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Hummingbird Magnets

6/28/2026

Joanne K., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

Nothing is more entertaining than watching the aerial ballets of hummingbirds as they swoop to and fro sipping nectar from flower to flower. These acrobats can hover in mid air beating their wings 50 times a second. Their agility extends to flying backwards, upwards, and upside down.

A hummingbird sipping nectar from a Trumpet flower, Bignonia capreolata - Kelly Colgan Azar, Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0

Ruby-throated hummingbird at a Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis-Bill Buchanan CC BY 4.0

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is the only hummingbird species that breeds east of the Mississippi River. With their luminescent green feathers and the male's ruby-red gorget (throat patch), these colorful diving daredevils provide entertainment to eastern North Carolinians from early April to late September.

Hummers are important pollinators in the ecosystem helping plants to grow. To fuel their almost nonstop motion, a lot of nectar is required. Before leaving in the fall, they need to double their body mass by eating nectar and insects. According to the National Audubon Society, hummers must eat every 10 minutes or so, visiting between 1,000-2,000 flowers a day.

To attract hummingbirds to your garden plant a variety of vibrantly colored flowers, especially red ones, in large swaths. From April through September plan for continuous blooms to support the hummers from spring arrival to nesting to feeding for the long flight to overwinter in Mexico and Central America.

Tubular flowers, in particular, are favored by hummingbirds. Single flowers rather than double flowers are best. Double flowers have multiple petals or layers like roses or camellias that are very showy but offer little to no pollen or nectar for pollinators.

At times blooms are scarce so maintaining a hummingbird feeder in your garden helps to fill in the gap. According to the National Audubon Society, hummers are attracted to red flowers because their eyes are particularly sensitive to colors in the red to yellow spectrum. That's why hummingbird feeders are red and the feeder openings are yellow to look like flowers to draw in the hummingbirds.

Male ruby-throated hummingbird at a feeder?University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Horticulture

For your feeders, use a 4-to-1 mix of hot water to white sugar. Cool before using. Never add honey or any other sweeteners or red dyes as they spoil easily. Keep refrigerated.

Change out and clean the feeder at least once a week or more frequently when the weather is extremely hot. Use a 4-to-1 solution of water to vinegar to clean the feeder and rinse thoroughly several times before adding the sugar water.

Don't spray your plants with insecticides as hummingbirds eat the insects for their nutritional needs. Young hummingbirds are fed almost exclusively with insects. Also avoid herbicides as they linger in flowers where the hummers will ingest the poison when sipping the nectar. Also don't spray on or around the hummingbird feeder.

Ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on 'Black and Blue' Salvia, Salvia guaranitica - University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Horticulture

Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea), starts flowering in early summer continuing until the first frost. These blooms nourish the hummers during both the breeding season and when they're preparing to fly south in the fall. This native of southeastern U.S. and the American tropics has inch-long bright red flowers. While it tolerates drought, it blooms more profusely if watered. It's also resistant to deer, dry soil, and heat.

Scarlet Sage, Salvia coccinea?Carl Lewis, CC BY 2.0

Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia - Jim Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia), a native of the coastal and Piedmont areas of NC, is a small deciduous tree blooming in March and April. Its very large, showy, tubular red to orange-red flowers provide sustenance for the hummingbirds arriving in NC and for those migrating north. It's resistant to deer and wet soil. All parts of it are poisonous to humans, cats, dogs, and horses if eaten.

Bee Balm (Monarda) blooms in spring or summer in shades of red, burgundy, purple, lavender, and pink. Its small tubular flowers grow from the middle of the flower head attracting hummingbirds. This native perennial grows best in full sun and is an aggressive spreader. Deadheading the flowers can reduce self-seeding. It's resistant to deer and rabbit damage.

Beebalm, Monarda - Dy-e, CC BY-SA 3

For more information

Plant-Lover's Tour - 'Hummingbird Plants' at the JC Raulston Arboretum YouTube channel on June 11, 2026?Mark Weathington, director of the JC Raulston Arboretum, hosts a great tour of hummingbird plants at the Raulston Arboretum. Go to

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/

for more information about the above plants.

https://www.audubon.org/content/how-create-hummingbird-friendly-yard

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/hummingbirds-and-butterflies

https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/top-hummingbird-attracting-plants?srsltid=AfmBOormoKz6D6omvdHCSGLX9w5hMTWBDiRP7ZfmiZlv_FN3MqQ6uonk

https://transylvania.ces.ncsu.edu/news/get-ready-the-hummingbirds-are-coming/

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Native Vines for the Pollinators in Your Garden

6/3/2026

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Joanne K., Pitt County Extension Master Garden Volunteer

Bright orange trumpets winding through trees and shrubs are now blooming along the greenway, in wooded areas around Greenville, and maybe even on a fence in your backyard. This beauty is the trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), a native vine loved by pollinators. Native vines are critical to the survival of native pollinators like birds, insects, and mammals as they provide the sustenance needed for their survival.

These vines are also a valuable addition to native, pollinator, or woodland gardens. As native plants adapted to the local ecosystem, they are the source of the seeds, berries, and caterpillars needed to keep the native pollinators healthy especially through the fall and winter. Since native plants have grown in the local area for hundreds of years without human help, they evolved to nourish the local pollinators. They also became an integral part of the environment requiring less water and no need for fertilizer.

Trumpet Vine, Campsis radicans - Cathy Dewitt, CC BY 4.0

When considering adding native vines for more color and diversity in your garden, bear in mind that they should be obtained from nurseries that propagate native plants. Digging them up in the wild diminishes the diversity of that area opening up space for weeds to sprout. Transplants from the wild frequently die when removed from that area. Also, some native plants, including some vines, are on the legally protected list maintained by the NC Natural Heritage Program
(https://www.ncnhp.org/media/833/open) so it is illegal to harvest them in the wild.

Also, be careful not to introduce invasive vines to your garden. Well-known culprits include Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), English ivy (Hedera helix), and Asian wisterias (Wisteria floribunda and Wisteria sinensis). Help in identifying these invaders can be found at NC Invasive Plant Council, NC Native Plant Society, and NC Forest Service.

Of course, vines need space and/or a structure to grow on. Some vines can be planted in open areas and grow as ground covers on slopes or banks. Other vines need a wall, fence, trellis, or arbor for support. Vines can hide an ugly fence, provide screening from the neighbor's backyard, or offer shade under an arbor. Vines also introduce a vertical element in your garden design, which can maximize planting space in small gardens.

All of the following vines are perennials that will return once established. Water regularly the first year. After that normal rainfall should suffice. All will grow in full sun to part shade in average, well-drained soil. Also, all of these vines have a high flammability rating and should not be planted close to your home or other outdoor structures.

1A. Trumpet Vine, Campsis radicans - Joanne K.

Trumpet vine aka Trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans) is a dense, deciduous, aggressive vine that uses aerial rootlets to attach itself to structures and climb. Its bright orange/red flowers appear in spring and do best in full sun. In the fall its leaves turn to gold/yellow before dropping. To curb its aggressive growth, plant it in an area where the suckers can be mowed down. It attracts hummingbirds primarily, but also bees, pollinators, and song birds. Trumpet vine is the larval host for the plebeian sphinx moth. Both rabbits and white-tailed deer enjoy its foliage.

Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) blooms in summer with very large showy flowers in white with shades of blue, pink, and purple/lavender. It's the nectar source for pollinators and hummingbirds and a larval host plant for several butterflies. Its fruit, called maypops, feeds songbirds and mammals. Edible for humans, the fruit can be eaten fresh off the vine or made into jelly. This deciduous vine is best planted in an area where it can

Passion Flower, Passiflora incarnata - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, CC BY 2.0

naturalize as it spreads rapidly by underground runners. On structures it climbs by axillary tendrils. The leaves are poisonous to humans, children, cats, dogs, and horses. It's moderately deer resistant.

Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata - Camelia TWU, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and red are showy and fragrant. Blooming in late winter to early spring on new wood it provides food for hummingbirds. It also attracts bees, butterflies, and pollinators. Crossvine is evergreen and tolerates a variety of soils including those on the coast but does best in rich,

well-drained soil. With more sunlight, it produces more flowers. It spreads by seed and root suckers. Pull up the suckers to keep it under control. White-tailed deer and beavers eat the foliage.

Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) has glossy evergreen leaves with sweet-smelling yellow flowers blooming in late winter. The flowers attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. Its dense growth provides winter cover for wildlife especially if grown as a bushy ground cover. On a trellis it grows 12 to 20 feet as a twining vine. It's resistant to deer and salt. All parts of this plant are poisonous to humans.

Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens - Jim Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Also it shouldn't be grown near honeybee colonies as its pollen is toxic to bees.

Coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens - Joanne K.

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) has large, trumpet-shaped flowers that are scarlet to orange-red on the outside and yellow inside. Although this spring bloomer isn't fragrant, it attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, pollinators, and songbirds. It can grow 10 to 20 feet high and can be used as a ground cover. Its ornamental red berries provide both winter interest and food for birds. It's salt-tolerant so it can be grown in coastal gardens. It's resistant to salt, deer, soil compaction, and black walnut.

For more information about growing these vines, go to the NC Plant Toolbox at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu.

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Hummingbird Magnets

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