Hummingbirds love tubular, nectar-rich, brightly colored flowers—especially reds, oranges, and hot pinks.

Quick Scoop

  • Pick trumpet or bell-shaped blooms they can easily sip from.
  • Prioritize red and orange, but also plant pink, purple, and yellow for variety.
  • Choose nectar-rich single flowers rather than double, frilly varieties, which can be harder for them to access.
  • Mix spring, summer, and fall bloomers so there’s always food available.

Favorite Types of Flowers

Here are some classic hummingbird magnets you can plant:

  • Trumpet creeper and trumpet vine (long red-orange tubes packed with nectar).
  • Trumpet honeysuckle and other honeysuckles.
  • Bee balm (Monarda) in reds and pinks.
  • Salvia (all colors, not just red, including purple and blue).
  • Columbine (especially red and bi-color varieties for spring nectar).
  • Fuchsia for hanging baskets and shady spots.
  • Petunias with big trumpet blooms, especially vivid, saturated colors.
  • Lantana, phlox, and coral bells for continuous color and nectar.

What They Look For

Think like a hummingbird for a moment:

  • Bright, saturated color that stands out—red is great, but it’s a myth that it’s the only thing they like.
  • Tube or funnel-shaped flowers that fit a long bill and tongue.
  • High-sugar nectar to fuel constant flying and hovering.

A simple example layout: plant red bee balm and salvia in a sunny bed, hang a basket of fuchsia nearby, and add a trumpet vine along a fence. This creates different heights and seasons of bloom so hummingbirds can feed all year long in your garden.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.