingbirds.
I have one Mona Lavender Plectranthus that they seem to like quite well enough.
But their main staple are annual salvias. Over the course of the summer, I collected a total of seven different varieties and colors.
I found this lovely blue variety, late summer at Lowe’s for half off. If the varieties are unnamed, it’s because I’ve lost the tags. Unfortunately, I’m pretty good at losing tags.
I have two blue varieties, two purple varieties, one chartreuse, and two pink varieties. This variety is Skyscraper Pink.
The other pink variety is Wendy’s Wish. I bought three of this plant late last summer at 75% off and put them in one pot together. Unfortunately Wendy’s Wish is a sterile variety which I discovered only after two failed attempts of trying to grow her seeds.
Over the winter I kept Wendy in a low-temp heated greenhouse, where she bloomed all the way into spring. I cut her back in the spring, but after blooming all winter, I think she was tired, and didn’t bloom as well this summer. She is now so large I can’t pick up her pot anymore. So in October, I plan to split her back into three separate plants in three separate pots. This time I will cut back each plant and let her rest over the winter, hoping for better results next summer.
I love this chartreuse salvia with its deep colored flowers and leaves.
The purple varieties I have are Rockin Purple and Black and Blue. Both are lovely shades of purple.
Besides a nice selection of salvia, I also have a nice collection of feeders. I started with one feeder last year, but went a little crazy this spring and added four more. Then to finish out the season, I picked up three more on sale for a total of eight.
My hope was that by having multiple plants and feeders, I would have multiple hummers feeding at the same time. But since they are very territorial, so far that hasn’t worked. I’ve had up to four come at one time to the patio area, but usually they are dive-bombing and chasing each other.
I have noticed that the males prefer feeding from the salvias rather than the feeders. And they all seem to prefer feeding from the salvias in the early morning when the flowers are still fresh from the cool night air. But after that, they seem to spend their time at the feeders.
Of course, there are other visitors too. At night I have to bring all the feeders inside because somehow the raccoons are able to take down the feeders without breaking them, and drink all the syrup. Then there are the honey and bumble bees who are always waiting for me in the morning as I bring the feeders back out. Having previously been a beekeeper, I really don’t mind the bees. After all, everyone loves a free meal.
Over the course of the summer, the hummers have become more friendly and gradually used to my presence. I went out today to take photos since the morning light was so lovely. While aiming my camera at the salvia, I noticed a dark blur in the lens. When I took the camera down, it was a hummer staring at me with curiosity. So I snapped a few photos. Of course they don’t stay still for even a second, but I got lucky with a few nice shots.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I like to talk to my birds, especially the ones that come near and often. I want them to know my voice and that I won’t hurt them. By next summer I’ll be retired, so I plan on spending a lot more time with them. I’m hoping since I was able to get a chickadee to trust me, that with time, the hummers will too. It’s certainly worth a try and time well spent, for surely sweetness comes in no better form.
Your salvias are beautiful Cindy, and your hummingbirds too. Gorgeous photography! I have also had a few annual salvias for the first time this year and may try and overwinter one of them in a pot. I saw Wendy’s Wish for the first time this summer at the garden show I visited. Sad to hear it does not resow. I will look for one next summer though as it is such a pretty one. Thank you for sharing and so nice to hear from you!
Thank you Cathy for your kind words. Maybe this winter I’ll have more time to spend on the internet and can visit around more often.
I only discovered annual salvias myself last summer. I think I tried one once a few years ago, and put it in the ground, where it promptly died. I am not prone to spend a lot of money on annuals since they don’t return.
I like them in pots so I can bring them up close to the house and I’ve learned the importance of keeping them flowering all summer is cutting the spent blooms and weekly fertilizing. I am currently fertilizing these twice a week as the leaves became very pale and the repeat flowering was poor with small blooms. Since I’ve gone to twice a week fertilizing the last two weeks, the leaves are a nice green again, and the new flowers are coming on nicely.
I’m not sure if the pink salvias are all sterile. But the Rockin Purple salvia I sowed from seed this spring reproduced very well, although the large original plant did not survive the winter in the greenhouse. I may try to start more of Wendy’s Wish from cuttings soon, but I’m not sure how such tender plants would do in a 40F degree greenhouse. We have some very harsh winters with dips below 0 degrees F. The leaves of the pinks have a lovely citrus-like smell, which was such a delight in mid winter when I went to the greenhouse to check on them. I have wondered if they would make a nice tea, but could find no information on that.
My favorite garden center carries a nice selection of annual salvias. They don’t have all the varieties at the same time, but I stop in frequently to see if any new ones have arrived, and that is where I have picked up some more during mid to late summer. I would even buy them now if I saw more, since for my hummers I would do just about anything. The females stay here until mid October, so I have almost another 6 weeks to enjoy them.
Hope you are well. I am retiring at the end of October, so I hope to have more time to sit down and visit with my favorite gardeners more often. Take care Cathy!
I love ‘Wendy’s Wish’ but haven’t been successful in growing it. Salvias native to other Mediterranean climates (like South Africa) do better for me but fortunately our resident hummingbirds love my Cupheas and Grevilleas, as well as the strawberry trees (Arbutus ‘Marina’). I think they nest in the peppermint willows (Agonis flexosa). I gave up on my feeders a couple of years ago, partly due to the need to constantly watch out for ants, but I was surprised that the raccoons went after yours. However, raccoons are opportunists! Good to hear from you again, Cindy.
I was surprised to that the raccoons could get them down. One was hung from a chain, so they must have crawled up the posts. Fortunately, the feeders didn’t crack when they fell, which I consider a miracle.
I’m surprised Wendy’s Wish would not grow well for you. It seems that everything grows better in your climate. I would think it would even go on outside for you considering it did very well in my 40F greenhouse. I buy every variety I see around here. In fact, since it’s so cold here this morning, I think I’ll go hit up the garden centers to see if they have any more right now. We only have another 5 weeks or so of growing season before the frost comes and the hummers leave, but I will try wintering all of them over and gather seeds. Somewhere, I know I kept the labels and will hopefully come across them so I can call them by their proper names.
The hummers like other things here to. They visit the bee balm and even the tiny yellow flowers on some of my zinnias, but I don’t notice them as much since those flowers are further away from the house.
I am planning on hanging a trio of feeders from one of my honeysuckle trees out in my shade garden. I’m hoping by offering feeders further away, there will be less territorial bickering among them. My sister has one feeder and all her hummers share it. I did ask a hummingbird expert on Instagram how he was able to get them to get along, and his response was that he is a hummingbird whisperer. Not helpful at all. He has a small feeder he puts between his lips and multiple hummers come and drink as he holds it.
I to get ants in my feeders. I always find some in the bottom as I clean them out every few days. I consider them a small price to pay for the joy of the hummers coming near. The honey and bumbles are their main competitors here, but they all get along and take turns. And it comforts me to know the bees have a good source of nectar to stockpile their honey reserves for winter.
We’re heading into fall which means finally some cooler temps. Leaf raking season is coming to, not my favorite thing to do. But I’m retiring the end of October, so I will be home to tackle the job throughout the week, and not try to cram it all in to a weekend. I am so looking forward to a more leisurely pace of living.
Hope you are well Kris and life is being kind to you.